El Paso Discrimination Lawyer

Everyone deserves fair treatment in the workplace. If you’re enduring discrimination of any kind at your job, it’s time to reach out for help.

If you’re reading this, you may have encountered discrimination at work. You may be receiving pay that is lower than that of your colleagues, though you’re performing the same tasks and have the same responsibilities. You’re probably afraid to speak up for fear of being fired. You’re probably looking for someone you can trust to help with a discrimination claim.

We are here to help. Our firm offers free legal consultations. Call our El Paso discrimination lawyer today to schedule your free legal consultation.

The information on this page is intended to help you understand your discrimination claim. First, we’ll share common mistakes people make that damage the value of their discrimination claims. Next, we’ll tell a client story to provide an overview of what to expect in a discrimination claim. Please read to the end to learn as much as you can.

Common Discrimination Claim Mistakes

There are a number of ways you can unintentionally damage the value of your discrimination claim. Please review the mistakes listed here to prevent you from making the same costly errors.

Not Documenting the Discrimination

It’s a mistake to endure abusive treatment in your place of work without making a careful record of what’s happening, who is involved, and when the events occur.

Write down or voice-record a memo to yourself each time you are treated with disrespect or discrimination. For example, If your coworker embarrasses you in front of customers by putting you down or bullying you, make note of who is involved, what happened, and when.

It’s important to keep a record of each incident as it happens. No matter how sure you are that you’ll recall the date and time later, such details can be easily forgotten. Each record you make of verbal abuse or intimidation, physical abuse, or unwanted sexual advances will help support a discrimination claim. And the more detailed your records are, the stronger that claim will be.

Not Speaking Up

It’s not uncommon for people who are being discriminated against in the workplace to also suffer from bullying. It can be tough to speak up when you are being intimidated and verbally or even physically abused. 

If you are being mistreated at work in any way—including being treated unfairly in the form of lower pay than your coworkers due to your race or sex— your rights are being violated. Our El Paso discrimination lawyer can guide and support you through putting an end to discrimination.

Our firm is experienced in employment law and can guide you through reporting discrimination, both internally and to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC).

Turning to Friends and Loved Ones for Advice

It’s understandable to turn to your friends and family for support when you’re being discriminated against at work. Turning to someone not versed in employment law for legal advice, however, can ruin your claim. It’s natural for your loved ones to want to help, but they probably lack both the legal background and the objectivity to give you good advice.

An experienced El Paso discrimination trial attorney is the best person to help you seek compensation for your damages, resolve your employment problem, and potentially keep your job, if you so desire.

Moving Forward Without an Attorney

Employment law is fairly complicated. If you are experiencing discrimination and possibly intimidation by your employer, it’s best not to confront the employer without the support of an experienced attorney.

Our El Paso discrimination lawyer will fight to protect your rights according to federal employment law, guiding you through the process of filing a claim with the EEOC in addition to handling communications with your employer.

Hiring the Wrong Attorney

When you’re ready to take the step of hiring a lawyer, it’s important to be selective. Not every lawyer will have the experience and knowledge base to effectively protect your rights and resolve your employment claim.

If you were looking for a doctor to treat a specific medical condition, you would make sure you turned to an expert in that area of medicine.

There are many different practice areas within the law open to attorneys. Be sure to hire someone who has knowledge and experience in employment law and who is also a trial attorney. The attorney should have a successful record resolving discrimination cases via negotiation and in the courtroom.

El Paso Discrimination Client Story

The client story that follows is intended to provide you with a good overview of your discrimination claim. We’ve edited the names and details to protect the privacy of our client. The value of the information remains, however, so please read through to learn as much as possible. When you’ve finished, please give us a call to schedule your free legal consultation so we can discuss your specific claim.

On a warm spring day not so long ago, Camila Alvarez reluctantly clocked into her job at a large hotel in El Paso, stopping at her locker to stash her belongings and get her apron. She then headed for her station, giving herself a mental pep talk as she tied the apron around her slender waist.

Camila was always a conscientious employee. She’d started out with the hotel chain four years earlier as a member of the cleaning crew at their downtown location. After only a year on the job, Camila’s supervisor noticed her initiative, reliability, and professionalism, and promoted her to assistant manager of housekeeping.

Things were going well until a merger led to the supervisor opting for early retirement rather than a layoff. Camila was given the choice between going back to her former pay and title in housekeeping, or transferring to another hotel.

Camila opted to transfer to the larger hotel across town. She applied for a position as a member of the hotel restaurant’s waitstaff, hoping to at the very least maintain the salary she’d been making for the past three years. Her supervisor wrote her a shining letter of recommendation and she got the position.

Things didn’t go as Camila had expected, however. From the very start, she noticed a current of hostility between the waitstaff and management. She’d hoped to make friends at the new facility but found herself on the outside.

Camila was about ten years older than most of the servers, who were themselves college students. She was about 25 years younger than the “career” servers, who referred to themselves as “Lifers,” having worked the dining room for two decades.

The college kids ignored the older crew, but gave them a modicum of respect, leaving them alone.  The Lifers “ran” the place and had their pick of schedules and work partners.

Camila found that she didn’t fit anywhere. No matter which direction she turned, she was treated as a burden. Telling herself that even if she didn’t make friends, this job presented her with an opportunity to help take care of her son, José, Camila forged ahead. She may not have any fun, but she certainly had a job to do.

Almost immediately, she learned that asking questions was a bad idea. The standard response from her manager was, “What, did we forget to train you?”

Sadly, her “training” apparently consisted of two very busy nights of trailing one of the older servers. The guy not only ignored her questions, but also was condescending and sexist.

When she finally had a few of tables of her own, instead of helping her get the hang of things, he’d impatiently swoop in and serve her tables in addition to his own while she was busy getting drinks or salads for his tables. He treated her training like a competition.

To Camila’s frustration, she repeatedly went to the kitchen to pick up dinner for her tables to hear the cook snidely tell her to “go pick up your tip.” Her tables had been taken care of, but she hadn’t learned a thing. The cook’s snarky comment was often followed by a racial slur mumbled at her back, just loud enough for her to hear.

By the end of the third week, Camila was convinced this was all some sort of “hazing” ritual. Wrapping up her shift, she committed herself to learning the job with or without help, confident she could excel at it, given a little time.

As she entered the locker room, however, she overheard two of the waitresses laughing about her behind her back. Lisa, a twenty-year-old college student, was saying, “Camila must have really brought one of the owners “dessert” to get this job; she obviously has no experience.”

Marge, a “Lifer,” laughed and questioned Camila’s immigration status. “I’ve never even heard her speak. Does she even understand English?” she said, cackling.

At that point, Camila had heard enough. She walked into the locker room and said, “Yes, I understand English very well.” Her face was burning with humiliation, but she stood her ground. The women looked at each other, startled to be caught gossiping, but quickly burst out laughing and walked out as if she didn’t even exist. The younger one even knocked Camila into the wall with her shoulder as she brushed past.

At that point, Camila asked the nicer of the two managers for a private word. They sat in the office as she related her experiences thus far. He listened quietly, but she could tell by his lack of eye contact that he wasn’t going to do anything about the hostile work environment.

He was clearly uncomfortable with the tears of frustration streaming down Camila’s cheeks despite her effort to contain them. After five minutes, he handed her a tissue box and told her, “Take your time and come out when you’re ready.”

He then carefully skirted her and left the office, saying, “I’m sure things will work out once everyone has gotten used to you.”

The next night, Camila was waiting behind Lisa to enter an order into the computer. When the woman turned to leave, she saw Camila and stopped, narrowing her eyes.

“It’s bad enough you’re here stealing jobs from Americans,” the woman hissed, “But you’re a tattletale, too!” She knocked Camila into the brass railing beside them with her hip as she left the station.

At the end of her shift that night, Camila opened her locker to find a dead mouse on top of her purse. Without any proof it was placed there by someone, there was nothing for her to do but grab it with a wad paper towel and throw it out. She did, however, have the presence of mind to take a photograph of it first with her phone.

She called us the next day to schedule a free legal consultation. She said she needed to know what her options were for filing a discrimination claim, and whether it would even be worth it.

Is it worth it to file a discrimination claim?

 We met Camila two days later. She said, “I feel silly coming here. I mean, I should be able to just ignore them.”

We assured Camila that no one should have to endure hostility and discrimination in the workplace.

“Even if their treatment of you wasn’t racially discriminatory, these are clearly not nice people. I’m sorry you’ve been thrown into such a negative work culture,” our lawyer said, adding, “The company is going to have to take responsibility for addressing the behavior of its staff.

“How are you holding up? Are you getting enough sleep?” Camila was petite, but our lawyer suspected she may have lost weight recently. Her lovely brown eyes looked drawn and tired.

“Not enough. I’ve been throwing myself into caring for José, but I haven’t been very hungry lately, and I toss and turn instead of sleeping.

“I’ve lost some weight. Oddly enough, that has somehow made things worse.”

“How so?” The lawyer asked.

“A couple of the younger servers made comments that I was trying to ‘get with’ the managers. They don’t even know me, or my son, or the fact that I’m happily married.

“My husband’s pretty upset. He wants to go storming in and ‘rescue me.’” She laughed, but tears welled in her eyes. She pretended she was studying the light fixture above her head, blinking in an effort to keep from crying. “I keep telling Javi I can fight my own battles.”

“Camila, these aren’t battles you should have to fight,” the lawyer said. “Have you been keeping a record of the harassment?”

“It sounds weird when you call it that, but I guess that’s accurate. Yes,” she answered, pulling out her phone. She showed the lawyer a string of voice recordings she’d dictated as events had occurred.

“Good, that’s going to become part of the evidence for your discrimination case. It’s very important that you keep documenting everything. Dates, times, names. Be as specific as possible; especially with regard to what you’ve discussed with the managers and how they responded.”

What if nothing changes, or the harassment gets worse?

 “So, what happens if I bring a discrimination claim against the hotel and nothing changes? What if it gets even worse?” Camila asked, her shoulders drooping.

“Camila, federal employment law gives you the right to protection from discrimination. The hotel corporation doesn’t get to just ignore this.

“You were smart to bring this to an attorney. We can help you navigate through your situation to the best available outcome. We’ll help to protect your right to work in a physically and psychologically safe environment.

“At this point, speaking up is not only important for your well-being, but also will pave the way for others who come after you.”

 “That is something,” Camila said, looking at the plant in the corner but not really seeing it. “Maybe I can change the company culture for the better. Every step forward helps others who may encounter discrimination. Like José. I want him to grow up to work in a better environment than this.”

That’s when she told us about the mouse.

“I guess they couldn’t find a rat,” she said, wryly.

“Or they knew a rat would be obvious, because there’s no way to claim it could have gotten into your locker on its own.”

“Okay, that’s dark,” Camila said, “But, sadly it makes sense.”

“You still have the photo?” The lawyer asked hopefully.

Camila responded by turning her phone toward him again to reveal a small brown mouse lying on top of her handbag. “Should I have bagged it?” She asked, referring collecting bringing the animal as evidence.”

“I’m not sure; I don’t think our research extends to rodent autopsies,” the lawyer said, trying to think of a way to prove it was intentionally placed in the locker. “If it happens again, call me before you do anything. One mouse in your locker is one thing;  two defies the odds.”

What if they fire me? Will I eligible to collect unemployment?

“So, what happens if I bring a claim and they turn around and fire me?” Camila asked, clearly worried about the possibility.

“Our firm has experience with all sorts of wrongful termination cases, including discrimination and harassment. Remember, you are protected under federal employment law. If the company should move to wrongfully terminate you, we’ll be there to help defend your rights and your reputation.

“In addition, we are going to determine whether you are entitled to compensation for the emotional, psychological, and physical toll this has taken on you.

“If I do get terminated, would I be able to collect unemployment?” Camila asked.

“We’d need to know the specific circumstances of your termination to answer that accurately. For instance, if you quit on your own before this case is over, it’s a different picture than if you are terminated,” said the lawyer.

“If you are coerced into quitting, however, that’s a third scenario. If termination becomes a factor in any form, we’ll take a careful look at the circumstances to determine whether you have the right to compensation as a result,” said the lawyer.

“Please know that you are not alone in this, Camila. Hiring a lawyer to help you navigate a discrimination claim is your best course of action to protect your rights and receive guidance towards the best possible outcome.”

Camila was satisfied with the information we gave her in her free consultation. She retained our firm, and today, we are happy to say we put a stop to the harassment. One supervisor and two employees were fired. The other supervisor was retrained and the entire staff received training in racial equity.

The open manager and two server positions were filled with highly qualified, ethnically diverse candidates.

Camila received compensation for her damages, including punitive damages, making the hotel chain an example across the hospitality industry.

Through it all, Camila held her ground, remaining on staff until her case was resolved. Today, she works among friends and is part of a vastly different— and happier — work culture.

Call Our El Paso Discrimination Lawyer Today

We hope the information on this page has given you a better understanding of your discrimination claim. Since no two cases are exactly the same, please call our El Paso discrimination lawyers to schedule your free legal consultation. You don’t have to take on workplace discrimination by yourself. Call and let us stand up for your rights today.