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
The IRS is calling – or are they? Calls and voicemail messages from IRS imposters are on the rise, according to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). These scammers demand immediate payment and threaten legal action. They are smart, using deceptive caller ID numbers and often already knowing your personal details – such as the last four digits of your Social Security number. You may think you will be too smart to fall for these deceptive callers, but no one knows what can happen in the moment. In fact, since 2013, nearly 8,000 people have lost more than $44.5 million to these IRS scam calls. It is most important to be aware that the IRS will never call you to demand money. They will initially contact you by mail. Also, the IRS does not demand payment by certain methods, such as prepaid cards or wire transfer, or take credit card details over the phone. If you…Read More
Have you scheduled an initial consultation with an attorney? You are probably feeling some combination of nervous, anxious, and excited. You called an attorney for a reason and believe he or she can help resolve your legal issue. However, you don’t really know what to expect as television and movies have created some pre-conceived idea of what attorneys are like. Let me give you your first free piece of advice: you can relax. While there are definitely some colorful attorneys (i.e., attorneys with commercials where they walk away from explosions in slow motion), we’re mostly just normal people who work hard and want to do our jobs well. And remember, your attorney is here to work for you and wants to help you stand up for your rights. That is why it benefits both you and your attorney when you do some preparation before your meeting. Speaking as a consumer protection attorney, here are some…Read More
