The laws in California are clearly stated on what can and cannot be put into consideration as employments discrimination. There are certain groups of people that are considered as vulnerable to employment discrimination in California. The protected classes include those that can be discriminated on the basis of:

• Religion
• Marital Status
• Sexual identity and Orientation
• Disability
• Citizenship status
• Age
• Race
• Political orientation
• National Origin and
• HIV status.

For this reason, the federal laws and the state laws are protective of the individuals who fall under these categories of protected classes.

The Law

The Fair Employment and Housing Act is a key player in the labor laws that protect against employment discrimination in California. In addition to this, several federal laws are applicable in favor of the laborers in California. The Age Discrimination in Employment Act, Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and Americans with Disability Act are some of the federal laws that protect against employment discrimination. Although the federal laws are favorable to all, the Fair Employment and Housing Act in California gives employees more leverage when it comes to getting justice for violations of their rights. For example, under the federal laws, one gets only 180 days to file a case in the event of discrimination while the state laws allow a time of up to 1 year for an employee to file a court case.

What to do when you face Employment Discrimination in California

It is important to fight for your rights, and it is even better when you have professionals on your side. If you experience discrimination at work such as wage violation, unfair dismissals or discrimination because of being a member of a protected class, employment attorneys are there to come to your aid.

United Employees Law Group, is your right-hand companion when it comes to battling employment discrimination in California. You can be sure that when you have the gurus on your side, justice will be served. Through a simple phone call or email, it is possible to get legal representation when filing your case in court. The best part is that consultation is free. With vast experience in the field of labor laws, results are assured, and you will get the very best legal representation there is.

United Employees Law Group ensures that the law is enforced with due diligence so that every employee in California should be accorded the fairness and respect they deserve.

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Employer Retaliation is Illegal

One major problem with respect to California workplace rights is employer retaliation. Retaliating against an employee in California is against the law if the employer does so for protected employee activity. Protected activity under state laws creates specific safeguards for workers who make a report about activity which the employee believes to be illegal. If an employee makes a legitimate complaint or reports what the employee reasonably believes to be illegal activity, it is against California Labor Laws for an employer to retaliate against an employee who discloses information to law enforcement agencies. It is also a violation of state labor laws to retaliate against an employee because the worker won’t break the law. The penalties for retaliation in California can be extreme, sometimes including fines of up to $10,000 per retaliatory act.

Protected Employee Activity 

Here is a list of the types of activities that are protected from retaliation in California:

Filing a claim with the Labor Commissioner

Filing an Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) complaint Disclosing information to a government or law enforcement agency

Filing a Discrimination Claim or harassment claim

Serving on a jury

Pregnancy & Disability Discrimination Laws

Another major problem in the workplace is discrimination based on pregnancy and disabilities. California enacted the FEHA to protect the rights of all workers in the state to seek, obtain, and hold employment without discrimination on account of various characteristics. Some of the protected classes of discrimination include race, religion, color, national origin, ancestry, physical disability, mental disability, medical condition, marital status, sex, age, and sexual orientation. The California Government Code permits employees to file civil lawsuits for damages when employers violate the Fair Employment and Housing Act. When a female worker is unable to work as a result of pregnancy disability, childbirth or other related conditions, the employer is obligated to treat the employee the same as though the employee has any other disability. This involves making reasonable accommodations for pregnant workers.

Furthermore, there are two statutory schemes that allow pregnant employees to leave work to deal with the pregnancy and return to their job – Family Medical Leave and Pregnancy Disability Leave. The federal Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and the California Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA) deal with employers that discriminate against disabled workers. A disability for purposes of California Discrimination laws includes a physical or mental impairment that limits one or more of the major life activities. An employer that violates disability laws can face significant and overwhelming penalties. The Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 provides disabled workers with a way of recovering damages by way of a government enforcement action when they have been unlawfully denied an employment opportunity due to the disability even though the employee was equally qualified.

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What are the Los Angeles Labor Codes that Establish Individual Liability for Overtime Claims?

SO your employer owes you money but they went bankrupt, you might have recourse against the management directly, not to mention any real assets remaining in the company.

The relevant California Labor Code provisions which establish individual liability are §§18, 558, 1197.1 and 1199. These sections provide as follows:

• California Labor Code §18:  “’Person’ means any person, association, organization, partnership, business trust, limited liability company or corporation.”
• California Labor Code §558: (a)  “Any employer or other person acting on behalf of an employer who violates, or causes to be violated, a section of this chapter or any provision regulating hours and days of work in any order of the Industrial Welfare Commission shall be subject to a civil penalty as follows: (1) For any initial violation, fifty dollars ($50) for each underpaid employee for each pay period for which the employee was underpaid in addition to an amount sufficient to recover underpaid wages.(2) For each subsequent violation, one hundred dollars ($100) for each underpaid employee for each pay period for which the employee was underpaid in addition to an amount sufficient to recover underpaid wages. (3) Wages recovered pursuant to this section shall be paid to the affected employee.
• California Labor Code §1199, 1197.1 :  “Every employer or other person acting either individually or as an officer, agent, or employee of another person is guilty of a misdemeanor and is punishable by a fine of not less that one hundred dollars ($100) or by imprisonment for not less than 30 days, or both, who does any of the following: (a) requires or causes to be paid to any employee a wage less than the minimum fixed by an order of the commission; (b) Pays or causes to be paid to any employee a wage less that the minimum fixed by an order of the commission or (c) Violates or refuses, or neglects to comply with any provision of this chapter of any order or ruling of the commission.”“Employer” means any person as defined in Section 18 of the California Labor Code, who directly or indirectly, or through an agent or any other person, employs or exercises control over the wages, hours, or working conditions of any person.”
• If an employee is seeking overtime wages, it is wise to have as many “arrows in the quiver” i.e. name as many relevant defendants as possible, to perhaps get a higher and sometimes faster settlement.
• In addition to the above California Labor Code sections, provisions of the California Industrial Welfare Commission, (IWC) orders,  have a bearing on individual liability. IWC Orders 4-2001 § 2(H)

Labor codes and lawsuit rulings can be very confusing, but United Employees Law Group is here for you, CALL TODAY for your FREE case review and answers to your questions.

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When the global recession hit the United States in 2008, it caused devastation to many people and their families. One of the states that got hit the hardest was California. Even today, it still has a deficit of over $400 billion and a 7.4% unemployment rate.

The good news here is the unemployment rate was at 12% in 2010, so things are certainly going in the right direction as far as jobs are concerned. But, are they good jobs? Are they the kind of jobs that will pay the rent and feed your family? Statistics show that the number of temporary and fast food jobs have increased over the years, which could explain why the unemployment rate appears to be low. However, we are still not seeing any new manufacturing or long term positions available to those people who want them.

We are seeing the same thing with the rest of the country, but California is among the worst. Since it is not illegal to factor in part-time, minimum wage jobs into the statistics of unemployment, this allows people to get a false idea about how the recession is really doing. Besides, the 7.4% unemployment rate is still higher than the 6% national unemployment rate.

The recession has still taken its toll on the Golden State. People are working two or three jobs just to pay the rent. This means they don’t have the time or money to go back to college and pursue a degree that will allow them to get a better job and make more money. Nobody seems to talk about this because we are so busy patting ourselves on the backs because the unemployment rate is going down. The truth is that it is not going down because people will still be unemployed when their temporary jobs are over.

As for part timers, they aren’t likely going to see opportunities to get full time employment because of the legalities regarding Obamacare. Employers are finding they have to pay more money to provide healthcare benefits to their employees. So, they are just totally eliminating healthcare benefits all together and keeping people on as part time employees. The only thing is, some workers end up working overtime anyways, but it is not official.

The laws need to change in order to allow all workers to get affordable healthcare. If not, any time a worker gets sick or injured it could put them into bankruptcy. Then they will never be able to get a loan for a new home or car. It is just a big mess and laws need to change to benefit the hard working employees who deserve a break.

United Employees Law Group has been fighting for our clients for over 35 years, through thick and thin.  If you are facing unlawful treatment at work, we are here for you. Call TODAY for a FREE and CONFIDENTIAL consultation.

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Everyone wants to be unique and special and if you are a California worker, you have some very unique and special rights under California labor law. Recently, the Seyfarth Shaw law firm released a new edition of Cal-Pecularities, a publication explaining how California employment law is different from the law in other states. At over 200 pages in length, the book covers a wide range of issues from the common wage and hour disputes to the more rare cases of excessive cell phone use and HIV/drug testing. The book in its entirety can be viewed at www.seyfarth.com

As pointed out by the Seyfarth Shaw, California employment law is in many instances much more expansive than federal law. Some of the more dominant examples include the following:

• California Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA): The FEHA prohibits any employer from engaging in discriminatory acts or retaliating against any employee who files a complaint of discrimination.
• Wage and Hour Laws: California has distinct laws regarding misclassification of employees, “off the clock” pay, rest and meal periods, pay for travel time, and bonus pay.
• Employee Privacy Rights: Unlike other states, California privacy provisions apply to both government and private employers. This includes a variety of activities, including background checks, emails, voice mails, and video surveillance.
• California Family Rights Act: California law has a very liberal policy regarding family leave. If you are a pregnant woman, you can take 12 weeks of leave from work under the Family Medial Leave Act, but under California law you can take up to 4 months.

The “novelty” of California labor law perhaps began with the passage of the Private Attorney General Act of 2004. This law allows citizens to pursue civil penalties on behalf of the State of California Labor and Workforce Development Agency as long as there is formal notice and waiting procedures are followed. In essence, the aggrieved employee is allowed to act as an attorney general. Any resulting recovery is split between the parties with the LWDA receiving 75% and the employee receiving 25%.  This law gives employees a great deal of power to bring lawsuits to enforce the more obscure provisions of the California labor code.

If you have any questions regarding your employment rights, you should contact a knowledgeable California labor law attorney.

Call now to have your questions answered with no obligation  (213) 261-0229

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