LGBT Discrimination Lawyer in Oakland

An Insider’s View of How Employers Fight Back. We Use It Against Them.

California law and federal law both prohibit employment discrimination based on sexual orientation, gender identity, and gender expression. At Benton Employment Law, PC, we represent Oakland-area employees who have faced discriminatory hiring decisions, harassment, wrongful termination, or other adverse treatment tied to who they are or how they identify. Trial attorney Chambord Benton-Hayes leads every matter with the courtroom and arbitration experience these cases demand.

If your employer has subjected you to discrimination or harassment based on your sexual orientation or gender identity, call us at (510) 650-0250 to discuss your situation.

Why Oakland Employees Work With Benton Employment Law, PC

Before founding Benton Employment Law, PC, Chambord Benton-Hayes worked at the San Francisco office of an international law firm defending some of the largest employers in the United States and globally. That background gives us an insider’s view of how major companies structure their defense strategies, calculate risk tolerance, run internal investigations, and allocate litigation resources. When we sit across from corporate defense counsel, we know how they think.

In 2023, Benton Employment Law, PC secured three of California’s top settlements, including the state’s number one settlement for disability discrimination. Attorney Benton-Hayes was recognized by the Daily Journal as a Top Plaintiff’s Attorney and Employment Litigator in California in 2024, and she has been selected to Super Lawyers® Rising Stars every year from 2021 through 2025.

What LGBT Workplace Discrimination Looks Like

Discrimination doesn’t always announce itself. It can appear in a hiring decision that never gets explained, a promotion that goes to a less qualified colleague, or a termination following an employee’s transition. Harassment can be just as damaging, whether it takes the form of derogatory comments from a supervisor, jokes tolerated by management, or a sustained pattern of conduct from coworkers that makes showing up every day unbearable.

California law also protects specific aspects of gender identity in the workplace that are frequently violated:

• Name and pronoun use: Employees have the right to be addressed by their correct name and pronouns.
• Facility access: Employees may use restrooms and facilities consistent with their gender identity.
• Perceived identity: Discrimination is unlawful even when based on an employer’s mistaken assumption about an employee’s sexual orientation or gender identity.
• Associational discrimination: California law prohibits adverse treatment against an employee because they associate with an LGBTQ+ person.

Legal Protections for LGBTQ+ Employees in California

California’s Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA) is among the strongest state-level employment discrimination statutes in the country. It explicitly prohibits discrimination based on sexual orientation, gender identity, and gender expression, and it applies to any employer with five or more employees. Coverage extends across the full employment relationship: hiring, pay, assignments, discipline, promotion, and termination.

Federal protection comes through Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. In Bostock v. Clayton County, the U.S. Supreme Court held that discrimination against an employee because of their sexual orientation or gender identity constitutes sex discrimination under Title VII. That ruling confirmed federal coverage nationwide and opened access to the federal court system for LGBTQ+ employees alongside state remedies under the FEHA. Oakland also maintains a local nondiscrimination ordinance covering sexual orientation and gender identity in employment, with claims channeled through the state or federal agency process.