On June 9, 2021, five current and former employees of the City of Long Beach filed a lawsuit in the Superior Court of California for the County of Los Angeles. The lawsuit’s plaintiffs allege that they have faced systematic racial discrimination in their employment by Long Beach.
Specifically, the complaint alleges five causes of action by Black employees against the City of Long Beach:
- Unequal pay to Black employees as compared to non-Black employees in violation of the Fair Employment and Housing Act;
- Failure to promote plaintiffs because of their race;
- Unequal pay to Black employees as compared to non-Black employees for equal and substantially similar work in violation of the California Equal Pay Act;
- Failure to prevent discrimination and harassment from occurring; and
- Retaliation by the City against employees who previously opposed and spoke out against the City’s unlawful and discriminatory practices.
This lawsuit seeks to hold the City accountable for its history of discrimination against employees based solely on their race.
If you have experienced racial discrimination in the course of your employment with Long Beach, know you are not alone. You may have a legal claim for relief through the present class-action lawsuit.
What Constitutes a Class Action Lawsuit
Class-action lawsuits provide an avenue for one or more plaintiffs to bring legal action on behalf of a larger group. A class-action lawsuit can be filed where:
- There is a “class” that is large enough such that joining and naming all individual members of the class in the lawsuit would be impracticable;
- All members of the class share common questions of law or fact;
- The claims of the plaintiffs in the lawsuit are typical of those of the collective class; and
- The plaintiffs are able to fairly and adequately represent the interests of the entire class.
The facts of this case against the City of Long Beach fall squarely within the requirements of filing a class-action lawsuit.
Who Is Part of the Class?
There are five plaintiffs listed as part of the class-action lawsuit for racial discrimination against Long Beach. However, the lawsuit estimates that there are approximately 1,000 individuals who may qualify as members of this class action lawsuit.
Thus, if you have similar allegations of racial discrimination against the City of Long Beach, you may still be able to pursue a potential legal claim.
All Black employees who have faced discrimination based on their race and who worked for the City of Long Beach from June 3, 2018, through the date of the trial may be considered members of the class. For purposes of this lawsuit, “employee” includes:
- Union workers,
- Non-union workers,
- Classified workers,
- Unclassified workers, and
- Non-career workers.
Regardless of your particular employment classification, if you have been subjected to racial discrimination by the City of Long Beach, give our California class-action attorneys a call today.
Have a Potential Claim for Racial Discrimination Against Long Beach?
If you have faced racial discrimination in your employment with the City of Long Beach, know that you have rights. At Workplace Rights Law Group, our California class action lawsuit attorneys have helped countless clients recover valuable and well-deserved compensation from their employers.
If you are a current or former employee of the City of Long Beach and have faced racial discrimination in the course of your employment, contact our team today for a free case review. Let’s discuss your case and see what we can do to help you recover.