Generally speaking, when a wrongful demotion happens to an employee, it was retaliation for something he or she did. If you’ve been involved in a wrongful demotion and you’re wondering if you can do anything about it legally, you’ll want to continue reading below!

Employed At-Will

Most of the employees in the USA are employed at will. This really just means that at any time you can be demoted from your position.

If your employer thinks that your performance is sub-par or that your performance is lacking in any way – they have the right to demote you, give you less pay, or even reduce the amount of time you are receiving for your job.

Is Anyone Safe From Demotions?

While most of the jobs in the US are “at will” there are a few instances where the employee is, in fact, semi-safe from demotions. This includes:

• People that are contracted: When a person has a contract through a business they might be protected from a demotion. And if they are demoted they can appeal it.

• People that were discriminated against: If you were demoted, not because you were doing a bad job, but because of your genetic information, religion, race, gender or age, you cannot be demoted legally.

• People that filed a sexual harassment claim: Likewise if you were involved in a sexual harassment claim (you were the one that filed it) you cannot be demoted. If you were, you can fight it!

You also cannot be demoted if you previously informed authorities of illegal activities going on in the workplace. That includes whistleblowers.

How To Handle A Wrongful Demotion

Even if you aren’t pegged into one of the aforementioned categories above, but you do think that you were demoted wrongfully or treated unfairly, you can contact HR. When speaking to HR, you’ll want to follow these tips:

• Don’t be defensive, rude or immature.

• If the company does have a formal appeal process – ask HR to see your demotion and why it happened.

• You can also consider writing an appeal letter and ask that your demotion be reconsidered. If you have any previous positive experiences or documentation ie; performance reviews, accomplishments in the company, emails from your manager that showed positive praise, etc include these in your appeal letter.

Hiring A Lawyer For Wrongful Demotion

If you truly believe that you were demoted wrongfully and/or you wrote your appeal and it was denied, you can seek legal action. Or if HR was of no help or not willing to help, you can seek out a lawyer that specifically deals with wrongful demotions.

When you hire a lawyer for the alleged wrongful demotion, they will investigate the matter and figure out if it was done legally or illegally and if the case is valid to continue on with – or not.

Chances are when you hire a lawyer, they will talk to other people in your office to see if they have had any issues with the company. Sometimes you might have a handful of employees that had the same thing happen to them, but they simply chose to not move forward with a lawyer. If a lawyer can talk to them, it’s even more proof that what you are going through is a legitimate issue in the company that should be investigated further.

Photo Credit: Shutterstock fizkes/George Rudy

The post How To Handle A Wrongful Demotion appeared first on UELG.

So you got FIRED, but Did Your Boss do Anything Wrong?

Let’s be honest, pretty much everyone has been fired at some point and most of the time there is no legal recourse, there a million reasons to fire someone and most of them perfectly legal. Of course when you are on the receiving end of getting dumped it’s never pleasant, but was it legal? That is the question you really need to answer. If you were fired without proper cause or in some cases even improper procedure can mean you have a wrongful termination case. More importantly many people who call us out of frustration over being fired actually find they have additional complaints as well such as wage violations or discrimination violations.

It often takes the upheaval of being fired to wake us up to all the little wrongs adding up to big compensation. You may not notice you are being shorted on overtime or that your company’s policy of taking away accrued vacation days is not legal. That is where UELG comes in. We have spent decades deciphering these issues and we know how to ask the right questions and collect the right evidence to support the largest claim.

At the end of the day no company can use the, “we didn’t know” excuse to get out of paying up. The laws lien heavily in your favor on these matters, if they can’t prove to the court that you are not owed the money then they have to pay what you are owed, plus penalties and interest.

It is time to let go of the complaints and do something about it, UELG can help get you on the road to recovery, get you your money and move on.

CALL United Employees Law Group or email us today, we can tell you quickly if you have a case. Don’t put it off any longer.

Photo Credit: Shutterstock/Elnur

The post Los Angeles Employees Fight Back appeared first on UELG.

Most common concerns of Unemployment

Question: How does an employee qualify for unemployment insurance?

Answer: The main criteria is you have to be unemployed. You are not allowed to claim unemployment insurance for the same period of time you are working. This is illegal and can land you in a lot of trouble.

Additionally, you have to have been laid off or fired (not for willful misconduct). If you simply quit, in most instances you will not qualify for unemployment insurance. You should understand that even if you do initially qualify for unemployment benefits, your employer is able to appeal such ruling and that ruling could be reversed. Some employers do this for good reason and others because they are vindictive.

Question: Can I file my claim online or do I need to go to the unemployment office of EDD?

Answer: Conveniently, you may now file for your unemployment benefits online. No more embarrassing visits to the unemployment office.

Question: Can I be disqualified for unemployment benefits if my employer fires me for being late to work or failing to meet my performance goals?

Answer: To be disqualified for benefits your conduct must rise to the level of willful misconduct as interpreted by EDD or ultimately a judge. One example of this might be carrying a weapon to work; another might be driving a company vehicle while intoxicated.

It is not uncommon for an employer to attempt to challenge unemployment benefits if an employee has another labor case pending against the employer. The reason for this is that they will have a chance to question and gather evidence at this hearing that may enable them to have an advantage in the other labor matter. For this reason, it is wise to have a California labor lawyer represent you in the unemployment hearing if you have another labor case pending against the employer in order to keep the questioning on point with the unemployment issues only.

If you have questions related to unemployment insurance and cannot resolve them through communications with the EDD, it is important that you speak to a California labor lawyer.

This is especially necessary if you believe that you have other labor claims aside from unemployment insurance, as a California labor law attorney can advise you how to protect your interests prior to the hearing with EDD.

Photo Credit: Shutterstock/wavebreakmedia

The post Unemployment Benefits: Valuable Tips to Get Your Benefits appeared first on UELG.

While the law can’t prevent employers from retaliating against their employees, it can offer restitution should you fall victim to retaliation. Retaliation can come in many forms and can be the result of several different types of issues reported.

Oftentimes the employee will report issues such as sexual harassment, unsafe working conditions, workers compensation claims, another employee breaking company policy or even broken laws; also known as Whistleblower. Most commonly discrimination is reported, such as: age, race, gender, sexual orientation, religion, or disability.

As unfortunate as retaliation is, it can be administered in many different ways. Employers have been known to cut hours or pay, pass employees over for promotions, place people on unpaid administrative leave, and even terminate employment. Termination in retaliation for reporting any of the previously mentioned issues would likely be considered a wrongful termination.

It’s also interesting to note that even though there might only be one person, perhaps your manager, giving you a hard time or retaliating against you, under the law the company is still liable for that person’s actions. In 1998, the California Supreme Court ruled that individual managers and supervisors can’t be held personally liable for retaliation. However, the California Fair Employment and Housing Act says that it is unlawful for “any employer, labor organization, employment agency or person” to engage in retaliation.

If you have recently reported some type of illegal or improper activity within the company and your working environment or conditions have been adversely effected, you should seek counsel of an experienced San Francisco labor law attorney. An experienced attorney can help you understand the legal aspects of your situation as well as offer guidance in seeking recompense.

If you have any questions about this article or our blog, feel free to call us at: (415) 230-2755

Photo Credit: Shutterstock/Vlad Teodor

The post California Labor Laws are Strict on Retaliation appeared first on UELG.

How Can Employees Deal With Age Discrimination Using California Labor Laws?
Age discrimination has indeed become one of the major employment issues that California has to face. Therefore, to tackle this situation in a competent manner, the lawmakers of the state have created a separate law under the California Labor laws. The Age Discrimination in Employment Act under FHEA, is a specific article that deals with the discrimination carried out at the workplace because of age. Violating this act is strictly against the law, hence any employer who does not abide by this, can be penalized under the FHEA.
What exactly is Age Discrimination?
Age discrimination is a serious legal allegation, hence it should only be filed when you know whether the employer has gone against the law or not, that’s why you need a knowledgeable attorney. For such circumstances, employment lawyers can turn out to be the most help as they understand each and every aspect of your case, examine them and then help you in understanding if your case is fit for a lawsuit.
When it comes to California Labor Law then this form of discrimination can be trickier than others to prove but the laws are there for a reason. Provided that the employer succeeds in proving that denial or refusal made to the employee for promotion or any other privilege was due to some reasons which is other than the age then they clear themselves from their legal accountability. This is why today the policymakers of California are doing their best, to know about the right grounds which would be suitable for such cases.

Labor Code 12941.1- How Can This Help?
Taking the important aspects into account, lawmakers formulated a new code which was Labor Code 12941.1. This law states that “Any employer does not have the right in differentiating old employees, primarily when this leaves a huge impact on them.” The main agenda of this law was not only to provide security to older employees but at the same time give them their right and respect that they deserve at the workplace. Therefore, every company in California should abide by this law, otherwise they can rise their chances of employer liability.

If you believe you are the victim of age discrimination at work United Employees Law Group is here to help.

Call today you have nothing to loose and everything to gain.

Photo Credit: Shutterstock/Rawpixel.com

The post Fight Ageism in the Workplace appeared first on UELG.

Truth be told most of us have been fired at some point in our lives and while to never feel good it isn’t necessarily criminal. So what makes a firing unlawful? When do you have legal recourse for being let go? If you have been let go this is the question you need to answer if you are ever going to collect. In fact, some cases of wrongful termination the error can be as simple not following their own company policy with the manner in which you were terminated.  Of course there are the bigger reasons as well including discrimination, retaliation and harassment, but it isn’t always easy to decipher. Possible the most overlooked issue is that if you were truly fired illegally there may be other issue you didn’t even know about. We have found in out years of practicing CA employment law, that most people, who break the law, break more than one.

Too often we keep our heads down and don’t voice our concerns about an issue until something drastic happens. We down play the problem and keep plugging along. It can take the shock of being fired to make us take a deeper look at the rest of our time with the employer. It might be a little missed overtime here or no mileage pay there, but these are things that are closely regulated by law and they can add up quicker than you might think. This is where the experienced team at United Employees Law Group comes in. We have built a winning combination of research and knowledge to build cases that win and get the best payouts by attacking the problem from multiple angles.

“I didn’t know” was never an acceptable excuse when you were working, why should it work for your employer? The laws they break when it comes to your employment and pay will cost them and we help employees collect everyday. Get the back pay, penalties and interest you are entitled to under the California Labor Code. We know the law and we know how to use it FOR YOU!

Photo Credit: Shutterstock/g-stockstudio

The post Did Your Boss Break the Law When They Fired You? appeared first on UELG.

How Can You Know If Your Employer Is Violating California Labor Laws

The biggest power in this world is knowledge.

Sadly, the laws of California keep changing every now and then and not all of us are able to track the changes that have been made. In order to make it easy for you, this article elaborates the points that you can consider while judging if your employer is violating the labor laws of California or not. However, it is important to note that this list is not exhaustive. There are several ways by which an employer can violate the labor laws, and some of these are so innovative that experienced attorneys are also taken aback by how the law could have been twisted in the manner that it has been.

Sign #1
The first sign that your employer is violating the state labor laws is when he or she asks you to work and not record the time that you have worked overtime. You employer may follow one of the following approaches to encourage you to work off the clock. First, the employer may create a sense of insecurity in you, directly or indirectly, that you might get terminated if you do not work in this fashion.

They may give you speeches or memos in meetings that steer towards a point that conveys the message that you, as the employee, need the company more, and if you are not able to keep up with the norms of the company, you might lose your job. It is because of this fear that many employees work extra without the compensation that they deserve. An approach that is followed by employers is that they give the employees a temptation of getting compensatory time off for the extra time that they work for the firm. It is important for you to understand that this practice is illegal.

Sign #2
Another sign that you can use to establish your suspicion is when the several past employees of the company have filed complaints against the same. Nobody will file a complaint against a company for no reason. In most cases, the dispute is over the last salary due on the company. According to the labor laws, the employer must settle the dues of the leaving employee in the next three days positively.
When the employer fails to do so, legal action is taken by the employees. Whenever you notice that your company has several pending cases from employees, do remember that you can be the next leaving employee, and this may happen to you as well. Therefore, maintain a record of your working hours, wages and proof of any wrongdoings on the part of the company.

Sign #3
The most reliable sign that indicates that the operations of a company are not running smoothly is when a number of employees are terminated, or a majority of the employees leave the company on notice. Employee turnover can be caused due to a number of factors and in most cases is a result of factors like discrimination and hostile environment. If you are also feeling the crunch of a hostile environment or working conditions that are not feasible for you, you must start preparing yourself.

You must immediately contact a Los Angeles labor law attorney if you are facing any of these issues. It is best to take advice from an experienced lawyer who has contested different cases and has a better insight on the issue.

Photo Credit: Shutterstock/Bannafarsai_stock

The post Is Your Boss Breaking CA Labor Law? 3 Signs to Watch For. appeared first on UELG.

Before you open the floodgates into your own life you need to know,

HOW MUCH IT’S WORTH!

How much scrutiny you are under can be greatly affected by what type of case your employment attorney chooses to employ to help you collect. Simply put, a case based on collecting money for emotional trauma will open a large can of worms as you try to prove that injury. Obviously an emotional case is going to get personal and it won’t just be about the time in which you claim the trauma occurred, but as far back as the court deems relevant.  In other words, if you claim all of your current depression and need for therapy or medication is a direct result of abuse you suffered on the job for the past year, they will go into your history to attempt to prove that you had these underlying issues previous to the alleged abuse at work. They will try to prove you had your own issues and that you are trying to make them pay for something they have nothing to do with. This type of case can hinge almost completely on this type of evidence and not on actual data from the job, for this reason they are much more invasive and harder to win.

The best way to avoid this is clear; build a winning case around cold hard FACTS.

At United Employees Law Group we have perfected our all angles approach so that we can gather all the necessary information to build a case which will result in the maximum reward. You may not even realize what type of case you really have, quite often our clients come to us with one complaint only to find they have an even stronger case in another area, i.e. you thought you had a wrongful termination complaint, but you stand to collect far more from the back overtime and penalties and because of computer records and security videos these are easily proven. Not to mention the fact that most cases well backed up with facts rarely even go to court we are able to settle many cases out of court and avoid the drawn out battle. This means you get to collect much faster.

We know how to build cases that win, if you are ready to stand up to an employer who owes you money CALL UELG NOW for a completely free and confidential case review.

Photo Credit: Shutterstock/ Billion Photos

The post Weighing the Price vs. Payout: Suing Your Employer appeared first on UELG.

Don’t Take Legal Action Lightly

I’m pretty sure I’ve never met anyone, except maybe a lawyer, who enjoys going to court, and truth be told even most lawyers would rather stay out of the courtroom as this often means lower cost and higher reward.

“It’s going to great to finally get the money they owe me,” that I do hear, and often. Taking on a legal case to sue for damages, whether it is for money owed or harm done, is never an easy process. It is precisely the fear of this process that most employers are counting to deter you from taking action to collect money from them. This scare tactic is a large reason a company of any size retains a team of lawyers, to hopefully make you believe there is no way you can win.

United Employees Law Group FEARS NO EMPLOYER! We have been fighting for employees long enough to know that the playground bully doesn’t have to win.

The beauty of being an employee in California is that you are given two very powerful tools.

Number ONE is the fact that most suits wil never see a courtroom. The court would much rather have the case decided outside through mediation and settlement. Like your mom always told you to “go figure it out yourselves.” It is much cheaper and faster to sit down and have two sides come to agreeable terms. If your case can be decided through mediation it can mean a much swifter decision and often a better settlement when the company hasn’t racked up huge legal expenses.

Number TWO is a biggie, it is the company which bears the burden of proof, which means once we file a sound claim with evidence against them it falls to the defendant (your employer) to prove otherwise. In other words you employer must prove that they did not wrong you and do not owe you money and not the other way around. This is by no means an open door to file a suit with no merit, filing suit against your boss because you are angry can get you sued so DON’T DO IT!

If you have been battling with the decision to sue your current or former employer you need to get sound legal advice, don’t assume you have no case. Let UELG help you understand your rights and the best route to getting what you deserve.

Call us now United Employees Law Group is here for you.

Photo Credit: Shutterstock/ Africa Studio

The post Court Should Be Your Last Resort appeared first on UELG.

After reporting the issue, the employee is always under the fear of retaliation by the employer. In fact, retaliation can happen in various ways. A cut in the salary is one of the most frequent means of retaliation. Demotion, improper reviews and feedback, not getting selected for promotions, not being compensated for administrative leave, and in worst case scenarios termination, are means of retaliation to which an employer may resort.

If you have been subjected to retaliation and have been terminated, then this termination is considered to be wrong.
You will be surprised to know that even if a single person retaliates against you, the company is liable for the actions of that person. In 1998, the California Supreme Court had passed the verdict exempting individual managers and supervisors from being personally accountable for retaliation. But the California Fair Employment & Housing Act states that it is illegal for companies, labor organizations and agencies to retaliate against any person. Thus, this makes the company liable for the acts of retaliation by the managers or supervisors.

Labor Law is not simple, and if you have any queries about your employment you should get in touch with the California Labor Law attorneys at UELG who will assist you in learning about your rights. We will always review your case for free; call today and get the help you need.  (213) 261-0229

The post Whistleblowers and Retaliation: Action, Reaction appeared first on UELG.