Employment Law
Your job is your life. All employees deserve a working environment where their legal rights are respected and protected. Loss of a job, unpaid wages, or mistreatment can be financially and emotionally devastating. At The Work Justice Firm, we are committed to defending the rights of employees who have suffered injustice at work. We help employees fight back against unlawful practices and pursue all available remedies including taking cases to trial.
We represent employees in all industries and at all employment levels. We have the experience, resources, and legal skill to help you fight against any company. We take great pride in getting justice for mistreated employees. Our clients do not pay anything out of pocket. If we don’t win, you don’t pay!
Workers’ Compensation
If you have suffered an injury in a workplace accident or a disease due to your job, you may be eligible for workers’ compensation benefits through your employer’s insurance company. All employers in California are required to carry workers’ compensation insurance and all employees are covered, regardless of whether you are full-time or part-time and regardless of whether you are at fault for your injury.
The Work Justice Firm can help guide you through the workers’ compensation system. We have substantial experience helping injured workers navigate their claims and fight for compensation. Call us today for a free consultation!
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Employment in California is “at-will.” This means that for most employees their employer may fire them at any time and for any reason so long as it’s not an unlawful reason. The termination may be unfair, but being unfair is not necessarily unlawful. The termination is unlawful when it is motivated by an employee’s membership in a protected category like age, race, religion, sex, national origin, etc. Also, employees may not be terminated for engaging in protected activity, like taking time off to recover from injury or reporting fraudulent activity at the company. Wrongful termination may also occur where there was a breach of an employment contract. If you think you have been wrongfully terminated, please contact a skilled lawyer at the Work Justice firm to see how we can help.
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Pregnant employees must be treated the same as any other employee and employers can be held liable for their misconduct. Pregnant women are protected at all times during their employment, beginning at the hiring process and extending to cover compensation, job benefits, and termination. Although the law prohibits discriminating or retaliating against pregnant employees, many business owners continue to violate the law.
You may want to speak to a Work Justice attorney if you have experienced any of the following:
Demotion before, during, or immediately following your leave
Removal of responsibilities or write-ups in retaliation for your pregnancy
Termination before, during, or following your leave
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For employees who are about to be terminated or who have already been terminated, we can aggressively negotiate severance packages. Even if you are in the middle of the process, we can step in and make sure you get fair treatment and compensation. Often if severance has been offered, we can negotiate the amount significantly higher.
It’s important to understand that severance agreements are often drafted by the employer to protect the employer. The language protecting the employer is broad and intended to insulate the employer from claims. Similar language is often not included to protect the employee. Most severance agreements require the employee to waive his or her right to sue the company for any reason whatsoever, including discrimination, retaliation, and failure to pay all wages due. In other words, once you sign, you cannot bring claims even if you later discover you have viable ones.
The severance pay is money that an employer pays to an employee who is laid off or fired. Employers are not required to offer severance pay to their employees. But often employers offer severance pay in exchange for the employee giving up his or her legal rights and waiving any right to sue the company for violations that may have occurred. A skilled employment lawyer will advise you as to what rights you are waiving in your severance and can maximize the settlement pay you receive.
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When an employee publicly reports an employer’s illegal conduct, they are referred to as whistleblowers. Employees who blow the whistle often report fraud, illegal practices, or safety violations. Whistleblowers are protected against adverse employment actions from the company including but not limited to termination, demotion, and reduction in compensation. Strong laws exist to protect employees who do the right thing and blow the whistle.
It takes a lot of courage to stand up to the organization you work for. If you have blown the whistle or are considering doing so, please contact Work Justice to speak with an experienced attorney who can help.
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California has many retaliation laws that protect employees and hold their employers accountable. Employees cannot be retaliated against for engaging in protected activity, like taking time off to recover from injury or reporting fraudulent activity. Retaliation often occurs after someone reports what they reasonably believe to be illegal conduct. Sometimes it happens after someone participates in a legal process, such as providing witness testimony in a race discrimination case. Retaliation also occurs when someone refuses to follow an illegal directive from a supervisor or manager.
Contact a lawyer at Work Justice immediately if you think you’ve been the victim of workplace retaliation. We are here to help get you justice.
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Every employee is entitled to work in an environment free from harassment. Unfortunately, many workplaces are riddled with harassment which can have devastating effects on its victims. If you find yourself the target of harassment at work, you may need a Work Justice attorney to bring a lawsuit for hostile work environment harassment.
It’s important to understand that not all types of harassment amount to a hostile work environment. If the harassing conduct is isolated, sporadic or limited then it might not be considered a hostile work environment. A few annoying or mildly offensive comments are usually not significant enough to bring a claim for hostile work environment harassment. The harassing conduct must change the conditions of employment such that it creates an abusive atmosphere.
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All employees have the right to be paid promptly and properly for the time they work. Employees are entitled to receive at least minimum wages for every minute they worked. However, many employers try to cheat unskilled workers by paying a lower wage or paying employees with a reduce flat salary. If an employer has violated the law by paying an employee less than minimum wages, the employee may be entitled to significant back wages plus penalties for every pay period.
Non-exempt hourly employees are also entitled to overtime when they work more than 8 hours per day, 40 hours per week, or 6 consecutive days in a workweek. Employers must also pay double-time wages for non-exempt employees working more than 12 hours in workday or 8 hours on the seventh consecutive day in a workweek.
Employers regularly engage in a wide range of unlawful wage practices. Have you noticed that your paystub does not reflect the true time you worked down to the minute? Are you being denied earned commissions? Are you being forced to split your tips with your manager or supervisor? Are you not being reimbursed for business expenses? The lawyers at the Work Justice have the skill and knowledge to ensure employees receive all their fair wages.
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Employers cannot discriminate against employees who have disabilities under both federal and California law. If an employer knows that an employee has a disability or medical condition, then the employer must engage in an interactive process with the employee to determine whether reasonable accommodations are available. The employer must also provide a reasonable accommodation to the employee unless it would be an undue hardship.
The Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA) protects disabled employees from being discriminated against in the workplace. It is important to keep in mind that the FEHA applies to employers with 5 or more employees. The FEHA provides for a broader definition of disability than federal law. Under the FEHA, a disability can be either a physical or mental impairment that limits a major life function, including working. Stress, anxiety, arthritis, irritable bowel syndrome, depression, frequent urination, and PTSD would all qualify as disabilities. More serious medical conditions like cancer, multiple sclerosis, heart disease, etc. are covered under the FEHA as well.
Common types of disability discrimination in the workplace include termination, demotion, and reduction in compensation or schedule. Less obvious types of discrimination include being bullied, teased, or excluded from opportunities or assignments.
California employers can be liable under the FEHA if a disabled employee requests an accommodation and the company does not engage the employee in an interactive process to determine weahter a reasonable accommodation is available. An accommodation can be as simple as a stool to sit on or a break every couple of hours to use the restroom. An employer cannot retaliate against an employee for requesting an accommodation.
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Under both federal and California law, it is unlawful to discriminate against employees because of their age. Employees over the age of 40 are protected against adverse employment actions taken by the employer because of their age. Unlawful age discrimination can take many forms including termination, demotion, denial of promotion, forced retirement, denial of work opportunities, and more.
If your employer hired a younger and less qualified candidate, refused to promote you, changed your benefits, or otherwise discriminated against you, then you need to seek legal help. Your age does not define you or your work abilities. You deserve to be treated the same as every other employee.
Age discrimination claims are generally fact intensive and difficult to prove. The lawyers at Work Justice can help you build a compelling case for age discrimination. You may be awarded compensation for your current and future economic losses as well as emotional distress. Find out now how we can help.
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Discrimination occurs when an employee or job applicant receives less favorable treatment because of a specific characteristic they have.
Generally discrimination claims fall into two categories:
Disparate treatment
Disparate impact
Disparate treatment occurs when an employer treats an employee differently because of his or her race. The employer’s actions must be motivated by a discriminatory intent. Discriminatory treatment occurs when the employer terminates, demotes, refuses to hire, refuses to promote, harasses, or takes some other adverse action against an employee due to the employee’s age.
Disparate impact occurs when an employer’s policies or practices intentionally or unintentionally discriminate against a protected category of people. Disparate impact claims arise when employers adopt policies that are facially neutral in that they don’t appear to be discriminatory. However, the policy might be unlawful if it nevertheless has a disproportionately adverse impact on employees of a certain protected category. In disparate impact cases, the employer may be liable even when the employer had no discriminatory intent whatsoever.
Victims of racial discrimination in the workplace must be able to show that their race was a substantial motivating reason for the adverse employment action that they experienced. Often this is established through witness testimony or evidence like text messages or e-mails. Please contact the attorneys at the Work Justice firm to discuss your potential race discrimination case.
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Employers are prohibited from discriminating against employees because of their religious beliefs. Employers cannot take any adverse employment action against an employee including hiring, firing, promoting, or adjusting pay based on an employee’s religious beliefs. This protection extends to employees who are married to someone who practices a different religion. For example, if you are Christian and your wife is Jewish, an employer cannot discriminate against you because of your wife’s faith.
If an employee has a genuine religious belief or observance that interferes with the employee’s job duties, then the employer must try to accommodate it so long as at least 5 employees work for the employer. The test to determine whether an employee’s religious belief is genuine is whether it is sincerely held by the employee. Employees are allowed to ask their employers to make reasonable accommodations on account of their religious beliefs. For example, an employee that needs to take a break from work multiple times throughout the day to pray, must be accommodated.
Employers cannot prohibit employees from wearing their traditional religious dress. Employers must allow religious dress to be worn, including headscarves and facial hair, unless employers can prove undue hardship to their business. Employees of all faiths and not just major religions must be allowed to wear their religious dress.
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California employers with 5 or more employees are prohibited from discriminating against employees on the basis of their gender, gender identity or gender expression. These terms are broad in scope and apply to a person’s gender-related appearance and behavior even if it is different from the person’s assigned gender at birth. Employees who are transgender, genderqueer, and gender-fluid are all protected against employment discrimination in California.
Employers can unlawfully discriminate against employees on the basis of gender in many different ways. For example, an employer may make available certain types of jobs to employees of a certain sex. Gender discrimination may include the existence of a work environment that is offensive or hostile to women. Gender discrimination may also be apparent in unequal pay between genders, glass ceilings, or diminished responsibilities.
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It is unlawful to discriminate against a person because of their sexual orientation or identity. Also, employers are prohibited from discriminating against employees for their perceived sexual orientation. For example, if an employer discriminates against you because it believes you are homosexual, but you are in fact heterosexual, this would be discrimination even if you are not homosexual.
The Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA) is the body of law that prohibits employers from discriminating against employees because of their sexual orientation. Under the FEHA, employers must not consider an employee’s sexual orientation when making any job-related decisions including hiring, firing, promoting, demoting, or assigning new positions. Employers have a legal obligation to prevent sexual orientation discrimination from occurring in the workplace by providing workplace training.
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In California, employees are classified as exempt or non-exempt. Non-exempt employees are entitled to various wage and hour protections including meal and rest breaks and overtime wages. Exempt employees are paid a salary of at least twice the California state minimum wage and are primarily engaged in job duties that require independent judgment and discretion. Employees are often misclassified as exempt by their employers in order to avoid paying overtime wages. Claims for misclassification can be significant.
Are you earning a low flat salary? Employees earning less than twice the state minimum wage are misclassified as exempt. If you work for a company of 25 or less employees and earned a salary that is less than $54,080 in 2021, $58,240 in 2022, or $64,000 in 2023, you are receiving less than twice the state minimum wage. If you work for a company of 26 or more employees and earned a salary that is less than $58,240 in 2021, $62,400 in 2022 or $66,560 in 2023, then you are receiving less than twice the state minimum wage and are misclassified.
The attorneys at the Work Justice firm can hold your employer responsible for your lost wages. Please contact us immediately if you believe you are being misclassified.
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No person should be the victim of sexual harassment. When people go to work, they should feel comfortable in a safe environment where they can perform their job duties without fear of harassment. Unfortunately, countless people are subjected to sexual harassment in the workplace.
There are several state and federal laws prohibiting sexual harassment in the workplace. The two main sources of laws for employees in California are the Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA) and Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The law strictly prohibits sexual harassment and discrimination on the basis of sex in the workplace. The skilled attorneys at the Work Justice firm are available to discuss your legal options if you are the victim of harassment.
Two Main Types of Sexual Harassment
QUIT PRO QUO SEXUAL HARASSMENT
Quid pro quo is a Latin phrase that means “this for that.” Like the name implies, quid pro quo sexual harassment occurs when sexual favors are requested or demanded in exchange for a specific job benefit. For example, if employees perform a sex act they will receive a raise. Generally, quid pro quo sexual harassment appears as either an offer or a threat. Unwanted sexual advances, inappropriate discussions of sexual acts, or commentary on the employee’s body can all be considered sexual harassment.
HOSTILE WORK ENVIRONMENT SEXUAL HARASSMENT
Hostile work environment sexual harassment is a broader claim that applies when unwelcome sexual conduct makes the workplace offensive, intimidating or abusive. The type of harassment is unlawful regardless of whether it is motivated by sexual desire and regardless of gender. Hostile work environment sexual harassment may appear in many forms including:
Unwanted Physical Touching
Sexually Derogatory Comments
Inappropriate Propositions
Favoritism and Unequal Treatment
Persistent Leering
In California, employers must take all reasonable steps to prevent discrimination and harassment from occurring. If harassment has occurred, the employer has a duty to take affirmative measures to change the offending individual’s behavior and prevent others from committing similar unlawful conduct. Employers who have 5 or more employees must provide sexual harassment training to all employees every two years. Supervisors must receive two hours of training and all other employees must receive one hour of training.
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In a typical 8-hour shift, non-exempt employees are entitled to an unpaid 30-minute meal break and two paid 10-minute breaks. The meal break must be completely uninterrupted and provided before the end of the fifth hour of work. Rest breaks must also be uninterrupted and afforded for every four hours worked (or major fraction of four hours).
Employees who work more than 5 hours per day are entitled to a meal break of at least 30 minutes that must begin before the end of the fifth hour of their shift. However, an employee who works less than 6 hours in a day can agree to waive his or her meal break. In certain limited scenarios, an employee can agree to an “on-duty” meal break where the employee works during the meal break and is paid for the time. An on-duty meal break must be in writing and the employee must have the right to revoke the agreement at any time.
Where an employee works more than 10 hours in a day, the employee is entitled to a second meal break of at least 30 minutes that must start before the end of the tenth hour of the shift. The second meal break may be waived if the employee does not work more than 12 hours and does not waive the first meal break.
Employees who work more than 3.5 hours per day are entitled to a 10-minute off-duty rest break. Employees who work over 6 hours are entitled to a second rest break and employees who work over 10 hours are entitled to a third rest break.
To the extent possible, rest breaks must be in the middle of each shift. Rest breaks are considered hours worked and must be paid.
It’s important to keep in mind that meal and rest breaks must be uninterrupted. Employers must relieve employees of all duties and relinquish control over how employees spend their time. Employees who are required to monitor phones or who are not permitted to leave the work premises while on break are receiving noncompliant breaks in violation of California law.
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Qui tam lawsuits are brought against companies that engage in fraudulent practices involving a municipal, state or federal government contract, or that otherwise commit acts of fraud or corruption against a government entity. Any person who is aware of fraud or corruption connected to the fulfillment of a government contract by a private business or public corporation may file a qui tam claim. Many different qui tam laws exist to protect employees. The most important source of qui tam laws include:
Federal False Claims Act: protects whistleblowers who report government fraud
Dodd-Frank Act: protects whistleblowers who report misconduct to the Securities and Exchange Commission, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, or the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection
Sarbanes-Oxley Act: protects whistleblowers who report financial, bank, wire, mail or securities fraud
Whistleblowers may be entitled to a substantial portion of the recovered funds pursuant to various provisions under these Acts. The government wants to encourage individuals to report fraudulent activities and offers significant financial rewards for people willing to do so. Please contact the attorneys at Work Justice to discuss how we can help you with a qui tam action.
