This article was originally published in the July/Aug 2021 issue of San Diego Lawyer Magazine.
Do You Believe You Have Been Wrongfully Terminated from Your Job?
This may occur when an employer has discharged or laid off an employee in violation of a legal right of the employee, sometimes based on an employer/employee contract. In extreme circumstances, an employee may quit and still bring a claim for wrongful termination (“constructive discharge”).
Do You Have a Sexual Harassment Claim?
Unwelcome sexual advances or conduct on the job that creates an intimidating, hostile or offensive working environment. The unwelcome sexual conduct can be from a supervisor, coworker, independent contractor or client. Sexually harassing behavior ranges from repeated offensive jokes or innuendos, inappropriate touching and requesting sexual favors for pay or promotions, to outright sexual assault or a workplace full of pornography. Once a claim is made, employers are legally required to conduct an investigation to determine if discrimination or harassment occurred and prevent future discrimination or harassment.
What Does Workplace Discrimination Entail?
According to attorneys practicing employment law, workplace discrimination occurs when an employee suffers unfavorable or unfair treatment due race, religious creed, color, national origin, ancestry, physical disability, mental disability, medical condition, genetic information, marital status, sex, gender, gender identity, gender expression, age, sexual orientation, or military and veteran status of any person or receives unequal compensation for equal work based on gender or race. If you experience any type of employee discrimination, a lawyer may be able to help you with your case.
Do You Have a Wage & Hour Claim?
Employee lawsuits can arise from unpaid overtime or commissions, uncompensated meal or rest breaks, minimum wage or other violations of state or federal wage and hour laws. These rules are painfully complex. Many claims occur as a result of employers misclassifying employees as independent contractors.
Are You Aware of Your Rights if You Are under a Union Contract?
These cases involve the rights under a union contract or a local union’s failure to represent a member’s interests fairly. For example, an employer cannot retaliate against an employee for union activities, and a union agent cannot threaten an employee with potential loss of a job if the employee does not support union activities; otherwise, employee discrimination lawyers may bring a case against the employer.
Do You Have a Safe Workplace?
OSHA, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, and its California equivalent, CALOSHA, set and enforces particular standards for safety. If employers fail to comply with these requirements, causing risk or harm to employees, then lawsuits may hold them liable for negligence. Workplace lawyers may bring a case citing OSHA requirements.
For more key issues in employment law, visit the San Diego County Bar Association website.
This information is for educational purposes only and is not intended to provide legal counsel or serve as legal advice. If you have an employment law matter, it is best to consult the advice of an attorney. You can get referred to an attorney for a free 30-minute consultation through the San Diego County Bar’s Lawyer Referral & Information Service at
www.sdcba.org/ineedalawyer
It seems like it should be easy to get time off for religious holidays. But some employees are hitting a wall when it comes to their requests – paid or not.
Imagine this: you ask your boss to give you the day (or weekend or week) off so you can celebrate the holidays. Your boss denies the request, and you are forced to work during a religious observance. For some denominations, this goes against genuine beliefs. It can cause a serious rift between employees and employers.
Now you’re left wondering if your boss has to accommodate your religious holidays.
The answer is, it depends.
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Employers of more than 15 workers must “reasonably accommodate” an employee’s sincerely held religious beliefs. This is defined under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
However, if the time off would cause “undue hardship” on the employer’s business, then the employer can deny your request for time off. The justification can be that your absence from work would be exceptionally expensive for the company or that it would cause damage to your co-workers or their rights.
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On January 1, 2016, employers will need to abide by a new California employment law that restricts the use of the E-Verify system.
The E-Verify system enables employers to verify workers are authorized to work in the U.S. However, with the new employment law, employers will only be able to use the system under any of these circumstances:
This means employers cannot use the E-Verify system at will. In order to legally use the system to check the status of applicants, employers will need to give the applicant a conditional offer of employment. Employers cannot use E-Verify to check the status of existing employees.
In addition, this new employment bill requires employers to promptly notify workers if the system doesn’t confirm an applicant is authorized to work in the U.S.
Employers who use E-Verify unlawfully are subject to a hefty $10,000 penalty.
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If you have questions regarding new employment laws in California, then you can get a referral to an employment lawyer who can provide answers. The Lawyer Referral and Information Service (LRIS) of San Diego County has an experienced, bilingual staff to assess your situation and provide you with lawyer referrals or additional legal resources.
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Employees and independent contractors have separate provisions and exemptions under California employment law, so it is important for both employers and workers to understand the differences between the two classifications. No one wants to be denied their rights or have to face legal action, because they chose or received the wrong employment status.
In California, there is no official definition of “independent contractor.” Instead, each agency (Employment Development Department (EDD), Division of Labor Standards Enforcement (DLSE), etc.) has its own set of definitions, which may classify a worker as an employee or an independent contractor. This is why it is important for employers to fully analyze the relationship of the worker to the business, under all California employment laws that may apply.
Employees, on the other hand, typically receive benefits that independent contractors do not, such as: minimum wage guarantees and overtime pay, meal periods and rest breaks, workers’ compensation, paid vacation, and other benefits. Employees receive additional benefits but have a different relationship with the employer than a contractor.
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You may have been hearing about a new employment law in California called the =&0=&, which is awaiting Governor Brown’s signature but expected to go into effect shortly.
The Fair Pay Act is a bold move forward for men and women workers in California, as it ensures an equal wage for employees doing “substantially similar” work. This law applies even if employees have different job titles or work in different offices for the same employer.
But what does the employment law boil down to for employers and employees, specifically? Let’s take a closer look.
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For employers in California, the Fair Pay Act means it is time to revisit equal employment opportunity policies and compensation guidelines, making sure both include language regarding the prohibition of pay discrimination.
The Fair Pay Act requires employers to prove that wage differentials are based on seniority, merit, quantity or quality of production (which is governed by an employer-based system), and a “bona fide” factor other than sex that is deemed a legitimate business necessity. Therefore, the compensation system needs to be able to justify the differentials.
Further, make sure employees understand these differences and how they apply to compensation decisions. Under the Fair Pay Act, employees can now discuss wages, so transparency is going to an important factor for employers under the new law.
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Male and female employees in California may soon see changes in response to the Fair Pay Act. Aside from clarification on compensation and differentials, workers will be able to ask about and discuss other employees’ compensation – something that used to be illegal.
The Fair Pay Act applies to both public and private businesses, so the impacts will be felt systemwide. And because the equal pay employment law will be governed by the Division of Labor Standards Enforcement, workers can file complaints through the agency should problems arise.
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Employment laws in California offer certain provisions to employers, including a
number of rights and protections
For those of us who have experienced carpal tunnel syndrome as the result of work-related activities, it can be frustrating to return to our offices or job sites to do the same tasks that caused the pain in the first place.
That is why it’s important for workers with carpal tunnel syndrome to understand their injuries may qualify under their employer-provided workers’ compensation program.
Carpal tunnel is considered an ongoing repetitive injury, which is caused by doing the same motion over and over. Examples of repetitive motion that could cause carpal tunnel syndrome are typing on a keyboard, using a computer mouse, or using equipment that causes repeated vibration in the hand and arm.
Ongoing repetitive injuries are commonly covered under worker compensation programs, which may pay for medical bills and treatments associated with the condition.
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On July 1, 2015, the Healthy Workplace Healthy Family Act of 2014 went into effect. This new employment law impacts how employers handle paid sick days for workers.
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According to the Healthy Workplace Healthy Family Act of 2014, employees are:
Under this same law, employers are:
Per the Healthy Workplace Healthy Family Act of 2014, an employee may request the sick leave verbally or in writing. This request may be for their own medical reasons or those of a family member. Domestic violence, sexual assault, and stalking are also valid reasons to request paid sick days.
For further information and additional guidelines, please refer to the State of California Department of Industrial Relations website.
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With all of the new legislation going into effect for 2015 and 2016, it should be a particularly interesting discussion at this month’s live and webcast event:
Hot Topics in Employment Law and Resolution Strategies
The moderated panel discussion will cover current trends and issues, and explore how mediation can be tailored to resolve difficult cases.
With the closure of several court offices and services in California, arbitration or dispute resolution is going to be a valuable skill and an in-demand alternative.
This is a CLE employment law event worth 1.0 GEN MCLE. Free to SDCBA Law Student Members and the Office of the San Diego City Attorney.
If you want to listen in to the panel discussion but cannot attend the event in person, then please register for the live webcast and watch from anywhere.
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Tuesday, May 26, 2015
12:00 PM – 1:00 PM PT
Downtown SDCBA Conference Center/Online
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