Film Studio Company Pregnancy Discrimination

Attorney to File Pregnancy Discrimination Lawsuit Against Film Studio Company It is against the law for employers to discriminate against pregnant employees. If you believe that the film studio company by which you’re employed has discriminated against you, you have the right to file a pregnancy discrimination lawsuit against your employer and collect the necessary compensation for which you are entitled. The California Labor LAW Employment Attorneys Group is here to assure that you get the damages you deserve if your film company employer broke the law and discriminated against you because you are pregnant.

Film studio companies have a dark history of outright discrimination for every conceivable protected characteristic from race, sex, religion, and else in between. Many employers, including the film executives from studios like Warner Bros., 20th Century Fox, Universal Studios, Walk Disney Co., Disney, Paramount, and Sony Pictures., discriminate against pregnant women under their employment because they believe they are acting in the woman’s best interest. Even if their intentions are well-meaning, employers cannot treat pregnant employees differently than those are not pregnant or to those employees who have a similar disability. There are laws which protect the rights of pregnant women, and employers are obligated to adhere to those laws. Failure to do so gives the pregnant employee the right to file a lawsuit against their employer.

Attorney to File Pregnancy Discrimination Lawsuit Against Film Studio CompanyThe California Labor Law Employment Attorneys Group is here to ensure that justice is served and that your employer pays for their disregard for the law and infringing upon your rights. If your employer, the film studio company, has discriminated against you solely because you are pregnant, you have the right to sue the company for pregnancy discrimination. We at the California Labor Law Employment Attorneys Group want to help you get the necessary restitution and our employment attorneys, filled with experience, understanding, and empathy, are here for you and can answer any questions you may have.

What Is Pregnancy Discrimination?

Pregnancy discrimination is discrimination that occurs solely on the basis of pregnancy. Discrimination in the workplace happens when an employer treats an employee differently or unfavorably due to a protected characteristic throughout every aspect of the employment process – from the interview process, hiring, and termination to the benefits and promotions available to employees. In this case, that characteristic is pregnancy, or any medical condition relating to pregnancy. It is illegal for an employer to not hire a woman just because she is pregnant; to create assignments, promote, or demote based on pregnancy.  To be clear, the law does not give pregnant women any special rights: it only prevents employers from treating them differently from other employees.

An employer cannot make any business-based decision solely because you are pregnant. For example, if your employer finds out that you are pregnant and demotes you to a lower position in the production of a movie because they feel it would be more appropriate for a pregnant woman, then your employer has broken the law and you can file a lawsuit against them.

How Do I Prove Pregnancy Discrimination?

In order to prove a pregnancy discrimination case, you must provide sufficient evidence to show that your employer treated you unequally than other employees who have or had a similar disability, and that the difference in treatment came from the fact that you are or were pregnant. There are a couple of ways that one could prove pregnancy discrimination and each case depends and relies on different facts. But no matter your case, you are the plaintiff, and so the burden of proof relies on you: you must provide enough evidence to show that it was more likely than not that your employer took employment action against you because you are pregnant.

The two ways to prove that your employer took action against you because of your pregnancy is through direct evidence or circumstantial, or indirect, evidence.

Direct Evidence: While not very common for discrimination cases, some employees may have access to direct evidence when attempting to prove their case. Direct evidence means that your employer has stated the reason they took action against you is because of your pregnancy.

If your employer said or wrote down that your pregnancy had something to do with their most recent actions against you, you will have a much easier time in court. For example, if you were denied a promotion and your supervisor said something along the lines of, “I think you’re the most qualified, but I you’re going to have your baby soon and that may get in the way of your new responsibilities,” that would be considered direct evidence.

While not all that common in discrimination cases, it is not unheard of for employers to directly state that the woman’s pregnancy was a factor in their decision.

Circumstantial Evidence: Even if your employer didn’t directly state that your pregnancy had something to do with their decision, you can still provide enough evidence for the judge to put two and two together. The evidence must show that it was more likely than not that your employer discriminated against you. Such example of circumstantial evidence is as follows:

  • Facts showing that your employer did not follow regular procedure when it came to your employment decision. For example, if you were demoted because of your performance, but other employees with similar (or worse) performance levels were given warnings and a second chance to improve, the irregularity could help prove your case.
  • There is suspicious timing between your pregnancy and the discriminatory action. If your employer found out about your pregnancy and asked you questions regarding your coming back to work after you have the child, it could be enough to persuade the jury.
  • Illegitimate reasons given for the action against you. For instance, let’s say that your employer fired you because they wanted someone with a background in optics to operate the camera. Then, as it happened, your replacement has the same qualifications as you; it could look like a pretext for discrimination.
  • How they treat their other pregnant employees. If your employer has cut pay for women once they reach their third trimester, the patterns of practice could start to turn on the employer and help your case.

What Action Can I Take?

If you believe that your employer has discriminated against you because of your pregnancy, you have the legal grounds to file a lawsuit against your employer. Before you can sue them, however, you must first file a charge with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), the federal agency that enforces the anti-discrimination laws of the land; or you can file with the Department of Fair Employment & Housing (DFEH), the state agency that enforces the anti-discrimination laws of the state. Once they have investigated your claim, you can then request a “right-to-sue” letter, which then gives you the go-ahead to take your employer to court.

A competent employment lawyer should be able to describe every single part of this process for you. It is important that you move quickly and find a quality team of employment lawyers, like the ones at the California Labor Law Employment Attorneys Group, because there is a statute of limitations which puts a timer on your ability to seek justice.

The Labor Law California Labor Law Employment Attorneys Group is here to ensure that justice is served. We are employment lawyers with years of experience, and know the tactics necessary to get you the maximum compensation which you deserve. We offer free consultation which gives you the ability to sit down with one of our lawyers and discuss your case. We also offer the zero-fee guarantee which means that from the very first day until the last we will not charge you a penny for our services. We will only collect our fees if we can prove and win your case. Call the California Labor Law Employment Attorneys Group today to see what we can do for you.