Cirrus Law Blog

California employment law prohibits discrimination against employees and job applicants on the basis of sex or gender. In the Northern California tech industry, gender discrimination has been a subject of numerous recent allegations and complaints. Last fall, a group of women employed by Google filed a class action alleging disparities in wages based on sex. Ellis, et al. v. Google, Inc., No. CGC-17-561299, complaint (Cal. Super. Ct., San Francisco Cty., Sep. 14, 2017). The company is also facing another discrimination lawsuit with a different, but related, angle. This lawsuit, filed in January 2018 by a male former employee, alleges discrimination on the basis of sex and political viewpoint. Damore, et al. v. Google, LLC, No. 18CV321529, complaint (Cal. Super. Ct., Santa Clara Cty., Jan. 8, 2018). California is one of the few states with an employment discrimination statute that addresses employees’ “political activities or affiliations.” Cal. Lab. Code § 1101 et seq. The plaintiff alleges that he experienced California employment discrimination as a male employee with politically conservative views.

The California Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA) generally prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex, gender, and other factors. Cal. Gov’t Code § 12940(a). The California Equal Pay Act (EPA) more specifically prohibits disparities in pay based on gender when the work, working conditions, and qualifications are “substantially similar.” Cal. Lab. Code § 1197.5(a). The statute makes exceptions when a pay disparity is based on certain “bona fide factor[s] other than sex,” including merit- or seniority-based systems and systems that base pay on “quantity or quality of production.” Id.

The statute dealing with employees’ political views prohibits employers from “[c]ontrolling or directing…the political activities or affiliations of employees,” id. at § 1101(b); and from using the “threat of discharge or loss of employment” to compel an employee to follow, or not follow, “any particular course or line of political action or political activity,” id. at § 1102. The California Supreme Court ruled that this statute allows private civil actions for alleged violations in Lockheed Aircraft Corp. v. Superior Court, 28 Cal.2d 481 (1946). The court later affirmed a claim of political viewpoint discrimination based on employees’ advocacy for “the struggle of the homosexual community for equal rights,” when claims of sexual orientation discrimination were not tenable under state law. Gay Law Students Assn. v. Pacific Tel. & Tel. Co., 24 Cal.3d 458, 488 (1979).

California sexual harassment has gained unprecedented attention in recent months, starting in Hollywood and expanding to include nearly every type of employer in the country. Sexual harassment is considered a form of sex discrimination under both federal and state laws. It can take two main forms. Quid pro quo sexual harassment occurs when a supervisor or manager makes sexual conduct of some sort a condition of employment, such as when an employee will receive better shift assignments if they date the boss. A hostile work environment occurs when the sexually inappropriate conduct of one or more other people in the workplace interferes with the ability to do one’s job. Federal and state laws require proof that the allegedly offensive conduct was “pervasive or severe.” See Cal. Civ. Code § 51.9(a)(2). A California state senator held a hearing in January 2018 to consider whether this standard is too stringent, looking at New York City’s employment statute for possible revisions to state law that could affect many California employers.

The U.S. Supreme Court has defined the “severe or pervasive” standard for hostile work environment claims under federal law as requiring evidence of “an environment that a reasonable person would find hostile or abusive.” Harris v. Forklift Systems, Inc., 510 U.S. 17, 21 (1993). California courts apply the same standard for hostile work environment claims under the California Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA). See, e.g., Hughes v. Pair, 46 Cal.4th 1035, 1048 (2009). Determining whether the alleged offensive conduct was “severe or pervasive” has both a subjective and an objective component. It requires consideration of “a constellation of surrounding circumstances, expectations, and relationships,” rather than “a simple recitation of the words used or the physical acts performed.” Lyle v. Warner Bros. Television Prod., 42 Cal.Rptr.3d 2, 16 (2006).

A dissenting appellate court justice in the Hughes case cited above criticized the “severe or pervasive” standard, noting that the statute that uses that language, the Unruh Civil Rights Act (UCRA), “is not an employment discrimination statute,” and nothing indicates that the state legislature intended to mix this statute and the FEHA. Hughes v. Pair, 65 Cal. Rptr. 3d 619, 632 (Cal. App., 2d Dist. 2007) (Armstrong, Acting P.J., dissenting). The justice advocated for an “interpret[ation] based on the plain and ordinary meaning of the words” in the statute. Id. at 633. Other critics of the “severe or pervasive” standard point to the reportedly high percentage of sexual harassment complaints dismissed by the courts, arguing that the standard imposes too high a burden on complainants.

Federal law protects the right of workers to organize for the purpose of collective bargaining with their employers, more commonly known as unionizing. The National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) outlines these rights and prohibits employers from interfering with employees engaging in protected activities. The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) investigates alleged violations of workers’ rights and, in some cases, pursues legal claims on behalf of aggrieved workers. Throughout 2017, employees of Tesla, a Northern California technology company that designs, manufactures, and sells electric cars, have been involved in efforts to form a union. Multiple workers filed complaints with the NLRB. In August, the NLRB consolidated five of these California employment cases into a single complaint, which alleges various acts of coercion and restraint against employees involved in union organizing. Tesla, Inc. and Sanchez, et al., Nos. 32-CA-197020, 197058, 197091, 197197, 200530, cons. complaint (NLRB Reg. 32, Aug, 31, 2017).

The NLRA provides broad protections for employees’ “right to self-organization,” which includes “form[ing], join[ing], or assist[ing] labor organizations.” 29 U.S.C. § 157. It also protects employees’ “right to refrain from any or all of such activities” if they choose. Id. The statute prohibits “unfair labor practices,” including any “interfere[nce] with, restrain[t], or coerc[ion of] employees” in relation to their rights. Id. at § 158(a)(1). Unions are subject to similar prohibitions against coercing or restraining employees, such as in situations regarding their right not to participate in protected activities.

A recurring dispute with regard to unions involves the question of whether employees who do not wish to join a union may still be required to pay fees to unions that represent them. Some states allow employees to opt out of union membership through “right to work” laws. California is not a “right to work” state. Opponents of right to work laws note that collective bargaining agreements usually apply to all employees, regardless of whether they are dues-paying members of the union. Supporters tend to argue that employees should have the choice of whether to join and pay fees to a union.