Workplace discrimination: How to recognize it and when to seek help

Workplace discrimination: How to recognize it and when to seek help

Randall Strauss is an attorney with Oakland firm Gwilliam Ivary Chiosso Cavalli & Brewer. Credit: GICCB

Workplace discrimination is more than just a legal problem. Long before anyone considers filing a lawsuit, discrimination erodes workplace morale, damages employee well-being, and undermines business productivity. It can destroy the self-esteem of individuals and tarnish the reputation of organizations that allow it to occur — or worse, to persist unchecked.

We hear the word discrimination often — on social media, in public controversies, and in the news. Think of a bakery refusing to serve a customer because of sexual orientation. In everyday life, individuals may harbor discriminatory attitudes. For better or worse, in one’s private life, people are entitled to harbor discriminatory thoughts. It may be wrong, it may be reprehensible, but it’s not illegal.

The workplace, however, is a different story. Employment discrimination is prohibited under both federal and California law. The questions are: What does discrimination at work look like? When is it illegal? And can you simply have a difficult or unpleasant boss without crossing into discrimination?

Read more on the original article : https://oaklandside.org/2025/09/02/workplace-discrimination-how-to-recognize-it-and-when-to-seek-help/