Living with a disability comes with challenges; however, it does not take away a person’s desire or need to work for a living. In fact, both national and state laws provide persons with qualifying physical or mental disabilities with legal safeguards against discrimination. In addition, disabled persons are also entitled to access and accommodations. Workplace Accommodations Under the California Fair Employment and Housing Act, employers with at least five employees are legally obligated to provide “reasonable accommodation” to employees with a physical or mental disability. These accommodations should be designed to allow the disabled person to perform their essential job functions. However, a limitation to this accommodation is if it creates an “undue hardship” for the employer. Some of the numerous accommodations that have been deemed reasonable include: Changing a disabled employee’s work schedule Changing the employee’s job responsibilities Relocating the employee in accordance with their disability Providing medical leave Providing specialized equipment to allow…Read More
California is now the fifth largest economy in the world. Let that sink in for a moment. Not the fifth largest in the United States. In. The. Whole. World. In terms of numbers, California’s healthy economy is estimated to generate a gross domestic product (GDP) of $2.7 trillion. This means that we have just overtaken the entire United Kingdom, which is estimated at $2.6 trillion. Long live the Queen. A world class economy means that the state has a world class number of employers. And the more employers a states has, the more jobs exist. In fact, driving by the agriculture and livestock industries, the tech industry, and the unparalleled entertainment industry, California is heavily reliant on an enormous workforce of hard working employees. Unfortunately, an economy of this size also translates into a disproportionate level of employee rights violations. Yet far from the days of the Wild West, just because California is massive does not mean…Read More
What Is Piece Rate Pay? California offers several legal ways of paying employees. One of these is “piece-rate” compensation. According to the Division of Labor Standards Enforcement (DLSE), this is defined as “Work paid for according to the number of units turned out.” In essence, this means that a person (or team of people) is paid a pre-defined rate for each unit of work they produce. This may include tasks, like truck drivers getting compensated per mile driven, mechanics working at “book rate”, nurses working per medical procedure, or factory workers working per unit produced. The California Labor Code on Piece Rate Pay Unfortunately, this system has resulted in many employers avoiding minimum wage laws and ultimately paying employees less than what they are entitled under the law. The fact that an employer compensates an employee on a piece-rate basis does not end its obligation to the employee. The California Labor Code also requires that…Read More
Military service honors this country, preserves our liberty, and deserves respect. In fact, when a service member is deployed or completes their service, she or he should return with the comfort of knowing that they have their civilian job to come back to. Simply put, employers should not be allowed to benefit from a service member’s hard work and sacrifice, only to shaft them when they return to civilian work. Not only is this a matter of right and wrong, it is the law. The USSERA In 1994, Congress passed into law the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (USERRA). Under this law, employers and prospective employers are prohibited from holding a person’s past, present, or future military service against them. This applies to decisions regarding hiring, firing, retention following service, promotions, pay-raises, and benefits. Significantly, if a service member is called upon to fulfill his or her military duty, their employer must retain…Read More
The parent child bond has always been a sacred one. However, many of us struggle to balance work and family, and to make the time to give the attention we want to our children. Fortunately, there has been a rapidly growing trend of laws that protect the jobs of parents who want to bond with their new children. This is because there is a greater value on establishing the parent-child bond, on the importance of new parents learning how to be parents, and on the stress and burden of having to choose between a new child and losing employment.The Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA) and the California Family Rights Act (CFRA) both provide parents of newborn or adopted children with unpaid, job-protected leave while the parent stays home to bond with the child. Previously under the CFRA, only employers with 50 or more employees were required to offer unpaid family leave. Senate Bill 63 Senate…Read More
You work with the expectation that you will be paid by your employer. That’s the deal, right? Otherwise, you are just volunteering. Unfortunately, there are some scenarios where you and your employer may not see eye-to-eye as to what constitutes work time. This can arise for employees who have to travel as part of their job, where an employer believes that you are traveling on your own time, while you believe that the opposite is true. Fortunately, you have legal rights which protect you. California and Federal laws mandates that employers pay non-exempt employees for travel time spent on work-related purposes. The key question is whether you are under the “control” of your employer during your travel. Here are some common scenarios in which you are legally entitled to receive compensation. Alternative worksite. If you are required to report to a different worksite than normal, you can claim compensation for the travel time in excess of…Read More
Wage theft occurs when an employer fails to abide by an employee’s wage and overtime rights. This includes not paying an employee minimum wage, failing to fully pay overtime wages, not accurately counting work hours, and not allowing employees to take their legally entitled breaks. Wage theft is a recurring problem amongst too many employers in California. In fact, wage theft enrages us, as you work hard for your money and the law is designed to make sure that you are compensated fairly and are given breaks. If you suspect that your employer has unlawfully violated your wage and overtime rights, you have options. One of these options is to go it alone and confront your employer, file a formal complaint, or file a lawsuit on your own. However, the do it yourself approach can really backfire on you and end up damaging your ability to collect on a legitimate claim of wage theft. Instead,…Read More
Federal and California laws combine to protect employees from the most extreme types of employer misconduct. High up on the list of misconduct is unlawful wage deductions. You work hard for your money, and under the clearest of laws, the money you earn belongs to you. It is therefore important to understand the circumstances in which an employer can deduct from your wages, and when you should ask questions. Lawful Wage Deduction The California Labor Code sets forth the limitations and limited circumstances in which an employer may deduct from an employee’s wages. These include: Deductions explicitly authorized by federal or state law. Examples of this may include federal income tax or social security withholding, or court ordered child support wage garnishment. However, even if a wage garnishment is permitted by law, an employer is prohibited from terminating an employee if their wages are being garnished. Deductions that have been agreed to by the employee in writing,…Read More
You love your “look”. You like your clothes and your hair. Many people love their tattoos and their piercings. The entirety of your look is a form of personal expression and part of an image that you have consciously cultivated for yourself. Unfortunately, employers frequently have “grooming policies” that really shut down this form of expression. We’re supposed to live in a free Country—can employers really dictate how we look? Are these policies lawful? Unfortunately, in most cases, explicit grooming policies are enforceable and employers are given a great deal of latitude. There is a general presumption that businesses have an interest in the culture of their workplace, of the appearance of professionalism, and their general public image. There is, however, one way grooming policies can cross the line: when the policy is discrimination. Employers Cannot Discriminate Do your employer’s policies regarding dress code, appearance, and grooming standards discriminate? State and federal laws provide laws…Read More
Being part of a family business is part of the American dream for many families. It represents an opportunity to work with loved ones toward a common goal of making it as a family and supporting each other. Unfortunately, in some situations, there is a fine line between supporting your family and being exploited. If you are working for your family and feel that something is not right, it is important to understand that you have legal rights. What Is The Family Relationship? The Federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) and the Department of Labor establish that employers who are entirely staffed with certain family members are exempt from wage and overtime laws. Those family members include the owner’s parents, spouses, children, siblings, grandparents, grandchildren, and in-laws. The only real exclusion is “distant relatives from separate households.” This means under federal laws, if you work for your brother’s family business, who only employs family members,…Read More
