Civil Rights Discrimination Lawyer Los Angeles | Workplace Discrimination Claims

If you need a civil rights discrimination lawyer in Los Angeles, Mesriani Law Group is here to help. Every worker in California has the right to be evaluated and treated based on their qualifications and performance — not their race, gender, age, disability, religion, national origin, sexual orientation, or any other protected characteristic. When an employer violates those rights, California and federal law provide powerful remedies.

At Mesriani Law Group, our Los Angeles civil rights attorneys represent employees who have been discriminated against in hiring, promotion, compensation, discipline, and termination decisions. We handle all employment discrimination cases on a contingency fee basis — you pay nothing unless we win.

The Legal Framework: Title VII and California FEHA

Civil rights discrimination in the workplace is prohibited under both California and federal law. See our guide to understanding federal and California anti-discrimination laws: California’s protections are significantly broader than federal law:

• Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964: The primary federal anti-discrimination law. Prohibits discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, and national origin. Covers employers with 15 or more employees. Enforced by the EEOC.
• California Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA): California’s state law provides substantially broader protections than Title VII. FEHA covers employers with 5 or more employees, protects a wider range of characteristics (including sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, and military status), allows punitive damages, and has a three-year statute of limitations.
• Additional federal laws: The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA), the Equal Pay Act, and the Pregnancy Discrimination Act all provide additional employment protections alongside FEHA and Title VII.

Protected Characteristics Under California and Federal Law

Both FEHA and Title VII prohibit discrimination based on membership in a protected class. In California, protected characteristics include:

• Race, color, and ethnic background
• National origin and ancestry
• Sex and gender (including pregnancy, childbirth, and related conditions)
• Gender identity and gender expression
• Sexual orientation
• Age (40 years and older)
• Disability — physical and mental
• Religion and religious creed
• Marital status
• Military and veteran status
• Genetic information
• Medical condition (including cancer history)

California’s FEHA protects more characteristics than federal law and applies to smaller employers. See our full guide to FEHA protected classes in California. Most Los Angeles workers benefit from broader California protections than federal law alone would provide.

Types of Civil Rights Discrimination Claims We Handle

Mesriani Law Group represents Los Angeles employees in all types of workplace civil rights discrimination claims:

Race and Color Discrimination

Discriminatory treatment in hiring, compensation, promotion, or termination based on race, skin color, national origin, or ancestry. Racial harassment creating a hostile work environment is also prohibited under Title VII and FEHA. See our racial discrimination claims page. 

Sex and Gender Discrimination

Unequal treatment based on sex or gender, including pregnancy discrimination, unequal pay for equal work, and failure to accommodate pregnancy or childbirth-related conditions. See our gender discrimination claims page. Title VII and FEHA both prohibit sex discrimination. 

Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity Discrimination

California’s FEHA explicitly prohibits discrimination based on sexual orientation, gender identity, and gender expression — protections that go beyond what federal law provided until the Supreme Court’s Bostock v. Clayton County (2020) decision extended Title VII to cover these characteristics. 

Age Discrimination

Discrimination against workers 40 and older in hiring, promotion, termination, and compensation. California’s FEHA covers employers with 5 or more employees — far broader than the federal ADEA’s 20-employee threshold. See our age discrimination claims page. 

Disability Discrimination

Discrimination based on physical or mental disability, including failure to engage in the interactive process and failure to provide reasonable accommodation. See our disability discrimination claims page. California’s FEHA provides stronger protections than the federal ADA in several respects. 

Religious Discrimination

Discrimination based on religious beliefs or practices, including failure to provide reasonable religious accommodation. See our religious discrimination claims page unless doing so would cause undue hardship. Applies to all sincerely held religious beliefs, not just membership in organized religions. 

Pregnancy Discrimination

Discrimination against employees or applicants because of pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions. California’s Pregnancy Disability Leave (PDL) law and CFRA provide additional protections beyond federal law. See our pregnancy discrimination claims page. 

National Origin Discrimination

Discrimination based on national origin, ancestry, ethnicity, or accent. Includes language-based discrimination when not justified by a legitimate business necessity.

What Constitutes Unlawful Discrimination?

Workplace civil rights discrimination occurs when an employer takes an adverse employment action against an employee because of a protected characteristic. See our guide to 7 types of civil rights discrimination at work: This includes:

• Refusing to hire a qualified applicant based on a protected characteristic
• Paying employees differently for substantially the same work based on a protected characteristic
• Denying promotions or advancement opportunities based on a protected characteristic
• Subjecting an employee to harsher discipline than similarly situated employees outside the protected class
• Creating or tolerating a hostile work environment based on a protected characteristic
• Terminating an employee based in whole or in part on a protected characteristic
• Retaliating against an employee for complaining about discrimination or participating in an investigation

Discrimination may be direct — an employer’s statement or explicit policy — or circumstantial, shown through patterns of conduct, comparative evidence, and timing. Most employment discrimination cases are built on circumstantial evidence.

The Administrative Process: CRD and EEOC

Before filing a lawsuit for employment discrimination in California, employees must first exhaust administrative remedies:

• FEHA claims: File a complaint with the California Civil Rights Department (CRD, formerly DFEH) within three years of the discriminatory act. The CRD will investigate and issue a right-to-sue notice.
• Title VII claims: File a charge with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) within 300 days of the discriminatory act in California. The EEOC will investigate and issue a right-to-sue notice.

Our attorneys handle the administrative process on your behalf and advise whether to request an immediate right-to-sue notice or allow the agency investigation to proceed. In most Los Angeles cases, proceeding under FEHA in California state court is more favorable to employees than federal court.

What Compensation Can You Recover?

A successful civil rights discrimination claim in California can recover:

• Back pay: Lost wages and benefits from the date of the discriminatory act
• Front pay: Future lost earnings if reinstatement is not feasible
• Compensatory damages: Emotional distress, humiliation, and other non-economic harm
• Punitive damages: Available under FEHA for malicious or oppressive conduct by the employer
• Attorney’s fees and costs: Prevailing plaintiffs can recover attorney’s fees under both FEHA and Title VII
• Reinstatement: A court order requiring your employer to rehire you, though often replaced by front pay in practice

Civil Rights Discrimination Filing Deadlines in California

• FEHA claims: File with the CRD within three years of the discriminatory act (extended by SB 807, effective January 1, 2022)
• Title VII claims: File with the EEOC within 300 days of the discriminatory act
• After right-to-sue notice: One year from CRD notice; 90 days from EEOC notice to file a lawsuit

Important: Evidence in employment discrimination cases — internal communications, performance reviews, and witness accounts — disappears quickly once employment ends. Contact a civil rights discrimination lawyer in Los Angeles as soon as possible.

Why Choose Mesriani Law Group as Your Civil Rights Discrimination Lawyer in Los Angeles?

• Over 30 years representing employees in civil rights and employment discrimination cases throughout Los Angeles and California
• Hundreds of millions of dollars recovered for clients
• Experience with all types of workplace discrimination — race, sex, age, disability, religion, national origin, and more
• Deep knowledge of FEHA, Title VII, the ADA, and the ADEA and how each applies to your situation
• No Win, No Fee — you pay nothing unless we win your case
• Available 24/7 in English, Spanish, and Farsi

Contact Our Los Angeles Civil Rights Discrimination Lawyers Today

If you believe your civil rights have been violated in the workplace, do not wait. Evidence disappears, deadlines approach, and employers build documentation to justify their decisions after the fact. Our civil rights discrimination lawyers in Los Angeles will evaluate your case and fight for the full compensation you deserve.

Call Mesriani Law Group at (866) 500-7070 or message us online for a free, confidential consultation available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.