Strict leave policy may discriminate against pregnant & disabled employees
Q: AFTER12 weeks of medical leave for a surgery, I told my employer I could not go back to work yet. One day after I was supposed to be due…
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#Equal play #Equal pay – US Women Soccer Team sues to end pay discrimination
THE U.S .Women Soccer Team (“Women’s Team”) has won a record three World Cup championships, four Olympic gold medals, and many other international competitions. It is the three-time winner of…
Caregivers are entitled to overtime pay – whether they work at a facility or private home
JACQUELINE C. worked as a caregiver for ABC Senior Care at its facility in Ventura, California. She was assigned to care for only one patient who lives at the facility….
Did the employer give disclosure of its background check on you?
SO you applied for a job. Your prospective employer may likely do a background check on you. This is true particularly for those applying in sensitive job positions. Some employers…
Work-life balance & preventing pregnancy discrimination
SIX attorneys sued their employer, Morrison & Foerster, one of the largest law firms in the country, claiming that their employer discriminated against them by holding them back in their…
Firing an employee for being pregnant and unmarried is illegal
KOURTNEY Liggins worked as an eighth-grade teacher for 5 years at the Transfiguration School, a religious-run school in Los Angeles. Liggins was unmarried and seven months pregnant when her boss…
Missed meal and rest periods are a big deal – you could be owed additional pay!
WACKENHUT Corporation, which is now known as G4S Secure Solutions (USA) Inc., is a global security solutions company that employs thousands of private security officers, including some in California. Three…
Transportation workers classified as independent contractors are exempt from arbitration, may sue in court
DOMINIC Oliveira works as a driver for New Prime, Inc., an interstate trucking company. On paper, Mr. Oliveira is not an employee because he signed contracts with New Prime, labeling…
Employer’s attorney who reported undocumented worker to ICE maybe liable for retaliation
“ Arias came to know of these plans. Fearing that he would be deported and separated from his family, Arias suffered anxiety and emotional distress. One month before trial, Arias…
Remedies for retaliation after whistleblowing on employer misconduct
BRIAN Gruzalski worked as an airplane mechanic for FedEx. Stanley Langevin was his supervisor. Mark Collins was their manager. These three employees sued FedEx claiming that it retaliated against them…
Dealing with sexual harassment and retaliation at work
“ A hostile environment is created when unwelcome sexual conduct unreasonably interferes with an individual’s job performance or creates an intimidating, hostile or offensive working environment. Even if there is…
Important new legal protections for employees in 2018
HERE are some important laws that were created or that took effect in California in 2018 to continue to protect employees: CA Supreme Court Tightens Laws on Independent Contractor Misclassification…
Managers, supervisors and administrators are not automatically exempt from overtime
A GROUP of Assistant Branch Managers, who worked for JPMorgan Chase in California, sued the bank in a class action claiming they were misclassified as exempt employees. Because of the…
What to do if asked to sign a separation or release document at termination
“A severance pay is usually calculated according to a specific formula, often based on the employee’s length of service. An employee may try to negotiate for more severance pay than…
Ending sexual misconduct at work and the importance of court access
LATE last year, bipartisan senators proposed a new law called Ending Forced Arbitration of Sexual Harassment Act of 2017 for Congress’ approval. This bill would ensure that every person facing…
Should employers provide seats for their employees?
“California law generally requires employers to provide suitable seats to employees when the nature of the work reasonably permits the use of seats. Calfornia courts have clarified that the phrase…
Mocking an employee’s physical condition may be disability harassment
“To prevail on a harassment claim, the employee must show that the conduct created a hostile work environment. A hostile work environment is one in which harassment occurs that is severe, frequent,…
Employees working in and out of California: Are they protected by CA law?
A GROUP of flight attendants from Virgin America, Inc. sued the company for unpaid wages and missed breaks. The employees alleged that Virgin did not pay them for the following:…
Remedies for employees who blow the whistle on employer misconduct
SUSANNA Smith worked as a superintendent, and Cleve Pell worked as an operations officer for the Montebello Unified School District (MUSD). In the course of doing their jobs, Smith and…
Sick employee entitled to ‘reasonable accommodation’ even after lengthy absence
TRISTAN Do worked as a mechanical engineer at Raytheon Space and Airborne Systems Company for eight years without any issues. However, that changed when he started reporting to a new…
Yes, you’re paid overtime, but is it computed correctly?
(Bonuses and shift differential pay can increase overtime rates) “Under California law, overtime pay is computed on the basis of the employee’s “regular rate” of pay. If the employee receives…
Misclassified workers granted more protections against fly-by-night employers
(Holding others liable for payment of wages) CALIFORNIA’S Labor Commissioner’s Office has awarded over $45 million in unlawful deductions from wages and out-of-pocket expenses to more than 400 misclassified port…
Recent updates to California’s sexual harassment laws – are your rights affected?
THE area of sexual harassment litigation involves complex rules that are continually evolving. Last month, California lawmakers signed some laws designed to close several loopholes in California’s sexual harassment laws….
Filipino survivors of human labor trafficking bring “Employers” to justice
EARLY this month, state and local law enforcement arrested employers who were operating adult residential and child care facilities in the Bay Area. The employers were charged with human trafficking…
Same-sex harassment at work equally illegal
(Employer’s failure to prevent is actionable) COLE H worked as a truck driver for Beverly Fabrics for eight years. During the last 5 years of his employment, he experienced bullying…
Taking leave from work to care for sick family members is protected by law
Q:I HAVE been working for 5 years in a Los Angeles company with 52 employees. I requested a leave of absence from work to care for my sick 21 year-old…
Are you paying your employer’s costs of doing business?
(Your rights to reimbursements may be significant) Q: AS part of my work, I travel to clients using my own car and I pay for gas. I also make several…
Should employees pay the cost of “dress code” required at work?
ALEXANDER Brown and Arik Silva worked as retail sales associates at Abercrombie & Fitch Co., a company that operates retail clothing stores throughout the United States. Brown and Silva sued…
Are you getting paid less because of your gender?
THE California Fair Pay Act (a.k.a. the Equal Pay Act), enacted in October 2015, prohibits employers from paying employees less than those of the opposite sex for “substantially similar work,”…
Should employees who “volunteer” to work off-the-clock be paid?
Q: I WORK as a nurse at a hospital that has a strict policy of no unapproved overtime, and no going on breaks unless we are relieved by another nurse….