Civil Rights Attorney Hawaii
A Honolulu Civil Rights Law Firm Fighting For Our Clients’ Rights and Freedoms
In Hawaii, the civil rights lawyers at Fujiwara and Rosenbaum, LLLC have successfully fought for victims of civil rights violations. Your civil rights can not be infringed or denied by another individual or entity, including employers. Your fundamental civil rights include the right to equality, the right to vote, freedom of religion, freedom of speech, and your right to assembly. Citizens should consider contacting a Hawaii civil rights attorney if any of the aforementioned civil rights are violated, as navigating constitutional and interpretive law rules can be difficult.
Under Federal and Hawaii state law, in part, covered employers are prohibited from discriminating against covered employees because of their actual or perceived: Race, Gender, Pregnancy, Age, Sexual Orientation, Disability, National Origin and Religion.
If you suspect your civil rights or civil liberties have been violated, contact the Hawaii civil rights lawyers at Fujiwara and Rosenbaum, LLLC. You may be entitled to compensation.
A Hawaii civil rights attorney can help if employment discrimination occurred at any phase during the potential or actual employment relationship.
For example, covered employers may not discriminate against employees in the employment relationship including during:
Job interview (e.g., asking illegal interview questions)
Promotion, demotion, assignment or transfer
Compensation issues (e.g. discriminatory pay practices for men and women)
Selection for group layoff, reduced hours or reduced benefits
Illustrative examples of race discrimination may be:
Persistent use of ethnic slurs, stereotyping, comments on cultural habits or offensive jokes which negatively affects the employee’s work performance
Isolation from employees of a different race
Denial of promotions when employees of a different race with less experience are promoted
Termination due to company layoffs while employees of a different race maintain their positions
Paid less salary for equivalent work as persons of a different race
Refusal to hire a person of a particular race, when a less qualified applicant is hired who is of a different race
Illustrative examples of gender discrimination may be:
A male boss refers to his female colleagues as “girls”
Employer denies benefits to female employees’ families while providing benefits to male employees’ families
Paid less salary for equivalent work as male employees
Denial of promotions while male employees with less experience are promoted (glass ceiling)
Asked during a job interview whether you intend to start a family and have children
Denial of requests to modify working hours to care for children, but male employees are granted such requests
Illustrative examples of national origin discrimination may be:
Harassment and derogatory comments regarding a male employees’ Jamaican ethnicity, due to his accent and the way he wears his hair
Not hired at a Italian restaurant because of Chinese ethnicity
Not offered a position by an employer that limits public contact because female employee wears a Sari or because Hispanic employee has an accent
Termination of Arab employee after recent arrest of suspected terrorists
Illustrative examples of religion discrimination may be:
Refusal to grant a reasonable accommodation of scheduling a Muslim employee’s breaks for his or her prayer session
Refusal to hire an employee for wearing a yarmulke in his practice of the Jewish religion
Requiring a Jehovah Witness employee to participate in a birthday celebration for a co-worker
Requiring a Muslim employee to participate in a Christmas gift exchange
Forbidding an employee from engaging in a religion expression which is not an undue hardship on the employer
Religious harassment of an employee
Illustrative examples of age discrimination may be:
Promoting a younger employee with less experience over an older employee
Firing older workers and replacing them with younger employees
Layoff of all employees over the age of 40 during downsizing
Forcing early retirement
Harassment of an older employer based on age, such as age related jokes (e.g., grandpa, is it AARP time yet?, etc.), comments and gestures
Illustrative examples of pregnancy discrimination may be:
Denial of temporary disability for pregnancy bed rest, while granting temporary disability to a male employee for an injury
Demotion after returning from maternity leave, while male employees are not demoted for being new parents
Termination after employee informs employer that she is pregnant
Employer requiring mandatory pregnancy leave, while employee can still perform the essential functions of job
Health insurance plan provided by employer excludes maternity coverage
Refusing to hire or promote employee because of pregnancy
Illustrative examples of disability discrimination may be:
Denial of a reasonable accommodation to an employee who requires such to perform the essential functions of their job
Denial of medical leave for depression or other psychological illness, while employees with physical illness are granted such leave
Disability harassment such as intimidating jokes, comments or gestures imitating employees disability
Failure to install accommodating restroom facilities or handrails despite requests
Denial of hiring or promotion because of disability
Unequal pay compared to employees who perform same level of work
Denial of breaks to attend doctor appointments
Refusal to hire employee because of perceived disability
Federal Law
We represent employees who have employment-law related claims under Federal statutes including but not limited to Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (Title VII), the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA), Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act (COBRA), Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA), Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (USERRA), and other federal laws that protect against discrimination. We have represented employees in federal court and before the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC).
Federal Law: Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA)
Our Hawaii civil rights lawyers represent employees regarding FMLA rights or who have been denied their FMLA rights. FMLA is a federal statute however Hawaii also provides for medical leave under Hawaii Family Leave Law. It is important to consult with an attorney experienced in FMLA matters.
Generally under Federal law, eligible employees may take up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave in a 12 month period for serious health conditions under the FMLA.
Serious health conditions may include:
Birth and care of a child
Acceptance of adopted of foster children
Caring for a spouse, child or parent with a serious medical condition
An employee’s own serious medical condition
For example, if an employee’s mother is diagnosed with cancer and the employee must stay home from work in order to care for her, the employee is entitled take up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave within the following 12 month period to care for her mother.
Generally, employers are prohibiting from eliminating the employee’s position upon their return from medical leave, without offering an equal position. Employers are prohibited by law from retaliating, harassing or discriminating against employees for taking family medical leave.