Change in Job Duties May be Wrongful Discrimination

You may be wondering whether an employer can change your job duties. Have you been employed for some time, and now your employer wants to change your work responsibilities in a way that makes you question their intent? Perhaps they’re taking away responsibilities or changing your role entirely. Maybe the employee is increasing your work hours after maternity leave or requiring that you travel abroad with your infant. Or, was the job described one way and now that you’ve started, the duties seem to be very different than what was advertised.

Ordinarily, an employer has the right to change job duties and responsibilities. Those job changes, however, must be done to further the organization’s needs. An employer can never change job duties based on discrimination or retaliate against an employee.

Wrongful Discrimination

Frequently, workplace discrimination will be subtle. Most employers know that discrimination is unlawful and could lead to a lawsuit. They may hide their real intentions behind blanket statements like “office needs” or “organizational needs.”

As a precaution, an employer may avoid putting anything in writing or saying anything. Having statements like these could show an employer’s real intentions. So, how do you decipher whether a job duty change is based on organizational needs or if it’s really discrimination/retaliation?

The California Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA) makes it illegal for any employer to discriminate against a protected class of employees or job applicants. The protected class includes a person’s: race, religious creed, color, national origin, ancestry, physical disability, mental disability, medical condition, genetic information, marital status, sex, gender, gender identity, pregnancy, gender expression, age (40 and over), sexual orientation, or military and veteran status.

Discrimination isn’t just limited to minorities. Workplace discrimination can affect anyone. Suppose an employer perceives that a person belongs to one of the protected classes stated above and discriminates against them because of their protected class. It doesn’t matter that the employer was mistaken about the employee’s status. In these cases, the employer will still violate discrimination laws.

California provides many employers with protected status. Federal laws also offer protected status to many and prohibit employment discrimination based on similarly protected grounds. 

Changes to Your Job Description

Employees governed by employment contracts cannot have their job duties changed without an agreement. Similarly, employees under a collective bargaining agreement setting forth specific work roles and conditions cannot have their job descriptions changed either.

However, most employees do not fall under those limited windows because employees are presumed to be “at will.” That means that the employment is voluntary. The employee is free to quit when they want to. While it’s standard to provide two weeks of notice, there is no legal requirement for it.

When an employee is “at will,” a company can terminate them or change their job duties more efficiently. The most significant caveat is that the employer’s action cannot be discriminatory or retaliatory.

So, what proof do you need to show employment discrimination?

Proof of Employment Discrimination

Evidence of employment discrimination can come in many ways. For example, you and your fellow employees may notice a pattern. Perhaps certain employees of a specific racial or gender class are treated differently from other employees.

Or, perhaps your work hours, schedule, or location changed to stop you from taking your guaranteed leave under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA).

Similarly, employers cannot transfer an employee to another position or require different hours after coming back from leave guaranteed under the FMLA. This could be considered retaliatory.

A whistleblower may also have legal recourse if their job was changed after reporting a legal violation by their employer.

Below are some examples of possible discrimination may include:

• Sudden adverse changes in job performance reviews.
• Being excluded from meetings and events common to your role or position.
• Changes to work duties or workload increase.
• Reduced hours or reduced pay.
• New and additional reporting or managerial layers for specific employees.

If these circumstances arise, it is essential to document everything. Suppose most of these things happen verbally and in meetings that are not recorded through email. In that case, you can still formalize those conversations by sending an email recapping what transpired. Printing out email correspondence and jotting down conversations that show certain groups of employees are treated differently from other employees can be helpful to show that actions were actually discriminatory.

Suppose you feel that a change in your job description or work-related duties was a result of discrimination or retaliatory practice, in that case, our employment attorneys at  SANFORD A. KASSEL, A Professional Law Corporation can help. Contact us today for a consultation to learn whether your rights in the workplace may have been violated.