Shannon Foley is an Employment Law Attorney working in the areas of Discrimination, Harassment and Retaliation by an Employer against an employee based on Age, Sex, Gender, Pregnancy, Ethnicity, Race and Disability.

Employment Law is the area of law that encompasses the relationship between employer and employee.

Employment Discrimination laws seek to prevent employers from discrimination based on race, sex, sexual orientation, pregnancy, religion, national origin, physical disability, and age. Retaliation is also unlawful if you have reported unlawful discrimination or harassment and you are punished for that report or for participating in someone else’s claims. The majority of employment laws are in the form of federal and state statutes.

These laws are intended to protect employees from unfair treatment in the workplace, and to prevent discrimination. We’ve assembled some links to various online resources with a wealth of information on the subtleties of Employment Law, and how it affects you depending on what kind of worker you are.

Employment Law has many traps for the unwary… you must Exhaust Administrative Remedies… which means, file with DFEH or EEOC to get a Right to Sue, and sometimes for Governmental Entities, you must also within 6 months of the tortious conduct/termination/defamation—send a Government Torts Claim Notice to the Employer.

In California, we typically file under the State Laws under FEHA -Fair Employment and Housing Act. Usually our clients file the DFEH —Department of Fair Employment and Housing and obtain a Right to Sue Notice. Sometimes, the attorneys will request an Immediate Right to Sue Notice, other times the DFEH investigates, then issues a Right to Sue Notice or not. Shannon’s office has the forms to file the complaint and request the right to sue. The employee must file the discrimination, harassment or obtain a right to sue notice within a year of the harassment or discrimination or retaliation. Then the employee must file a lawsuit within one year of the right to sue notice.

For Federal Claims, employees file with EEOC, who can investigate claims too. EEOC’s office accepts discrimination claims. Complaints with EEOC must be filed sooner than one year… 300 days, and must act on the right to sue notice within 30-90 days.

For governmental employees, some entities, require filing a Government Tort Claims Act notice within 6 months of the tortious conduct/termination before filing a lawsuit if you have claims for Torts, including Defamation, Battery, Intentional Infliction of Emotional Distress, Wrongful Termination in Violation of Public Policy. These are in addition to the FEHA claims that you must obtain a Right to Sue on.

Shannon Foley is a member of CELA, California Employment Law Attorneys. Their website is www.celaweb.org

If you have been terminated and you are not on disability, you may be eligible for unemployment. Their number is 800-300-5616.

Workplace Fairness
Workplace Fairness is a non-profit organization who’s goal is to provide information and education to individual workers. Their site is a comprenhensive resource with detailed information on your rights as a worker, in clear, easy to read language.

FindLaw’s Labor and Employment Library
Extremely thorough, more technical than some of the other sites.