Advocacy for Community and Employee Empowerment
Dhaliwal Law provides zealous, client-centered representation to employees facing discrimination, harassment, whistleblower retaliation, and other workplace injustices. Additionally, we serve as compliance and investigations counsel to mission-driven organizations.
Serving Clients Throughout California
Employment & Civil Rights Law Firm
Dhaliwal Law is committed to providing strong legal representation to employees in civil rights and employment law matters. We also advise and counsel organizations on labor and employment law. The firm employs an empowerment approach, tailoring legal strategies to clients’ unique circumstances and goals.
Dhaliwal Law’s services include: advice and counsel to current employees engaging in workplace self-advocacy, pre-litigation severance and separation negotiations, litigation of employee challenges to discrimination, harassment, whistleblower retaliation, wage theft, wrongful termination, and other workplace abuses, and compliance and workplace investigations counsel to non-profits, labor unions, and small businesses.
Testimonials
“As a single, full-time working mother, having your employee rights violated puts you in a tremendously vulnerable position. I was scared, hurt, helpless, and worst of all—powerless. I am beyond grateful that a friend connected me with Pawanpreet Dhaliwal… Pawanpreet embodies the power and compassion you expect of fictional superheroes. Confident, earnest, clear, thorough, brilliant, compassionate, kind, encouraging, reliable. I could go on. I’m eternally grateful to have had her on my side while navigating such a hardship.”
“After I was terminated for making whistleblower reports, Ms. Dhaliwal was the only attorney who genuinely listened to me and provided clear, practical advice about my options. After discouraging consultations with other attorneys, her guidance was a welcome relief. It was my first time navigating a termination; her insights were invaluable, and I felt confident moving forward with her representation. She effectively negotiated a fair settlement of my claims, all while balancing my concerns about career reputation and industry relationships moving forward.“
“I highly recommend Pawanpreet Dhaliwal to anyone in need of a dedicated, clear, and compassionate labor and employment attorney. Her professionalism and kindness are a rare combination, and I am so grateful to have had her on my side.”
“Pawanpreet guided me through an extremely disorienting and scary time at a workplace. She listened with compassion while also teaching me not only how to see the situation from various angles where I could understand where I had rights, but more importantly, how I could also help my coworkers to organize around a unified and informed intention.”
“During an unbelievably stressful time for me, I felt relief and confidence having Pawanpreet advocate for me and guide me through my employment discrimination matter. Pawanpreet is not only hardworking and professional, but she is caring and checked up on me at the right times. She is an expert on labor and employment-related matters, and patiently answered whatever questions I had. I highly recommend Pawanpreet for employment and discrimination-related matters.
“I found myself in a precarious situation, being wrongfully terminated in a discriminatory workplace. Knowing I had to act quickly on what to do next in order to support myself and my family. I reached out to Pawanpreet, she was not only the support I needed to negotiate my severance package, but she also understood and sympathized with the stressful and emotional rollercoaster that the process would entail. She’s truly professional and humane all at once; she brought healing to an inhumane situation.”
“I was an executive at my firm and experienced a sensitive HR situation. Going through a sensitive matter you want to have a lawyer like Pawanpreet on your side. She was communicative, thoughtful, and honest with me during the entire experience. Additionally, she settled my case in less than a month, which is unheard of in matters such as this. I highly recommend Pawanpreet…”
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Dhaliwal Law provides preventative and proactive pre-litigation advice and counsel to mission-driven organizations to ensure that their policies and practices comply with both employment and labor law and their own social justice values. Dhaliwal Law also conducts neutral investigations in response to workplace civil rights complaints.
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Federal and state laws require employers to make work accessible to people with physical and mental disabilities by granting “reasonable accommodations.” An employer must provide disabled employees with “reasonable accommodations,” such as changes to job duties, changes to work schedules, leave for medical care, and assistive equipment, unless doing so would pose an “undue hardship” on the employer.
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A constellation of federal statutes and their California analogue, the California Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA), safeguard employees from workplace discrimination based on protected characteristics, which include race, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, physical or mental disability, religion, and national origin. An employer may not make employment decisions (such as the decision to hire or fire) or engage in other unfair treatment against you based on your protected status(es).
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Family and medical leave laws guarantee job-protected leave to covered employees to care for their own medical condition or a family member’s medical condition, or bond with a new child. Generally, the federal Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA) and its California counterpart, the California Family Rights Act (CFRA), require employers to provide eligible employees with 12 weeks of unpaid leave. The CFRA’s protections exceed the FMLA’s, and include more robust safeguards for medical privacy than the FMLA’s.
An employer may not unreasonably deny a request for job-protected leave, interfere with such a leave, or retaliate against an employee for invoking their rights under these statutes.
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In California, equal pay for equal work is the law. Under California’s fair pay law, an employer cannot pay an employee less than a co-worker of another sex, race, or ethnicity performing substantially similar work, irrespective of motivation. Dhaliwal Law is passionate about prosecuting California’s robust pay equity statute to help close gender and racial pay gaps.
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Although workplace harassment based on employees’ protected traits is both immoral and illegal, it remains widespread. Unlawful sexual harassment includes unwanted physical contact, inappropriate comments or jokes, and promises of employment benefits in exchange for sexual favors (“quid pro quo” harassment). Federal and state law also prohibits workplace harassment, including slurs and physical violence, based on protected traits like race, religion, and national origin.
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State and federal laws outlaw wage theft, the illegal practice of employers withholding or failing to pay workers their legally entitled wages. Some examples of wage theft include unpaid overtime, missed meal and rest breaks, failure to pay all wages owed, incorrect classification of workers as independent contractors or as overtime “exempt,” and failure to pay commissions earned.
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California boasts strong and broad anti-retaliation protections for employees who blow the whistle on illegal activity and unsafe working conditions at work, or refuse to participate in violations of law. An employer may not terminate or take other adverse action against an employee for engaging in protected whistleblowing.
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Based in San Francisco and Fresno
Serving Clients Throughout California
From pre-litigation negotiations to arbitration and trial, Dhaliwal Law handles the full range of employment disputes, including discrimination, harassment, retaliation, wage theft, and wrongful termination. The firm also works alongside current employees on employment law matters. For nonprofits, labor unions, and small businesses, Dhaliwal Law serves as compliance and investigations counsel.
With offices in San Francisco and Fresno, we represent clients across California.
Pawanpreet K. Dhaliwal, Esq., Principal Attorney
Holistic, Client-Centered Advocacy for Employees and Mission-Driven Organizations
For more than a decade, Attorney Pawanpreet Dhaliwal has served as employment and civil rights counsel to individuals and organizations. A graduate of Harvard College and the University of California, Berkeley, School of Law, Attorney Dhaliwal strives to provide representation to employees in discrimination, harassment, whistleblower retaliation, and other employment matters, and strategic advice and counsel to organizational clients.
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