Many workers in California and around the country are the targets of overt or covert discrimination while on the job. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has reported that it fielded more than 72,000 discrimination complaints in fiscal 2019. Many of them were prohibited by such well-known laws as Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 or the Americans with Disabilities Act. Some other types, however, are not as publicized.

Discrimination based on pregnancy has been prohibited by federal law for more than 40 years. However, it continues to be rampant in many industries, ranging from blue-collar jobs to higher-paying professions in the financial services sector. Many women are wrongfully terminated when it becomes known that they are expecting. In other cases, pregnant women are not provided with the required reasonable accommodations for their condition. As a result, many face the loss of their careers and resulting income stream.

The Age Discrimination in Employment Act provides protections to current or prospective workers who are at or over the age of 40. However, this is often disregarded. Ageism can be as subtle as job advertisements that are obviously geared toward younger workers or as obvious as being denied a promotion in favor of a younger but less-qualified employee. More than one-half of American workers have reported that they have either been the victims of age discrimination or have witnessed it.

Caregivers are also often discriminated against, especially single parents of young children. They often do not know in advance when a child will be sick and cannot go to school, and thus they have to stay home with them. Workers who find themselves in these types of situations might want to discuss legal options with an experienced employment law attorney.