Orange County Employment Lawyers Blog

Age Discrimination Case Heard by U.S. Supreme Court

October 15, 2013 | by Nassiri Law

The U.S. Supreme Court recently heard oral arguments in an age discrimination lawsuit brought by a former district attorney from Illinois.

The high court was asked to determine whether the Age Discrimination Employment Act is the only remedy through which individuals may seek recourse for discrimination on the basis of age.

However, our Costa Mesa age discrimination attorneys understand that the case of Madigan v. Levin may not even get that far, as the justices appeared to focus less on the merits of the case and more on whether it was one they should be deciding at all.

California Wage and Hour Lawsuits May be Prompted by New Minimum Wage Law

October 12, 2013 | by Nassiri Law

California has always been a trailblazer.

The latest new territory involves being the first state to raise hourly minimum wage rates to double digits – $10-an-hour by 2016, per a bill that recently received Gov. Jerry Brown’s signature. In the interim, the rate will graduate to $9 hourly by next summer.

While this is good news, we fully anticipate this change will coincide with a rise in California wage and hour lawsuits.

Wage and Hour Lawsuit Filed Against Outback Restaurant Chain

October 10, 2013 | by Nassiri Law

Historically, large restaurant chains have been one of the top violators of federal and state wage and hour laws in the U.S.

This may have to do with the fact that the restaurant industry is unique in the way it is permitted to structure its pay (on the basis of tips). The hours are usually not the typical 9-to-5, and it is typically lower-level staff (servers, bussers, line-cooks and hosts) who are exploited.

Outback Steakhouse is no exception. Our Costa Mesa wage and hour lawyers have learned the latest claim against the chain is a class action that stems from a group of Nevada employees. They allege the company failed to provide them with breaks to which they were legally entitled, mandated they begin working prior to the start of their shifts and discriminated against nursing mothers by not providing enough break time or private settings for them to pump milk.

Pregnancy Discrimination Act of 1978 Turns 35

October 9, 2013 | by Nassiri Law

The federal law that made it illegal for employers to discriminate against pregnant women – or those who had recently been or might become pregnant – has just turned 35.

While it may be difficult for some in the younger generations to fathom a time when a woman’s reproductive status was ever an issue with employers, there are still many workplaces that apparently have yet to receive the memo.

Pregnancy discrimination attorneys in Costa Mesa know that pregnant workers still confront discrimination even now.

California Age Discrimination Lawsuit Filed Against Local Government

October 8, 2013 | by Nassiri Law

If there was one thing you could say about the would-be worker, it’s that he’s been persistent. The 49-year-old, who has been trying to secure a job with the city of Burbank for four years now, has applied for a total of 11 positions.

So far, he’s reportedly been turned down for nine of those, while his applications for the two other posts are pending.

In a recent California age discrimination lawsuit, the 49-year-old applicant claims he has been turned down because of his age.

California Disability Discrimination Alleged at Agricultural Employer

October 6, 2013 | by Nassiri Law

A California agricultural firm based on the U.S./Mexican border is accused of discriminating against workers on the basis of disability and genetic information – in stark contrast to the protections outlined by Title IV of the Civil Rights Act.

Our Costa Mesa disability discrimination attorneys understand that the company had a routine practice of requiring job applicants to undergo physical exams and questions about their medical conditions. Job hopefuls were also required to disclose what should have been confidential information about their family’s medical history (this is sometimes referred to as genetic information). Such inquiries were a condition of employment, and they are illegal under state law.

In at least one instance identified by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, an applicant was rejected as a result of these against-the-law inquiries. In that case, the worker had been in a temporary post for a number of months when he applied for a permanent position as a dispatcher in El Centro. The applicant was told he would be placed into the applicant pool following a drug test and physical examination.

California Age Discrimination Lawsuit Filed by Former Reporter

October 3, 2013 | by Nassiri Law

In the field of visual journalism, there is no question that appearance matters and image is important.

But there was once a time when a reporter’s older age was viewed as a highly-valued trait, something that offered an air of credibility to the broadcast. Think Walter Cronkite or Helen Thomas.

However, a recent Southern California age discrimination lawsuit reveals that, unfortunately, that stance might well have shifted within the industry, or at least in portions of it.

HIV Discrimination Still Problematic in California, Nationwide

October 1, 2013 | by Nassiri Law

A fast food chain in Texas is the target of a recent federal lawsuit alleging violation of civil rights laws by a manager who refused to hire an applicant who was HIV-positive.

Our Costa Mesa employment discrimination attorneys know that at its core, this is a disability discrimination case.

It’s deeply unfortunate in this day and age that we are still battling to dispel the myths, fears and stereotypes that surround individuals suffering from HIV/AIDS. There was a time – not so long ago – that discrimination against those suffering from HIV was rampant.

California Discrimination Lawsuits Impacted by Wal-Mart v. Dukes Decision

September 28, 2013 | by Nassiri Law

It’s been little more than two years since the U.S. Supreme Court shot down a massive class action gender discrimination lawsuit on behalf of thousands of women who worked for retail giant Wal-Mart.

Since then, the Wal-Mart v. Dukes decision has been cited more than 1,200 times by state and federal courts handling similar types of complaints, some against retailers, such as Family Dollar Stores, others against government contractors, such as Lockheed Martin Corp. and even in the publishing industry, with one large case involving Hearst Corp.

It’s impossible to deny the impact this pro-business decision had on discrimination litigation. However, where it has primarily hit the hardest has been with regard to larger, class-action cases. That’s because the primary issue in the Dukes decision was not whether Wal-Mart had discriminated against women, as alleged. Rather, the court was charged with determining whether members of the class had enough in common to allow the case to move forward.

California Wage and Hour Lawsuit Nets $2.2 Million Settlement

September 25, 2013 | by Nassiri Law

It is one of the largest providers of elder care in the country.

Emeritus Senior Living facilities boast hundreds of locations across the country, thousands of workers and rake in millions in profits.

And yet, as our Costa Mesa wage and hour dispute attorneys understand, when it came time to providing adequate compensation to those trusted to care for our most vulnerable citizens, the for-profit health care provider did everything it could to skirt employment laws and boost its bottom line.