Los Angeles California Consumer Law Blog

In addition to federal wage and hour rules governing the employment of minors, California has its own set of laws when it comes to companies in this state hiring people under 18 to work at their businesses. Employers bear the responsibility for following these laws, and they can be held accountable for wage and hour violations if, for whatever reason, they do not do so.

One example of California's child labor laws is that the state requires an employee under 18 to have a permit to work, and a company must verify as much before taking on a new hire who is a minor. Basically, the child's local school and parents must acquiesce to the child's having a job, in writing and on a form prescribed by the state, before an employer can put the child to work.

Even in what seems like a safe occupation, a Los Angeles worker can find that he or she has been hurt on the job and will need to file a workers' compensation claim. This may make some workers hesitate. After all, employers do not like it when workers have to ask for workers' compensation benefits because it means higher insurance premiums for the employer. Higher insurance premiums in turn mean that an employer loses profit on the bottom line.

An employer may therefore be tempted to remedy this problem by sending a subtle, or even not-so-subtle, message that workers who file for work comp benefits will either lose their jobs or, at a minimum, not go any further in their careers. This sort of practice though, constitutes illegal employer retaliation in California. Under the law of this state, an employer may not in any way discipline or discriminate against a person because he or she filed a workers' compensation claim or, for that matter, reported a work-related injury. This is true even if a worker files a claim for benefits in good faith but the claim is ultimately denied.

Falling victim to a layoff is disheartening. When your boss asks you to meet in the conference room and says you are losing your job, your heart sinks. If your boss hands you a legal document laying out the details of your departure, you may be feeling a lot of confusion and uncertainty. 

You may be worrying about how you will make ends meet once your time at your company is over. Even if your company initially offers you severance pay, it may not seem like enough. Here are some tips for negotiating a significant final paycheck.

A previous post on this blog reminded our Los Angeles, California, readers that, with very exceptions, employers in this state may not impose mandatory retirement on employees once they reach a certain age. In fact, employers generally have to respect an employee's decision when he or she indicates that he or she has no immediate plans to retire.

Unfortunately, there are a lot of reasons why an employer may choose to ignore or try to get around this rule. No matter the excuse, though, pressuring or unlawfully forcing an employee in to retirement because they are getting older is illegal age discrimination, and an employee may have the right to compensation or other relief in the face of such behavior.