Contrary to popular belief, California labor laws do not require that employers provide employees with paid vacation time. However, California has one of the most competitive job markets in the world and many employers offer vacation time to employees in order to attract and keep good employees. For these employers, vacation time is written into their policy handbook. Significantly, although state law does not require paid vacation time for employees, this time becomes protected once an employee has earned vacation time in accordance with their employer’s policy. This is because of how the law protects employees’ wages. Essentially, all earned wages are the property of an employee and for an employer to improperly withhold, delay, or fail to pay these wages is akin to stealing. Check your employer’s policies regarding vacation. These policies should spell out how you earn vacation time. For example, your employer may allow for you to accrue one day of vacation…Read More
Employment laws offer employees a wide range of legal protections from improper employment actions, such as wage and overtime violations, discrimination, allowing a culture of harassment, retaliation, maintaining an unsafe workplace, privacy violations, or failure to make accommodations for handicapped employees. If you have been harmed by your employers actions, or failure to act, and the employer has refused to set things right, you need an attorney. Further, you will need your records as a starting point to help you show that you have been harmed. Not only do personnel records help hold employers accountable, but employers are legally required to allow employees and former employees access to their own records. In fact, employers can be held liable for damages if they fail to allow you access to your records in accordance with the law. You Are Entitled To See Any Document You Signed Employers are known to make employees and potential employees sign all…Read More
State and federal employment laws provide important rights and protect employees from a wide range of employer misconduct. Whenever there is a conflict between state and federal laws, the more protective laws are applied. When it comes to rest and meal breaks, this is a very good thing for California employees. Federally, there is no legal mandate that employers provide rest and meal breaks for employees during the workday. This is in contrast to the laws of California, which is one of the states that requires that employers receive meal and/or rest breaks if they work a certain number of hours in a workday. What Are Your Meal Break Rights? Employers in California are legally required to provide unpaid (job-protected) meal breaks to employees. Employees who work at least 5 hours in a workday must receive one half-hour meal break; however, these employees have the option of waiving this break. Employees who work ten hours…Read More
Substance abuse is an incredibly sensitive topic because alcohol addiction and drug addiction are diseases that many people struggle to overcome. Addiction is dangerous, deadly, painful, embarrassing, and hurts loved ones. For this reason, many people go to great lengths to keep this struggle private. When it comes to employment laws, drug testing really tests the balance of a person’s right to privacy versus an employer’s right to employ people who can fulfill their job duties. U.S. Constitution And Californians’ Right To Privacy The United States Constitution, Fourth Amendment, states that: “The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.” Further, the California Constitution states that: “All people are by…Read More
We all know that a work week in America is forty hours, that there is a minimum wage that an employer can pay you, and that children are not allowed to do hard labor. This hasn’t always been the case. Established in 1938, the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) was landmark legislation enacted in response to unregulated and oppressive working hours imposed by businesses on adult and child employees. The impact of the FLSA on American work life cannot be overstated. It provided sweeping reforms as to how the American working class are treated and paid. Characteristics And Provisions Of The FLSA A basic understanding of the FLSA is important for everyone in the workforce, because it has shaped the way employees are protected from their employers. The FLSA applies broadly to employers in the private sector, as well as federal, state, and local government employment. Significantly, the FLSA: Established a federal minimum wage. It…Read More
Breastfeeding has been proven to provide impressive benefits to young children and their mothers. In fact, the state of California has passed numerous laws in the last two decades to promote breastfeeding, educate new mothers, and protect their rights to breastfeed. If you are a new, working mother, or a new mother ready to re-enter the workplace, you need to be aware of your legal rights. Employer Must Make Accommodations For Breast Milk Expression In 2001, the California legislature amended the California Labor Code to add protections to breastfeeding mothers in the workplace. Labor Code 1030 requires that: “Every employer, including the state and any political subdivision, shall provide a reasonable amount of break time to accommodate an employee desiring to express breast milk for the employee’s infant child. The break time shall, if possible, run concurrently with any break time already provided to the employee. Break time for an employee that does not run concurrently with…Read More
California has strong laws that protect employees. One area of these protections, established by the California Labor Code and a perpetually growing body of case law from the Appellate Courts, is breaks for employees. Employers are required to provide rest and lunch breaks to their employees if they work a certain number of hours each day. Unfortunately, employers often try to get around these laws or find ways to violate them. If you work in California, know the employers are required to provide the following breaks. Employees who work more than three and a half hours a day are entitled to a ten minute rest break for every four hours of work. This time must be paid, and the employer cannot require the employee to work during this time. Generally, employers give this break in the middle of each interval; however, the California Supreme Court has given employers more “latitude” when this is “infeasible.” An…Read More
We love bonuses. For all of our hard work, it is nice to be recognized and rewarded. Further, any bump in our bank accounts helps. However, with your bonus, it is important to be aware of how to calculate your overtime pay. This is because your bonus may positively impact your overtime rate of pay. Unfortunately, some employers do not properly account for your bonus when calculating your pay, which is a violation of California law. Closeup of a pencil pushing buttons on a calculator doing math calculations Discretionary Versus Non-Discretionary Bonus It is first important to know that bonuses are put into two categories, “discretionary” and “non-discretionary”. Discretionary bonuses are defined as “sums paid as gifts at a holiday or other special occasions, such as a reward for good service, which are not measured by or dependent upon hours worked, production or efficiency, are not included for purposes of determining the regular rate of…Read More
$10.50 per hour is the minimum wage in California. Remember that number. Because if a potential employer is trying to convince you to take less than this amount, you are being deceived. Employers in California are subject to both federal and state employee wage laws. The federal government mandates compliance with the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), while California is governed by the California Labor Code. Minimum wage words showing through magnifying glass held by hand According to the FLSA and current U.S. regulations, the federal minimum wage is currently $7.25. In contrast, the California Labor Code Section 1182.12 has established an annually increasing state minimum wage for employers with more than 26 employees. Beginning January 1, 2017 through the end of this year, the state minimum wage is $10.50 per hour. $10.50 per hour is clearly more than $7.25 per hour, so how do we reconcile that difference? Fortunately, the laws in California favor…Read More
You spend several hours a day in the hot sun working on a farm. Your manager or crew leader comes through, reminds you of quotas and tells you to pick up the pace. Hopefully, your crew leader also ensures that you take adequate breaks out of the sun, have clean, cool water to drink and are paid what you earned. If your pay doesn’t reflect the hours you put in, you may not believe you can complain because your employer hired you as a seasonal or migrant worker. Nothing could be farther from the truth. The federal Migrant and Seasonal Farmworkers Protection Act of 1970 provides you with substantial protections against wage and hour violations. After all, you aren’t donating your time. You expect fair payment for your time and effort. How Does the Act Protect Your Pay? California’s Wage and Hour Division enforces your rights under the act. It requires your employer to provide the following:…Read More
