For a lot of reasons, including safety concerns, employers in the Los Angeles area are smart to allow their employees to take a break from time to time, which includes having an adequate time to take lunch.
Unfortunately, many California employers choose to put other concerns over the well-being of their employees and therefore not give their workers the rest that they need in order to do their jobs effectively and safely.
The thought of suing your employer may sound intimidating, but it may be possible. If you are facing mistreatment at your job, you may have the grounds to take legal action. This can get you compensation for the losses you suffer.
However, before you talk to a lawyer about bringing a lawsuit against your workplace, it is important to understand some of the main reasons for doing so. Here are a few of the most common types of workplace lawsuits:
The California Supreme Court, which is the final interpreter of questions of California law, recently issued an important decision that may affect the rights of California employees who work on the time clock.
The decision attracted the attention of news media outlets, and it may spur a new wave of litigation relating to wage and hour violations, a trend that employees may see as a welcome relief.
For many employees in Los Angeles, the announcement of an impending layoff may be a lot like someone announcing the arrival of a major hurricane or that a commercial airliner is going to crash. At a certain point, a worker has to accept it as inevitable and hope that his or her position survives the layoff.
The reality though, is, as previous posts have discussed, the way an employer goes about a systemic trimming of the workforce must follow both federal law and the laws of California, the latter of which, in many cases, are actually stricter than the law of the United States.
The federal Age Discrimination Enforcement Act, or ADEA, went in to effect 50 years ago in 1968. This federal law protects workers in Los Angeles and across the country form age discrimination, including things like being overlooked for new positions because of one's age and unfair terminations or even targeted layoffs that are designed to weed out older, and supposedly more expensive, workers from a company.
According to a report that was prepared to commemorate this important occasion, a lot has changed in the workforce since the ADEA became law. For instance, the American workforce has expanded exponentially, and the proportion of the workforce that is older has also gone up. What this means is that more people than ever can take advantage of the protections the ADEA offers.
The ride-sharing giant Uber, which has a presence in Los Angeles and other parts of California, is reportedly under scrutiny from the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, or EEOC, for its hiring and other practices.
The allegation seems to be that the company is systemically engaging in gender discrimination. However, to be fair, the EEOC has made no comment on its investigation and will not even confirm they are in the process of doing so. The EEOC has not filed any actions against Uber as a result of this investigation.
When you work overtime in California, you expect your employer to pay you the overtime money you earned as soon as possible. This money is important to you and your family, and often means the difference between getting some little extras and having to forego them. But when exactly do you get your overtime pay?
In general, your employer must pay you your overtime pay at the same time you get your regular pay. For instance, if you get paid twice a month, your first paycheck, which you must receive by the 10th of the month, should represent the work you did, including overtime, between the 16th and the end of the previous month. Your second paycheck, which you must receive by the 26th of the month, should represent the work you did, including overtime, between the first and the 15th of the current month.
As this blog has discussed on previous occasions, employees in Los Angeles enjoy the protection of both federal laws and separate California laws that may offer California employees protection above and beyond what the laws of the United States require.
Among other things, the federal law protects employees from employer retaliation when they either oppose violations of federal anti-discrimination laws or assist with a federal investigation in to an employer's alleged violations.
The City of San Diego, has agreed to pay $442,000 in damages to several helicopter medics to resolve their claims that they were not paid overtime despite the fact that they were assigned to work for 56 hours every week.
As many Los Angeles residents know, the standard work week is 40 hours, and employers who insist on longer hours must pay time-and-a-half under federal law.
Among other groups of employees, those who have a documented disability may be protected under a federal law, the Americans with Disabilities Act, or ADA.
This law, which applies to employers in the private sector who have more than 15 employees, is enforced by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, or EEOC. It should be noted, moreover, that California may have its own set of laws that apply to a disabled person's employment situation, and those laws are enforced by state regulators.
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