WHEN insurance companies issue a policy, they promise that they will take care of their policyholders when they suffer a serious loss to their home, their car, or their health….

ACCIDENTS that result in serious injuries affect the injured person and his/her family in significant ways.  Rights to medical treatments, including who should pay for past and future medical expenses,…

A DISABILITY insurance policy pays benefits when you are unable to work because of injury or illness. This allows you to meet your financial obligations, such as mortgage payments, or…

LAST month, we discussed how unpaid wages were sought in a class action lawsuit filed against Dole Food Company by employees who claimed they were not paid for the time…

ELDER abuse is the neglect, exploitation or “painful or harmful” mistreatment of anyone who is 65 years or older or any disabled dependent adult aged 18 to 64.  It may…

CAN the employer legally fire a pregnant employee, who, after using up all her leave under California’s Pregnancy Disability Leave Law (the pregnancy law), is still unable to return to…

DENISE Steffens was a building manager for Regus Group, PLC, a company that rents out staffed office spaces. After Ms. Steffens raised concerns about possible employment violations by the company,…

“ After filing a work comp claim, the employee experiences an adverse employment action, such as demotion, decrease in pay, decrease of work hours, loss of benefits, assignment to unfavorable tasks,…

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,…

Q: CAN an employee be legally fired for job abandonment due to absence caused by an illness? Should the employer provide the employee with reasonable accommodations? A: California’s Fair Employment…

Q: MY boss at work would slap or touch my buttocks, make comments about my breasts, or other parts of my body, and tell me to wear shorter skirts. He…

MING Qu and Ying Wu were from China and enrolled at the University of Southern California (USC) to study electronic engineering. They were fatally shot while sitting in a parked…

WYNONA Harris was hired to drive Santa Monica’s Big Blue Bus. About 40 days into her training period, she had an accident, which the City said was “preventable.” About three…

Q: WORKING in a processing company, I am required to put on a special uniform and undergo sanitary inspections before I can start work. I have to come to work…

Why immigrant employees should fight for their rights IN December, just a few days before International Migrants Day, a federal jury ruled that a Los Angeles-based recruitment agency, Universal Placement…

Q:As an hourly employee, my work schedule is 9am to 5:30pm. We swipe our ID through a time clock when we start and end our work. My supervisor often asks…

WE previously discussed the question of whether an employee’s signature to an independent contractor agreement binds the employee to the terms of that agreement. We noted that the law determines…

THE common belief is that signing an agreement binds an employee to all the terms in the document. But what if the agreement is illegal or a violation of public…

LOOKING at the new iPad she received last Christmas, a young woman noted that it was “Designed by Apple in California, Assembled in China.” She asked what this meant, was…

IN 2012, some very important laws affecting employee rights took effect. These laws included the Wage Theft Prevention Act, increased penalties for willful misclassification of independent contractors, the prohibition of…

Q: I WILL be working on Christmas and New Year days. Am I entitled to holiday pay? A: Hours worked on holidays are treated like hours worked on any other…

NICODEMUS Plumbing, a company in Cypress, California was ordered to pay its 44 employees $858,840.20 in wages and $230,050 in fines for violations of California’s laws concerning overtime pay and…

TRAVELING technicians obtain over $8 million settlement for unpaid work time Lojack Corporation manufactures vehicle-tracking systems. Its technicians install and repair alarm and tracking systems for its clients. These installations…

IN an effort to keep labor costs down, some companies take shortcuts and break the law. One of these shortcuts is to classify workers as “independent contractors” so that they…

EMPLOYEES who are “on the clock” know that the employer must pay for work performed during this time. However, there are situations where it is not quite clear whether a…

Q: I WORK as a “caregiver” for a disabled senior at a private residence. In addition to caring for the senior, I also cook, clean the house, and do the…

ACCORDING to recent statistics, there are about 950 million active users on Facebook, 500 million on Twitter, and 150 million on LinkedIn. Not to mention the active users on MySpace,…

FOR years, special interest groups funded by big business have been perpetuating the myth of “litigation explosion” to justify limiting the legal rights of consumers. Under the guise of “tort…

IN 2008, the California State Controller’s office led a multi-state audit of the practices of 21 national insurance companies, to determine these companies’ compliance with state unclaimed property laws.  California’s…

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…