Employees in California are protected by wage and overtime laws, which require employers to: (1) provide the highest available minimum wage; (2) properly count and credit employee’s work hours; (3) pay overtime wages at 1.5 times when an employee works more than 8 hours and double wages when an employee works more than 12 hours in a workday; (4) pay employees timely; (5) provide meal and rest breaks; and (6) provide employers notice of their rights. These laws are well settled and employers have no excuse for noncompliance. Numerous restaurants in California have recently made the news for the wrong reason: wage theft. These restaurants have been caught: La Taqueria, a famous and well established Mexican restaurant in San Francisco was fined by the Office of Labor Standards Enforcement and the California Labor Commissioner for wage and overtime violations, including failing to pay overtime and for failing to pay sick pay. Essentially, the restaurant was taking advantage…Read More
What Is The FMLA? The Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993, or the FMLA, is a set of federal laws that essentially protects employees from adverse employment action for qualified family or medical reasons. Designed “to balance the demands of the workplace with the needs of families”, the FMLA allows an employee to take up to 12 weeks of protected unpaid leave during a twelve month period of time in order to attend to one of the following events: to take medical leave when the employee is unable to work because of a serious health condition for the birth of a child, and to bond with the newborn child; for the placement of an adoptive or foster child, and to bond with that child; to care for an immediate family member (spouse, child, or parent) with a serious health condition; or for qualifying exigencies arising out of the fact that the employee’s spouse, son,…Read More
Federal and state laws offer broad protections for employees. Generally, employees are entitled to minimum wage and overtime pay under the Federal Fair Labor Standards Act and the California Labor Code. There are several exceptions to these rules, which include several classes of exempt employees. California Labor Code 515.5 provides that computer software employees who meet a certain set of criteria are classified as exempt. The Labor Code Looks At Job Duties And Pay To quality as an exempt employee the Labor Code states that: The employee is primarily engaged in work that is intellectual or creative and that requires the exercise of discretion and independent judgment. The employee is primarily engaged in duties that consist of one or more of the following: The application of systems analysis techniques and procedures, including consulting with users, to determine hardware, software, or system functional specifications. The design, development, documentation, analysis, creation, testing, or modification of computer systems or programs,…Read More
California Labor Code Section 2922 states that “An employment, having no specified term, may be terminated at the will of either party on notice to the other. Employment for a specified term means an employment for a period greater than one month.” Most employees in California are considered “at will” employees, meaning that employment can be terminated, or the employee can quit, at any time without cause. Despite that this concept sounds simple, there are times when an at will termination is improper and state and federal laws that protect employees from improper termination. Discrimination The California Labor Code is filled with specific protections against discrimination for employees based on their protected class. These code provisions make it unlawful to engage in discriminatory employment action, including termination, based on sex, gender, race, age, disability, country of origin, victim status, pregnancy, or breastfeeding, among many other categories. Retaliation The Labor Code also provides for protections against…Read More
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
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
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
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
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
