Favoritism in the workplace may not seem like that big of a deal at first sight, yet you may be able to file a discrimination, harassment, or retaliation lawsuit against the employer who favors or disfavors certain employees.
If you have witnessed workplace favoritism or have become a victim of this illegal management practice, you will most likely benefit from scheduling a free consultation with a California retaliation lawyer from Licata & Yeremenko, A Professional Law Corporation to find out whether or not favoritism is based on discrimination, harassment, or retaliation in your particular case.
If it is rooted in any of these three factors, favoritism can be considered an illegal practice, which means you may have a right to file a lawsuit against your employer for disfavoring you or, on the other hand, favoring other workers.
Fact: Workplace favoritism diminishes employee morale, productivity, and performance among workers, as they see little to no motivation to put forth their best effort to do a good job.
So when is workplace favoritism unlawful in California? This is the question we asked our workplace retaliation lawyer in California.
When Favoritism Can Be Considered Discrimination
You are may be able to sue your employer for favoritism if it is rooted in discrimination. If your boss favors or disfavors employees based on their gender, race, national origin, age, sexual orientation, skin color, religion, or other characteristics protected by federal or state law, you may be entitled to file a discrimination claim.
To illustrate this more clearly, let’s review two situations. In one of these situations, workplace favoritism is considered illegal discrimination, while in the other one, there is no discrimination.
Situation #1: An employer promotes only white men or gives the most favorable assignments and shifts to employees of his own race. That’s illegal discrimination.
Situation #2: An employer favors employees who listen to the same music as he does. Musical preferences are not a protected characteristic, which means this type of favoritism does not amount to discrimination.
When Favoritism Amounts To Harassment
If you have a reason to believe that the only way to get hired or promoted or get a pay raise is to sleep with your employer, you may be entitled to sue your employer for favoritism on the basis of sexual harassment.
In many workplaces across California, some employees are more favored by their employers (they get better assignments or shifts, they get promotions or pay raises more frequently, etc.) only because they put up with their employer’s sexual harassment.
In fact, our California retaliation attorney says that in certain situations, you may be able to file a lawsuit against your employer if you believe that the only way to receive job benefits is to have sex with your employer or give him or her other sexual favors.
When Does Workplace Favoritism Amount To Retaliation?
Workplace favoritism can also amount to illegal retaliation in the workplace if the employer disfavors workers who have reported illegal activities or violations to the appropriate authorities, or, vice versa, the employer favors employees who did not complain about these illegal activities or violations (while others did).
There can be many forms of illegal retaliation against workers who filed a complaint with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration. One of these forms is favoring employees who did not join the complaint.
Consult with our best retaliation lawyers in California at Licata & Yeremenko, A Professional Law Corporation to determine whether favoritism in your workplace amounts to discrimination, harassment, or retaliation. Get a free consultation by calling at 818-783-5757 today.