wage and hour lawsuit

California Temporary Worker Rights, Part 2

July 19, 2013 | by Nassiri Law

In this second entry of our two-part series on the rapid proliferation of temporary workers in California, our Costa Mesa employment lawyers continue to explore some of the vulnerabilities of these employees and the extent of the power they do hold.

We’ve been closely following the ProPublica/TIME Magazine series on temporary workers.

While the number of temporary workers throughout the country continues to grow, the number of individuals who will secure full-time employment as a result of these positions is low – about 30 percent. In the meantime, most will earn less than $25,000, some taking in less than half of minimum wage once various fees are factored.

California Temporary Worker Rights, Part 1

July 17, 2013 | by Nassiri Law

The road to economic recovery has been marked by a stagger more than a stride.

As such, our Costa Mesa employment lawyers know that while the number of full-time positions has waned, the number of part-time and temporary jobs has seen a significant uptick. At least in the immediate term, there is no real sign that this will change.

Temporary workers in California are almost always at a disadvantage, in comparison to full-time workers. They aren’t given health benefits, disability benefits or many of the other considerations that those with more permanent positions enjoy.

California Unpaid Internships May Warrant Wage Lawsuits

July 3, 2013 | by Nassiri Law

The courts have recently seen a wave of litigation action taken by former interns across the country who say their work has essentially amounted to free labor for their respective industries, and that such actions have violated state and federal wage and hour laws.

Our Costa Mesa labor attorneys recognize that part of the reason why we are seeing an uptick in these kinds of cases has to do with the fact that internships that are unpaid are fast becoming the norm.

But aside from questions of social inequality arising from this framework (i.e., there are a great many students who can’t afford not to be paid for full-time work, even over the course of a summer), problems have arisen from the fact that many companies seem to flout the six federal mandates required in order for a company to retain unpaid interns. Those requirement, per the Fair Labor Standards Act, include: