A San Francisco construction company, Southland Construction Management, has recently been the subject of racial discrimination allegations from a former African-American employee. The employer allegedly decorated the office with confederate flags, and made many inappropriate gestures to create a racist work environment.
The multiple racial discrimination claims culminated in an event at a white elephant gift exchange at the company Christmas party. The owner insisted that the employee take a certain gift, even though that is against the rules of a gift exchange, and the gift included photos of the owner in front of a confederate flag, dressed as president Donald Trump, with a caption that read “The southland will rise again.” This extent of racism is extremely hurtful, and this case proves that racism is still very much alive today. The employee was also terminated after bringing up discrimination allegations against them.
Can You Be Terminated for Bringing up Allegations Against an Employer?
California is an “at-will” state, which means that employers do not need to justify a reason for firing an employee, and can fire for any reason that is not protected by law. In this case, the firing reason is protected by law, therefore the employee has a case for wrongful termination.
Reasons for Firing That Are Protected by Wrongful Termination Laws
- Discrimination; against someone’s age, race, sexual orientation, gender, disabilities, political affiliation, or religion.
- Retaliation: When an employer tries to retaliate by firing an employee for bringing up allegations against them for discrimination, harassment, wage and hour violations, unsafe work conditions, or filing a workers comp claim.
An employer cannot fire an employee for attempting to expose an employer’s racism. If you or someone you know are working in a toxic work environment, having a Los Angeles discrimination lawyer review your case can help you fight back against employer discrimination.