Whether you feel like you have continuously been passed over for promotions, that your employer has made unlawful decisions about you, or out of sheer curiosity, there are many reasons to want to look at your employee personnel file. After all, you work hard and your professional reputation is important to you. Under California law, you have a right to your records. Specifically, under the California Labor Code, “Every current and former employee, or his or her representative, has the right to inspect and receive a copy of the personnel records that the employer maintains relating to the employee’s performance or to any grievance concerning the employee.” Upon request, an employer is required to make the contents of an employee’s personnel records available for inspection within 30 days of the request, unless the requestor agrees to expand that time frame to 35 days. In addition, the employer is required to offer a copy of the personnel…Read More
Telephone scams remain one of the biggest threats to consumers and their finances. Callers will talk fast and act friendly, promising a free gift, prize or vacation – all they need is to obtain your account information. If it seems too good to be true, it probably is. There are things you can do to recognize phone scams and protect yourself from them – as well as avoid making costly mistakes. Scammers will use every tactic imaginable to obtain your information. Often they hook consumers with an offer, deal or prize that seems too good to pass up. They also may offer to lower your credit card interest rates or consolidate your loan debt. Anyone can be a potential target and not realize it – until it is too late. If you know for sure it is a phone scam, the best thing to do is to say “no thank you” and hang up. Other tips…Read More
Last week, the Department of Labor (DOL) issued a news release announcing that three subsidiaries of Chevron Corporation – one in California and two in Texas – must pay $1.5 million in back wages and penalties to 750 of its employees. The subsidiaries, it was determined, were acting in direct violation of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), which provides protection to workers with regard to minimum wage and overtime pay. For Chevron, the problems started when the DOL’s San Francisco office found that employees were not being paid for time spent in briefings during shift changes. Yet these briefings, in which workers received instructions for what their shifts would entail, were an integral part of the job and employees deserved payment for their time. Chevron will now have to issue checks to those workers, and they will also receive damages for the missing wages. In all, the workers will each get roughly $2,000. How The FLSA…Read More
Employee misclassification is one of the most serious problems faced by workers, employers, and the economy as a whole. In fact, employee misclassification is such a huge problem that California legislature passed laws designed specifically to outlaw the practice. Under this legislation, employers face penalties of up to $25,000 for every violation. Misclassification refers to the practice of purposely classifying workers as contractors instead of rightful employees. This is fairly popular among employers, as it allows them to avoid paying overtime and minimum wages, health benefits, a range of taxes, and unemployment and workers’ compensation insurance. Yet in the current “share economy,” a number of companies – Uber most notable among them – have begun to face backlash from workers who demand full employee rights. How Misclassification Hurts Workers Misclassification hurts workers significantly. Contractors are, simply put, denied access to protections and benefits. Some examples of these protections and benefits include unemployment insurance, minimum wage, family and medical leave,…Read More
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has made a blockbuster announcement: It has charged Equifax and TransUnion, two of the three major credit reporting agencies, with violations of the Dodd-Frank and Fair Credit Reporting Acts and ordered them to pay over $23 million in fines and consumer restitution. The CFPB claims the two companies sold customers fake credit scores and lured people into buying expensive credit monitoring services they didn’t intend to purchase. They lied to consumers who were only trying to improve their financial health. That $1 Credit Score You Bought Wasn’t Exactly Your Credit Score According to a report in The Atlantic, Equifax and TransUnion each offered consumers a chance to see their credit scores, which are crucial to obtaining credit and directly affect the interest rate the consumer is offered. The scores range from 300 to 850 and are assigned based on the individual’s current debt level, access to unused credit balances, payment…Read More
One man’s displeasure with Amazon’s Prime membership has resulted in poor ratings for the e-tail giant in the marketplace of public opinion. This year, Gregory Harris filed suit against Amazon, claiming he was charged hidden fees while purchasing items through the online retailer. According to the plaintiff, the company enrolled him in Amazon’s “Prime” membership program without his permission. Those purchasing this service benefit from shipping upgrades and streaming services; however, its cost at $100 is prohibitive for many families. For this reason, many people buy items on the retailer’s website without committing to the membership service. In his lawsuit, Harris states that Amazon misrepresents the costs associated with purchasing on its site. According to the Harris, his decision to buy items that had been advertised at a low price led to his enrollment in the Prime membership program. Obtaining the items at that price was contingent on having a membership, a distinction that was…Read More
Many workers will have to be a more frugal than expected during this year’s holidays; a nationwide increase in overtime pay, codified by the federal government back in May, is being delayed. The law, which would have extended overtime benefits to roughly four million more workers, were set to take effect on December 1st. Late last month, however, the House passed a bill delaying the law’s implementation until 1 June 2017. It’s unlikely that the Senate, which is on recess until after Election Day, will have the time or the political capital to overturn the stay. Republicans unanimously voted for the bill, called The Overtime Review and Reform Act. (Five democrats voted for it as well.) They claimed the new statute would create a crushing financial burden for small businesses, and insisted on the need for a longer implementation period. In addition, the conservatives argue that the overtime rule paints with too wide of a brush, and…Read More
In 2010, the Affordable Care Act (ACA), also referred to as “Obamacare”, was signed into law. To put it bluntly, the law is controversial and polarizing, and politicians across the country have been elected to office by riding the currents of anti-ACA sentiment. Despite this, no one can dispute that health insurance is important. Having health insurance when we truly need it saves us from certain financial ruin. It also protects our families and gives us some peace of mind that when a medical need arises, we can rely on receiving medical care. Regardless of whether you love or hate the ACA, it is the law of the land and it is important to understand what it means to you, as an employee in California. If Your Employer Has Less Than 50 Employees If you work for an employer who employs 50 full time employees or “full time equivalent” (FTE) employees, your employer is not…Read More
We live in a free country. Right? We value our individuality and the rights to express ourselves. This includes choosing how we dress, whether we have beards, and how we wear our hair. Unfortunately, this freedom does not always extend into the workplace, where we are often made to adhere to dress codes or to wear uniforms. A logical question, then, is whether employers act lawfully when they do this? The simple answer to this question is yes. But it is important, as an employee in California, to have a better understanding of how the law operates when it comes to dress codes. Employees May Implement Dress Code The California Government Code allows employers to require employees “to adhere to reasonable workplace appearance, grooming, and dress standards.” This may include business casual, or business formal, or even the Silicon Valley look of skinny jeans and a hoodie. An employer’s ability to implement and enforce a dress…Read More
In the workplace, older employees deserve to be valued and respected based upon their years of hard work, insight, and valuable experience. Unfortunately, what older employees and job applicants actually go through can be cruel, as some employers choose young job applicants over older ones, promote younger employees, and “encourage” employees to retire early. Many types of employment discrimination are prohibited under California and Federal laws. This includes discrimination by an employer based on a person’s age. Both the Federal Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA) and the California Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA) provide strong protections for people aged 40 or older. This is because age is a protected class under the ADEA and the FEHA. If you are nearing the age of forty or are already above forty, it is important to understand how the ADEA and FEHA work: When there is a difference in the two acts, California employees are given…Read More
