Sacramento is not exactly close to Los Angeles, but readers here should care about what is going on there, since big news stories affect everyone in a state. That's why the employment law news that sheriff's deputies are suing the Los Angeles Sheriff's Department, claiming that they were discriminated against on the basis of age and race, is important.

Four deputies are suing and three still work for the department. All four are suing separately.

The deputies are suing because they claim that several of them were insulted. One woman, for instance, was told that she was "too old." A second plaintiff, who is of Korean descent, was told he should "go back to Korea."

After they filed internal complaints about the alleged discrimination, the plaintiffs allege they were retaliated against. They claim they were forced to work almost entire days without breaks, water or trips to the bathroom as punishment for reporting the improper behavior. They also say they were held back professionally and were transferred several times, apparently without any regard for their personal wishes regarding the transfers.

A Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department spokesperson has denied all the claims, although they are still under investigation by the Office of Independent Review.

Now, egregious misconduct is one thing. If the plaintiffs really were forced to work for 19 hours at a time without breaks of any sort, that is a terrible violation of our labor laws. However, in circumstances involving insults and perceived discrimination, things get much trickier. Subjective personal reactions come into play and it often devolves into a case of "he said, she said." This is why many employers form relationships with attorneys who have experience defending against these kinds of claims. Such attorneys can become very useful when an employer is accused of allowing conduct such as this.

Source: KABC-TV Los Angeles, "Sheriff's deputies file discrimination, criminal conduct lawsuits against department," Jan. 10, 2012