- Available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week
- - SE HABLA ESPAÑOL
- Available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week
- - SE HABLA ESPAÑOL
An employment discrimination lawyer helps Woodland Hills workers who are treated unfairly at their job because of a protected trait — race, sex, age, disability, religion, national origin, pregnancy, or another category California law protects. At Mercer Legal Group, that work starts with reading what actually happened to you: the write-ups, the emails, the sudden schedule change after you asked for a medical accommodation. We look at whether an employer crossed a line the law draws, then explain what you can do about it.
Most workplace discrimination claims in California run on two tracks. The state track uses the Fair Employment and Housing Act, or FEHA (California Government Code section 12940), enforced by the California Civil Rights Department (CRD). The federal track uses Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, enforced by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). FEHA usually gives Woodland Hills employees more room: it covers smaller employers and allows more time to file. We walk you through which track fits your situation.
Our office sits at 21031 Ventura Blvd., Suite 103, in Woodland Hills, a short drive from the Warner Center employers where a lot of these disputes start. If you were pushed out, passed over, or punished for speaking up, schedule a free consultation and tell us what happened.
The job breaks into a few concrete tasks. We investigate, pulling personnel files, timelines, texts, and witness accounts to see whether the pattern holds up. We handle the administrative step California requires: filing a complaint with the CRD (or the EEOC) and obtaining a right-to-sue notice before any lawsuit can be filed. And when a case does not settle, we litigate it in Los Angeles County Superior Court.
Most of our employment work falls into three areas: discrimination based on a protected trait, retaliation for reporting or opposing it, and related disputes over wages, leave, or contract terms. Our founding partner, Simon Moshkovich, built the firm around one idea — representing Valley workers means knowing the local filing procedures and the courthouses, from Van Nuys to downtown Los Angeles, that actually hear these cases.
Two things make a real difference when you pick an employment lawyer in the Valley: the firm handles these cases often enough to spot the claim you did not know you had, and it is close enough to actually meet with you.
Mercer Legal Group represents employees only, never employers or their insurers. That side matters. It shapes how we read a personnel file and how we value a case. We take employment matters on contingency, so there is no upfront fee and we are paid only if we recover for you. If you are weighing whether to come forward, that structure lets you get the case reviewed without risking money you may not have after losing a job.
We handle discrimination, harassment (including sexual harassment), retaliation, wrongful termination, and wage disputes. If your situation also involves a harassment complaint, our guide on how to file a workplace harassment complaint in California walks through the steps.
employment
Employment cases follow a set sequence in California. Knowing the steps up front helps you protect deadlines that, if missed, can end a claim before it starts.
Consultation and review. We look at your job history, the conduct at issue, and any documents you have: reviews, emails, HR complaints.
Investigation. We gather personnel records, witness statements, and communications that show the pattern, not just a single bad day.
Administrative filing. Before you can sue under FEHA, you file a complaint with the California Civil Rights Department and request a right-to-sue notice. Under the federal track, that filing goes to the EEOC. This step is mandatory, and it has deadlines.
Negotiation or lawsuit. Many claims resolve through settlement or mediation. When they do not, we file suit in Los Angeles County Superior Court.
Because Woodland Hills sits in the San Fernando Valley, cases for Valley workers are commonly heard at the Van Nuys courthouse, part of the court’s Northwest District, while larger unlimited-civil matters are sometimes assigned to the Stanley Mosk Courthouse in downtown Los Angeles. A local firm knows which venue applies, how those courtrooms run, and how to keep your CRD or EEOC filing on schedule, the kind of detail that is easy to get wrong from out of the area.
Most California employment attorneys, including Mercer Legal Group, take discrimination and retaliation cases on contingency. You pay nothing up front, and the fee comes as a percentage of what we recover, commonly in the 30% to 40% range for this type of work. If there is no recovery, you owe no attorney fee. Initial consultations are free.
A few cases are handled hourly instead, and Los Angeles rates for experienced employment counsel often run several hundred dollars an hour. Litigation also carries costs beyond the attorney fee: court filing fees, deposition transcripts, and expert witnesses when a case needs them. Ask any firm to put the fee agreement and expected costs in writing before you sign. Our overview of how much a discrimination lawyer costs in California breaks the numbers down further.
The most expensive mistake is not a fee. It is hiring someone without real employment-law experience, or waiting so long that a deadline passes. We give you a clear read on both the costs and the timeline before you commit.
Our office on Ventura Boulevard puts us within reach of workers across Woodland Hills and the surrounding Valley: Warner Center, Walnut Acres, Vanalden, Carlton Terrace, and the neighborhoods along the Ventura Boulevard corridor. We serve these areas from one Woodland Hills office, and we do not claim branch locations we do not have.
The local job market shapes the cases we see. Warner Center concentrates large employers in health insurance, finance, technology, and professional services, and the Ventura Boulevard corridor adds retail, medical, and small-business employers. That mix produces a steady stream of the same problems: a manager passed over for promotion after disclosing a pregnancy, a claims processor written up right after requesting a disability accommodation, a sales rep terminated weeks after reporting harassment. We handle these matters for employees who live or work anywhere in the Valley, whether the job is at a Warner Center tower or a storefront on Ventura.
Woodland Hills is part of the City of Los Angeles and Los Angeles County, so both California and federal employment law apply. In most cases California law protects workers more broadly than the federal minimum: FEHA covers employers with five or more employees (Title VII starts at fifteen), reaches more protected categories, and gives you longer to file. The table below shows how the two tracks compare on the points that decide a case.
What it decides | California (FEHA / CRD) | Federal (Title VII / EEOC) |
Governing law | Fair Employment and Housing Act, Gov. Code §12940 et seq. | Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 |
Enforcing agency | California Civil Rights Department (CRD, formerly DFEH) | Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) |
Employer size covered | 5+ employees (harassment claims: all employers) | 15+ employees |
Deadline to file the agency complaint | 3 years from the violation (extended from 1 year by AB 9, effective 2020) | 300 days in California, a deferral state |
Required before you can sue | Right-to-sue notice from the CRD | Right-to-sue notice from the EEOC |
Where the lawsuit is filed | Los Angeles County Superior Court | Federal or state court |
These deadlines are strict. Filing with the wrong agency, or waiting past the window, can bar an otherwise strong claim. Wage and overtime disputes follow a separate path through the California Labor Commissioner (DLSE) rather than the CRD. We identify every deadline that applies to your situation at the first meeting.
Under FEHA, discrimination means an adverse action — firing, demotion, pay cut, denied promotion, or a hostile environment — taken because of a protected trait. Those traits include race, color, national origin, ancestry, sex, gender identity, pregnancy, age (40 and over), disability, medical condition, religion, sexual orientation, marital status, and military status. Here is what those claims usually look like in practice:
Wrongful termination. Fired for a reason the law forbids, or right after you reported one.
Retaliation. Punished for filing a complaint, requesting an accommodation, or reporting harassment or wage violations.
Harassment and hostile work environment. Conduct severe or pervasive enough to change the conditions of your job, including sexual harassment.
Failure to accommodate. An employer refusing to engage in the interactive process for a disability or pregnancy.
Wage and overtime disputes. Misclassification, unpaid overtime, or missed breaks, often surfacing alongside a discrimination claim.
We start every case by looking for violations you may not know exist, such as misclassification hiding unpaid overtime. Then we build the record and, when needed, take it to trial.
Based on how these cases play out in Los Angeles County, a few avoidable errors do the most damage:
No paper trail. Verbal complaints are hard to prove. We tell clients to follow up in writing, an email to HR or a manager, so there is a dated record of what was reported and when.
Missing the deadline. The FEHA filing window is real and it closes. We give you the exact dates for your CRD or EEOC filing at the first meeting so a strong claim is not lost to the calendar.
Quitting before getting advice. How and when you leave a job can change what you are owed. Talk to a lawyer before you resign if you can.
Mercer Legal Group represents employees across Woodland Hills and the San Fernando Valley in discrimination, retaliation, harassment, and wrongful termination matters. Our attorneys are licensed in California, we work from a real office on Ventura Boulevard, and we take these cases on contingency.
If you think you were treated unlawfully at work, the first step is a conversation, at no cost and no obligation. We will tell you honestly whether you have a claim, what deadlines apply, and what the process looks like. Contact us or call (818) 538-3458 to set up a free consultation.
Answers to the questions Woodland Hills workers ask us most about discrimination, retaliation, and the claim process in California.
Employment lawsuits for Woodland Hills workers are filed in Los Angeles County Superior Court. Because Woodland Hills is in the San Fernando Valley, cases are commonly heard at the Van Nuys courthouse in the court’s Northwest District, though larger unlimited-civil matters are sometimes assigned to the Stanley Mosk Courthouse in downtown Los Angeles. Before any lawsuit, you first file an administrative complaint with the California Civil Rights Department or the EEOC.
Under the Fair Employment and Housing Act, you generally have three years from the date of the violation to file a complaint with the California Civil Rights Department, a window extended from one year by AB 9, effective 2020. The federal deadline through the EEOC is shorter, typically 300 days in California. After you receive a right-to-sue notice, you usually have one year to file the lawsuit itself. Because these deadlines are strict, do not wait to get advice.
California requires you to go through an agency before suing your employer for discrimination. You file a complaint with the Civil Rights Department (or the EEOC for federal claims) and request a right-to-sue notice. That notice is what lets you take the case to court. You can request an immediate right-to-sue to proceed straight to litigation, or let the agency investigate first. We handle this filing so it is done correctly and on time.
FEHA is California’s employment discrimination law; Title VII is the federal one. FEHA usually protects workers more broadly: it applies to employers with five or more employees (Title VII requires fifteen), covers more protected categories, and allows a longer time to file. Many Woodland Hills cases proceed under FEHA for that reason, though some claims are brought under both. We advise which track, or both, fits your situation.
Discrimination under FEHA means an adverse job action taken because of a protected trait, including race, sex, pregnancy, age (40 and over), disability, religion, national origin, sexual orientation, or gender identity. That can mean being fired, demoted, denied a promotion, paid less, or subjected to a hostile work environment. Unfair treatment alone is not always illegal; it becomes a claim when a protected trait is the reason behind it.
Most employment discrimination cases here are handled on contingency, so you pay no attorney fee up front. The fee is a percentage of any recovery, commonly 30% to 40% for this type of case, and if there is no recovery you owe no attorney fee. Initial consultations at Mercer Legal Group are free. Ask for the fee agreement and any litigation costs in writing before you hire anyone.
Possibly. You do not have to lose your job to have a claim. Retaliation, being written up, demoted, cut in hours, or reassigned after you reported discrimination, requested an accommodation, or raised a wage issue, is itself unlawful under FEHA. So is harassment severe or pervasive enough to change your working conditions. The best way to know is to have the facts reviewed.
Attorney Advertising. The information on this page is for general informational purposes only and is not legal advice. Reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship. Employment laws change and apply differently to each situation, so consult a licensed California employment attorney about your specific circumstances. Any examples are illustrative only and do not guarantee similar results.
