HERE is an interesting statistic from the Economic Policy Institute (EPI): In the year 2012, “the US Department of Labor recovered $280 million in back pay for 308,000 workers. That amount – a small fraction of the total wage theft nationwide – far exceeded the total [amount of $139 million] lost to criminals in street…

CA Supreme Court issues an answer EARLY this year, we related the plight of an undocumented worker who was terminated by his employer because of his disability, and whose fate rested on the hands of the California Supreme Court: Vicente Salas started work for Sierra Chemical in 2003 as a seasonal worker in its production…

And what they can do to fight back RONALD Shephard installed garage doors for Lowe’s, a home improvement retailer that operates nearly 100 stores in California. Lowe’s offers its customers installation services for products bought at its stores. In June 2012, Shephard sued Lowe’s in a class action for misclassification, reimbursement and denial of benefits. …

DAVID Bryant worked for 22 years for San Diego Gas and Electric as a bill collection clerk and then as a senior collector. For several years, he has reportedly complained about the company’s illegal bill collection practices that targeted the company’s poor customers who live in densely populated areas. The illegal practice was aimed at…

IN February 2010, Cable’s Restaurant in Woodland Hills, CA was acquired by GACN, Inc. During the acquisition, the employer promised that veteran servers Martha Aboulafia (57 years-old), Cheryl Colgin (57), Patricia Monica (66), Lesi Clothier (55), Patricia Long (74), and Regina Greene (47) will be able to keep their positions. Unknown to the servers, the…

How social media postings can harm an employment case THE internet has become a powerful instrument for socializing and reaching people. Networking sites are now virtual coffee shops for meeting new friends or catching up with old ones by posting comments or photos. Like all other tools, social media has its good and bad side….

ACCORDING to recent reports, Sarah Chookey worked as a commissioned sales employee in the automotive department of Sears in its branch in Thousand Oaks, CA. Apart from commissions, Ms. Chookey was also paid a base pay rate (an hourly rate). When Ms. Chookey worked overtime, her overtime pay was based only on her base pay…

Q: WHILE applying for work at a company, I was asked to sign an “Arbitration Agreement.” I was told it’s part of the application. What exactly is an arbitration agreement? Is it good for me? A: Arbitration is a procedure to resolve  disputes without filing a complaint in court. The disputing parties refer the case…

Q: I WORK for a company that pays us on a piece-rate basis for every task that we finish. A task may take several hours to complete. If we do not complete it by the end of the shift, we are not paid for that task, regardless of the time we already spent working to…

Q: I WORK at a retail company and every employee is required to “pitch in” when it becomes busy. Stocking shelves, cleaning, and putting away merchandise are not part of my official duties but I’m told to do them anyway. Since I am paid per task that I finish, the extra work decreases my time…

THE Los Angeles Times reports that in 2010, eleven officers of the Los Angeles Police Department’s traffic department assigned to the motorcycle unit, sued the city of Los Angeles, claiming that they suffered retaliation because they refused to follow the traffic ticket quota system secretly set by their supervisors. In California, ticket quotas are considered…

(Additional wages due even if clock says otherwise) Q: I AM a full-time hourly technician who work in the field. While we were told  that we have a 30-minute unpaid lunch break every day, we usually cannot take breaks due to the heavy workload. However, the employer still deducts 30 minutes from our work hours. Is…

(Are you paid for all hours worked?) THE cheer squad for the Oakland Raiders, the Raiderettes, recently sued their employer for back wages and reimbursements. The lawsuit claims that the football team withholds pay from the employees until after the football season is finished and does not pay for hours worked outside the games. The…

IN 2003, Vicente Salas started work for Sierra Chemical in its production line filling containers with chemicals used for water treatment. The company hires seasonal workers because demand for its products rises during spring and summer. During fall and winter, the seasonal workers are laid off. They are rehired the following year when product demands…

Internal complaints of illegal acts are protected CATHERINE Zulfer was employed by Playboy Enterprises, Inc. for about thirty years in various accounting positions. During the last eighteen months of her employment, Zulfer served as Playboy’s Senior Vice President and Corporate Controller and reported directly to Playboy’s Chief Financial Officer (CFO). In October 2010, the CFO…

(Unfair does not mean Unlawful) Q: I WORKED in a company for more than 10 years. A new supervisor was recently transferred to my department. This person and I do not get along. Last week, our human resources director informed me that the company was letting me go and gave me my last paycheck. I…

Waiting at work for security checks may be compensable JESSE Busk and Laurie Castro are former employees of Integrity Staffing Solutions, Inc., a company which provides warehouse space and staffing to Amazon.com. They sued their employer in a class action, alleging that Integrity required them and other employees to pass through security screenings at the end…

IN 2002, Bobby Nickel was hired by Corporate Express as a facilities manager. In 2008, Corporate Express was acquired by Staples. In 2011, at the age of 64, Mr. Nickel was suspended and fired.  He sued Staples for age discrimination and harassment. The jury awarded him $26.1 million in damages. For several years prior to…

ON April 27, 2007, Jessica Manosa hosted a party at a vacant residence owned by her parents. Manosa and most of the attendees of the party were under 21 years of age.  She and some friends pooled money together to buy alcohol for the party, then charged people $3 to $5 to enter the party….

Q: I AM an hourly employee at a skilled nursing facility working 12-hour shifts, three days a week. I usually work more than 12 hours per shift finishing up paperwork but we are not paid for the extra time.  There are times when I am asked to work a 4th day during the week for…

JORGE Vasquez worked as a maintenance technician for Franklin Management Real Estate Fund, Inc. He was paid $10 per hour for 40 hours per week. Jorge’s supervisors regularly instructed him to drive his own truck for work-related errands, such as going to the hardware store to buy items needed for apartments managed by his employer….

“INVOLUNTARY job loss is a stressful event, creating a variety of problems immediately, and long periods of unemployment can compound those problems,” states The Urban Institute, in a report it prepared for the Rockefeller Foundation entitled Consequences of Long-Term Unemployment. As employment attorneys, we are only too familiar with the sad realities of being fired. …

Courts look at several factors to determine whether a worker is an employee or an independent contractor. The most important factor is the employer’s right to control the worker’s manner and means of performing the job. KEEPING labor costs down by taking unlawful shortcuts does not pay. One of these illegal shortcuts is to classify…

KYLE Hunter is a weather forecaster and broadcaster for over 23 years, who won several prestigious awards. He sued CBS Broadcasting, Inc. for discrimination, alleging that two of CBS’ television stations (KCAL and KCBS) repeatedly refused to hire him as a weather news anchor because of his gender and age, even though he had more…

MAX Taylor started work for Nabors Drilling as a “floorhand” on an oil rig in June 2010. Joe Mason and Jaime Mendez were Taylor’s supervisors. Several times a day, Mason called Taylor a “queer,” “homo,” and “gay porn star.”  Taylor protested to Mason that he was not a homosexual and that he had a girlfriend….

LAST week, we wrote about the California Family Rights Act (CFRA) which entitles qualified employees 12 weeks of leave from work when they have to care for their seriously ill child, parent or spouse, for birth of and bonding with a newborn, or for the adoption or foster care a child. In the absence of…

Q: I HAVE been working for 5 years in Los Angeles for a company that has about 100 employees. I wanted to take a leave of absence from work to care for my sick child. My boss does not want to allow me to take leave and said if I take off, my position will…

EMPLOYEES who want to be more vigilant of their rights in the workplace this year may want to pay attention to the following laws and developments: Overtime  Work of more than 8 hours per day or more than 40 hours per week must be paid overtime compensation computed at either 1.5 times the employee’s regular…

Q: AS an employee for a service provider company, I am paid an hourly rate and an additional piece rate if I respond to customer calls after hours. I often work more than 8 hours per day and on weekends. I am paid overtime based only on my hourly rate. Since I’m also receiving a…

ALFREDO Villacorta, a Filipino mechanical engineer, worked as a maintenance planner at Cemex Cement, Inc., a large cement production company with a plant in Victorville. Villacorta transferred to Victorville from Cemex’s plant in the Philippines where he worked for 15 years. Villacorta was laid off from Cemex on February 22, 2008. At that time, he…