Calif. Fair Wage Class Action Filed Against Farmers Insurance

A California woman recently filed a class action lawsuit against Farmers Insurance for fair wage discrimination. The lawsuit alleges that Farmers Insurance systematically pays female attorneys less than similarly situated male attorneys.

The California wage discrimination lawsuit was filed by Lynn C., a former Farmers Insurance attorney.

In the class action lawsuit she alleges that Farmers created a working culture where women in the company were not only paid less but were put on slower career tracks. The complaint says that Farmers not only tolerates but cultivates a hostile working environment, where female employees are openly devalued and retaliated against when they voice their concerns about gender discrimination.

In the proposed wage class action lawsuit, Lynn notes that she personally experienced wage and gender discrimination from her Farmers Insurance supervisors. While working at Farmers Lynn, a licensed attorney since 1993, learned that her partner was making $50,000-$100,000 more per year than she was for approximately the same work, according to the class action lawsuit.

Lynn later learned that less qualified attorneys were making salaries equal to hers and other female attorneys within the company were often making $20,000 less than their male counterparts.

According to the Farmers Insurance class action lawsuit, in an attempt to address the problem Lynn brought up the issue with her supervisor. While at first her male supervisor seemed open to addressing and rectifying the issue, over time Lynn noticed that her duties were slowly taken away, eventually leaving her with the responsibilities of paralegal.

“Thus, Farmers tolerates, and even cultivates, a hostile environment in which female attorney employees are openly devalued, where retaliation for voicing gender discrimination complaints is the norm, and where female attorneys who question the company’s gender biases are routinely pushed out,” the class action lawsuit says.

Lynn resigned from Farmers on August 1 after writing a letter to her supervisors explaining that the change in her job duties was unacceptable and amounted to a constructive termination. Lynn firmly believes her treatment at Farmers Insurance was discrimination.

Farmers Insurance is the nation’s third largest personal property and casualty insurance company and employs more than 900 attorneys across the U.S. to defend lawsuits against their customers.

Lynn’s Farmers Class action lawsuit alleges eight separate claims against the company. These claims include violations of the fair labor standards act of 1938, violations of the Title VII Civil Rights Act, violations of the California Fair Employment Act, along with several other violations.

California Labor Law Lawsuits

California labor laws and federal laws
protect the rights of employees to fair wages and non hostile working conditions. When companies violate these laws their employees can bring lawsuits for claims such as wage discrimination, unpaid overtime, unpaid wages, off-the-clock work, and much more.

Employment lawyers and potential plaintiffs bringing a California wage and hour labor lawsuit have the option of bringing a lawsuit individually or as a member of a class action lawsuit.

Bringing a lawsuit individually often gives the plaintiff more autonomy and control of the litigation while class action lawsuits help spread the costs of expensive litigation. The decision to bring a lawsuit individually or as a class action should be made on a case by case basis with the advice of a qualified legal professional.

The California wage discrimination lawsuit is Case No.: 5:15-cv-01913, filed in the US District Court for the Northern District of California, San Jose Division.

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