Workplace Discrimination Lawyer in Pasadena

Pasadena's largest employers have all faced discrimination litigation, JPL's $10M EEOC age-discrimination settlement, Caltech's pending wage class action, and Kaiser's $11.5M race-discrimination class settlement. California's FEHA covers Pasadena employers with 5+ employees for discrimination and any size for harassment. Call us at 1-800-371-3088.

What Is Workplace Discrimination in Pasadena

Workplace discrimination in Pasadena takes many forms: failure to hire, demotion, denial of promotion, unequal pay, harassment, denial of accommodation, and termination because of a worker's race, color, ancestry, national origin, religion, sex, gender, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, age (40 and over), pregnancy, disability, medical condition, marital status, military or veteran status, or genetic information. FEHA (Cal. Government Code section 12940) applies to Pasadena employers with 5 or more employees for discrimination claims and 1 or more for harassment. Federal Title VII (15+ employees), the ADA (15+), and the ADEA (20+) layer on top.

Pasadena Industries Where Discrimination Claims Are Most Common

• Aerospace, research, and Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) workers - at the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) managed by Caltech under a $30 billion 10-year contract running through September 30, 2028 (after 68 years NASA is opening JPL's contract to competitive bidding for the first time, with significant workforce uncertainty). JPL/Caltech engineers and scientists are protected by federal whistleblower laws including the NASA Inspector General Act, Sarbanes-Oxley (18 U.S.C. section 1514A) for any federal contractor work, and California whistleblower protections (Cal. Labor Code section 1102.5). Any major reduction in force may trigger California WARN Act (Cal. Labor Code section 1400 et seq.) notice obligations.
• Higher education workers at Caltech - at the California Institute of Technology - a private research university with a globally-recognized faculty and research staff. Caltech employees have federal whistleblower protections under the False Claims Act (31 U.S.C. sections 3729-3733) for reporting fraud against the U.S. government on federally-funded research, Title IX (20 U.S.C. section 1681), the National Labor Relations Act, and California FEHA / Labor Code protections. Caltech faculty and grad-student researchers have important protections under California Labor Code section 1102.5 (whistleblower retaliation) and Education Code provisions.
• Healthcare workers at Huntington Health (Huntington Hospital) - at Huntington Health (Huntington Hospital) - one of the major hospitals in the San Gabriel Valley. Covered by SB 525 healthcare-worker minimum-wage schedule (Cal. Labor Code sections 1182.14, 1182.15, 1182.16) which reaches $25/hour at large hospital systems on July 1, 2026; California Health & Safety Code section 1278.5 ($25,000-per-violation civil penalty for patient-safety retaliation); and CNA / SEIU-UHW / NUHW collective bargaining agreements.
• K-12 education workers at Pasadena Unified School District (PUSD) - at the Pasadena Unified School District. Covered by California Education Code sections 44930-44987 (permanent-employee dismissal protections), the Educational Employment Relations Act (EERA / Cal. Gov. Code sections 3540-3549.3), Cal. Education Code section 44113 (school-employee whistleblower protections), and CTA-affiliated collective bargaining agreements. PUSD has a dual-enrollment program with Pasadena City College. PEPRA and the 6-month government-claim deadline apply.
• Community college workers at Pasadena City College (PCC) - at Pasadena City College. Community-college employees are covered by HEERA (Cal. Gov. Code sections 3560-3599), Cal. Education Code sections 87600-87683, PEPRA, and the 6-month Government Claims Act deadline.
• City of Pasadena government and Pasadena Water and Power workers - at the City of Pasadena (charter city), the Pasadena Police Department, the Pasadena Fire Department, and Pasadena Water and Power (PWP) - the city's municipally-owned electric and water utility. PWP utility workers may have Energy Reorganization Act section 5851 (42 U.S.C. section 5851) whistleblower protections. Police covered by POBR (Cal. Gov. Code section 3300 et seq.); firefighters by FBOR (Cal. Gov. Code section 3250 et seq.); all public employees by PEPRA, MMBA (Cal. Gov. Code sections 3500-3511), and the 6-month Government Claims Act deadline.
• Retail, restaurant, and hospitality workers in Old Town Pasadena - at Old Town Pasadena, along South Lake Avenue, and at Paseo Colorado. Pasadena has its own Minimum Wage Ordinance (adopted March 14, 2016), with the citywide minimum wage rising to $18.57/hour effective July 1, 2026 (up from $18.04). Fast-food workers at chains with 60+ national locations earn the $20.00/hour AB 1228 floor (Cal. Labor Code section 1474).

Pasadena Local Protections

Pasadena has its own Minimum Wage Ordinance adopted by the Pasadena City Council on March 14, 2016. The citywide minimum wage rises to $18.57/hour effective July 1, 2026 (up from $18.04), the highest in the San Gabriel Valley. Pasadena workers are also covered by the California state minimum wage floor (Cal. Labor Code section 1182.12 - $16.90/hour effective January 1, 2026) and industry-specific state rules including AB 1228 ($20/hour fast-food), SB 525 (healthcare-worker tiered schedule - directly relevant to Huntington Health workers), and AB 701 (warehouse quotas).

California's Equal Pay Act (Labor Code section 1197.5) requires equal pay for substantially similar work regardless of sex, race, or ethnicity. SB 1162 (effective January 1, 2023) requires employers with 15+ employees to include pay scales in every job posting and employers with 100+ to file annual pay-data reports with the California Civil Rights Department. SB 642 (effective January 1, 2026) broadened the definition of "wages" under Labor Code section 1197.5.

California Law

For the full California framework, including FEHA, Title VII, the ADA, the ADEA, equal pay, and pregnancy accommodation, see our California employment law page.

What Compensation Can You Recover

California does not cap FEHA damages. You may recover lost wages (back pay and front pay), emotional-distress damages, punitive damages (employer net-worth driven), and attorneys' fees and costs (Cal. Government Code section 12965(c)). For details, see our California employment law page.

How to File a Discrimination Claim in Pasadena

State FEHA charges go to the California Civil Rights Department (CRD), Los Angeles Office, 320 West 4th Street, 10th Floor, Los Angeles, CA 90013. Federal charges go to the EEOC Los Angeles District Office, 255 East Temple Street, 4th Floor, Los Angeles, CA 90012. Civil suits are heard at the Los Angeles County Superior Court - Pasadena Courthouse, 300 East Walnut Street, Pasadena, CA 91101 (Northeast District). Wage claims can be filed with the California Labor Commissioner (DLSE Van Nuys Office, 6150 Van Nuys Boulevard, Room 100, Van Nuys, CA 91401). Call us at 1-800-371-3088 before any deadline.