If your employer discriminated against you at work, you might think money damages are the only way to fix the problem. But California law offers other options that can make a real difference in your career and workplace.
When you pursue a discrimination claim under the California Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA), courts can order your employer to do more than write a check. These non-monetary remedies can help you get your job back, change harmful policies, and prevent future discrimination.
Non-Monetary Remedies in California Discrimination Cases
Under California’s Fair Employment and Housing Act, courts can order several types of relief beyond money damages. These remedies address the harm you suffered and create lasting change in your workplace.
-
Reinstatement to Your Position
Getting your job back can be one of the most powerful remedies in a discrimination case. If your employer fired you because of your race, sex, disability, age, or another protected characteristic, a court can order them to reinstate you.
Reinstatement means your employer must:
- Give you back your old position or a comparable one
- Restore your seniority and benefits
- Treat you as if the termination never happened
Courts won’t order reinstatement in every case. If the relationship between you and your employer has broken down so badly that working together would be impossible, reinstatement might not work. But when it does work, it puts you back where you belong.
-
Reasonable Accommodations for Disabilities
If you have a disability and your employer refused to provide reasonable accommodations, a court can order them to make those changes.
Under California law, employers with five or more employees must accommodate workers with disabilities unless it would cause undue hardship.
Courts can require employers to provide:
- Modified work schedules or part-time arrangements
- Ergonomic equipment or assistive technology
- Accessible workspaces and facilities
- Changes to company policies that create barriers
- Reassignment to vacant positions you’re qualified for
The California Civil Rights Department can also order accommodations as part of their investigation. These accommodations must be effective and allow you to perform the essential functions of your job.
-
Policy Changes and Training Requirements
Sometimes discrimination happens because a company’s policies are flawed or managers don’t know the law. Courts can order employers to fix these systemic problems.
Policy changes might include:
- Rewriting discriminatory hiring or promotion procedures
- Creating clear complaint processes for harassment
- Updating employee handbooks to reflect anti-discrimination laws
- Establishing better leave policies for disabilities or family care
California employers with five or more employees must already provide harassment prevention training, but courts can order additional training tailored to your employer’s specific problems.
This training can cover discrimination, retaliation, reasonable accommodations, or other areas where the employer failed.
-
Injunctive Relief to Stop Future Discrimination
Injunctive relief means a court orders your employer to stop doing something harmful or to take specific actions going forward. This type of remedy prevents the same discrimination from happening to you or other employees in the future.
Courts can issue orders requiring employers to:
- Stop using discriminatory screening tools or tests
- Cease retaliatory actions against employees who complain
- Implement new procedures for handling accommodation requests
- Monitor compliance with anti-discrimination laws
- Report back to the court on their progress
The California Civil Rights Department can also obtain injunctive relief without proving any specific discriminatory act occurred. They have authority to order preventative measures if an employer is failing to prevent and correct discriminatory conduct.
-
Letters of Reference and Job Placement Assistance
When discrimination damages your reputation or derails your career, you might need help getting back on track. Some remedies can include:
- Neutral or positive letters of reference
- Removal of negative information from your personnel file
- Correction of false statements made about your performance
- Job search assistance or career counseling
These remedies help undo the damage to your professional reputation. If your employer spread false information about why you were terminated, correcting the record can be crucial for finding new work.
-
Attorney Fees and Costs
While not technically a remedy, California law allows successful plaintiffs to recover their attorney fees and costs. This means if you win your discrimination case, your employer must pay your legal bills.
This provision exists because employment discrimination cases often involve individual workers going up against large companies with deep pockets. Without fee-shifting, many workers couldn’t afford to enforce their rights.
Why Non-Monetary Remedies Matter
Money damages compensate you for lost wages and emotional distress. But non-monetary remedies can:
- Get you back to work with your benefits intact
- Create lasting change in your workplace
- Prevent other workers from suffering the same treatment
- Hold employers accountable beyond just writing a check
- Give you tools and accommodations you need to succeed
For many workers, these remedies are more valuable than money alone. Getting your job back with proper accommodations can mean years of stable employment. Forcing your employer to change discriminatory policies can protect dozens or hundreds of future employees.
Your Rights Under California Law
California’s anti-discrimination laws give workers powerful tools to fight back against unfair treatment. The Fair Employment and Housing Act protects employees from discrimination based on:
- race
- color
- religion
- sex
- gender
- sexual orientation
- national origin
- ancestry
- disability
- medical condition
- genetic information
- marital status
- age
- military or veteran status
If you experienced discrimination at work, you have options beyond money damages. Reinstatement, accommodations, policy changes, and injunctive relief can all be part of your recovery.
Before you can pursue these remedies in court, you must file a complaint with the California Civil Rights Department.
You generally have three years from the date of discrimination to file. The CRD will investigate your claim or issue you a right-to-sue notice so you can file a lawsuit. An experienced California employment lawyer can help you pursue all available remedies.
What You Should Request Beyond Financial Compensation
At Malk Law Firm, we represent workers across California in discrimination cases involving race, sex, age, disability, and other protected characteristics.
If your employer treated you unfairly because of who you are, contact us today for a confidential consultation. We’ll review your situation, explain your rights, and fight to get you the relief you deserve.
