August 2, 2019
What Can I do if I Have Proof I was Passed Over for a Promotion due to my Gender?
Gender discrimination is an unfortunate reality in today’s workplace. In fact, according to Pew Research Center survey data, 42% of women report facing discrimination at work based on their gender. Workplace gender discrimination often takes the form of unequal treatment, such as reduced pay, fewer accolades, and being overlooked for raises and promotions.
If you have been passed over for a promotion at work due to your gender, the first step is gathering proof. Discrimination is insidious in that it can be difficult to pin down, but if you have solid examples such as direct evidence (i.e. an email in which a boss says something like “These business trips will be all boy’s talk, you wouldn’t want to come’), or strong circumstantial evidence (i.e. someone with fewer qualifications than you being awarded a promotion in your stead), you may have a case against your employer.
Once you have proof, your next step should be filing a complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). In order to enforce EEOC laws, you must file a complaint before you are able to sue. At this point, you should contact an employment attorney to help protect and preserve your rights.
Our attorneys are well versed in protecting your employment rights, and in guiding you through gender discrimination cases. Call us today to discuss the details of your working environment. We can help you collect proof, file an EEOC complaint, and eventually go after your employer for the compensation you deserve.
July 27, 2019
What the Law Says About Age Discrimination
According to the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967, it is illegal for employers to treat workers unfairly due to their age – the cut off starts at 40 years and older. This law applies to private companies with 20 or more employees. It states that employers cannot discriminate based on age with respect to hiring, firing, promotions, layoffs, compensation, benefits, job assignments, and/or training.
Let’s look at an example. If a company is facing financial hardship, and needs to make layoff decisions, they are prohibited from making those decisions based on the age of their employees. It may seem logical to lay off someone who is close to retirement age, since they would be leaving the company soon anyway, but that cannot be the basis for the layoff.
It is also illegal to harass employees based on their age, and it is illegal to retaliate against an employee that has appropriately spoken up against ageist practices. For example, if an employee mentions that a job posting for “recent college grads only” is problematic, and the employer retaliates against them by removing them from participating in the hiring process, that employer is acting unlawfully, and that behavior can be considered to be ageist.
An applicant/employees age is a protected quality under the law. If you are over 40 it is important to understand that you may face discrimination, and what to do about it if you do. If you believe you have been discriminated against in the workplace, call us to discuss the details of your case. We take ageism very seriously, and would like to help you fight for justice.
July 18, 2019
What are my rights as a whistleblower?
Under the law, a whistleblower is anyone who reports the illegal or fraudulent activity of their employer. Generally, an employee is expected to act in the best interest of the instruction they work for, but if that institution is behaving unjustly or immorally, the employee may report on those actions and be considered a whistleblower. In some cases, this is a legally protected position.
According to the Whistleblower Protection Act of 1989, a government employee who reports on violations of laws, mismanagement, the irresponsible handling of funds, or any general threat to health and safety, is protected from retaliation. Any negative action taken against the employee as a result of their negative disclosure can be considered retaliation. But even though protection laws are in place, retaliation still occurs.
If you plan on reporting on your employer, it is important for you to understand that protection is your legal right. If you are considering reporting on the problematic behavior of an employer, protect yourself from retaliation by taking the following precautions:
1) Document all of your communication with your employer, and keep a personal copy. Sadly, large organizations have been known to make reports and documentations disappear.
2) Keep track of timing. If you can prove that your report and the retaliatory behavior were not far apart, a judge is more likely to rule in your favor. Generally, no more than three months must have passed between the reporting and the retaliation for the retaliation claim to hold water.
3) Be able to describe how conditions deteriorated following your report, this will also help to prove your case.
Remember, when it comes to taking on your employer, you need to protect yourself with information and documentation.
July 11, 2019
What does CA Law Say About Bullying in the Workplace?
Bullying has received a lot of national attention recently. Adolescent and school-aged bullies can cause significant and lasting damage to their victims, and more than ever before our society is admonishing bullies and empowering victims and allies to step forward and stand up for themselves. This is a fantastic development for the children of today, but as many adults will tell you, bullying does not end when school does.
Workplace bullying and harassment is a real issue affecting thousands of employees across the nation. In the state of California, workers are legally protected from bullying when the harassment is based on certain protected characteristics. These characteristics include race, disability, religion, sex, gender identity, marital status, sexual orientation, or pregnancy/fertility. Actions taken in response to these protected characteristics can be considered bullying. Those actions can include but are not limited to jokes, derogatory commentary, innuendo, physical touch and hitting, verbal or implied threats, visual bullying (i.e. inappropriate signage), repeated or aggressive requests for sexual behaviors, and/or favoritism based on a protected characteristic.
If you believe you are being bullied in the workplace, it is important to understand what your protected characteristics are, and how those characteristics are being used to victimize you. Fortunately, there are several pieces of legislation designed to protect you. Those laws include:
- Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964
- The Americans with Disabilities Act
- The Age Discrimination Act
- The Fair Employment and Housing Act
- The California Constitution
In California, you are likely to be awarded the most damages under the Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA), which is a state law that governs discrimination and bullying enacted against employees, interns, applicants, and some independent contractors. This law covers all private, state, and local employees.
If you would like to discuss the details of your potential bullying case, call us today. We promise to review the details of your experience, and to help you seek the damages you deserve.
July 5, 2019
Common Issues that Farm Workers Face at Work
Farm work is absolutely vital to our nation. Without fresh produce, grain, and meat sources, our food supply industry would crumble and national nutrition would plummet. Farm work varies between farm and often between seasons. The work can include transporting, milking, and feeding animals, ploughing fields, sowing seeds, spreading fertiliser, crop spraying, operating farm machinery, and harvesting. The work is incredibly demanding and sadly, is largely undervalued. Below is a summary of the most common issues farm workers face, the greatest of which is low pay.
Based on a recent study from the National Agricultural Workers Survey (NAWS), the average annual income for a farm worker is between $15,000 $17,500.. For a family, the average income climbs to somewhere between $20,000 and $24,999. The federal poverty line for a family of three is $19.790, which means that most farm workers are living at or below the poverty line.
In addition to struggling with income and cash flow, many farm workers face health and safety issues at work. Many workers are exposed to dangerous pesticides, work without a reliable source of clean drinking water, and are at risk of heat exhaustion and lack of shade. Long hours and dangerous conditions are also common occurrences.
Farm workers are vital, yet mistreated. The issues are common and the solutions are slow to implement. If you or a loved one are farmworkers that have been mistreated on the job, call us to discuss the details of your potential case.
June 26, 2019
What are the rights of salespersons who get paid commission?
What are the rights of salespersons who get paid commission?
A commission is a monetary compensation following the completion of a task. In the sales world, commissions are most commonly a percentage of the value of the goods and/or services sold and are paid out following the successful completion of a sale. Commissions may be paid on top of or in addition to salaries, and are often used as incentivizing tools to motivate the sales team to sell more.
Commissions can be a difficult area of employment to understand legally, which is why we have outlined your most important rights here:
- If you work for commission, you may be protected by the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). If you are, then you are entitled to an hourly minimum wage, even if you earned no commissions during a set pay period.
- The FLSA does not require payment of commissions, so if you are not paid a commission that you believe you are owed, you will likely have to face your employer in small claims court. Before proceeding to court, make sure that you have written confirmation of the commission you were supposed to receive.
- Commissioned employees may be except from overtime pay if their pay is equivalent to more than 1.5 times the minimum wage amount, and if more than half of their earnings come from commissions.
Commission-based employee rights are complicated and can be difficult to understand. If you are concerned that your commission are not being paid fairly, call us for a free consultation to discuss the details of your potential case.
No one should be expected to work for free.
June 21, 2019
Are Domestic Workers entitled to overtime pay in CA?
Domestic service workers are employees that work in a home. This can mean maids, nannies, household managers, and more. Domestic work is very common in the state of California, but many people do not realize that their rights are actually protected under the law.
The California Domestic Worker Bill of Rights outlines appropriate work time scheduling. The bill clearly states that domestic workers must be afforded 12 consecutive hours away from work for every 24-hour period. If a domestic worker works for more than 12 hours in a single day, they are entitled to overtime pay. This means that their pay-rate increases to 150% of what it normally is, per hour, for every hour above 12 that they work.
For example, let’s say that a live-in nanny normally works from 8 am to 8 pm at a rate of $15/hour. For a normal 12-hour day, that nanny would earn $180. If a parent is stuck late at work and asks the nanny to care for the child for an extra 2 hours, the nanny’s pay rate rises to $22.5 for the extra two hours. On the hypothetical day that the nanny works 14 hours, she would earn $225 ($180+$22.5+$22.5).
If you or a loved one perform domestic work, make sure that their rights are protected.
June 4, 2019
How For All Workers Can Help With Your Case
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