Orange County Employment Lawyers Blog

California Restaurants to End No Tipping Policy

June 3, 2016 | by Nassiri Law

About a year ago, the owners of several high-end restaurants in California and New York decided that they would institute a strict “no tipping” policy for all restaurant employees and instead pay the servers and other workers a higher hourly wage.

This no tipping model was created as a way to help workers earning what is often referred to as a living wage. The model was based on the typical plan in which restaurant workers get paid. Employees earn a very low minimum wage (typically less than $3 per hour) and then earn tips on top of that hourly wage. If the server does not earn enough in tips to equal the standard minimum wage for workers who do not earn tips as a substantial part of their wages, then the employer pays the difference. Continue Reading ›

Domestic Workers Fear End of Employee Bill of Rights

May 31, 2016 | by Nassiri Law

In the State of California, being a domestic worker or home healthcare worker is not an easy job. These employees have not traditionally been fairly compensated, and there are a variety or reasons for this. One of the reasons is that many domestic workers are women, and, as we all know, there is a long history of women women not being paid the same amount as their male counterparts for doing the exact same work.

Another of the problems faced by domestic workers is that they are not protected by the federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), which requires employers to pay their workers time and a half after they have worked eight hours in a day or 40 hours in a workweek. One of the ways to help these domestic workers get around the exemptions in the FSLA is that the legislature in California passed what is known as the Domestic Workers Bill of Rights (AB 241) according to Women’s News. Continue Reading ›

Wendy’s Reducing Workforce by Using Electronic Kiosks

May 29, 2016 | by Nassiri Law

In some gas station markets, you can go to the counter where fresh sandwiches and other food is prepared and use a computer screen to place your order. You can decide what you want on it, what you want with it, and pay for your order at the kiosk. You are then given a printed ticket to show to the workers making your order at the food counter.

According to Wendy’s, the well known fast food chain , responded to recent decisions by lawmakers in California and New York to raise their respective minimum wages for workers to $15 per hour is causing the restaurant chain to replace actual employees with electronic kiosks that allow customers to place and pay for their orders. Continue Reading ›

United Auto Workers Union Sets Sights on Tesla Motors California Factory Workers

May 27, 2016 | by Nassiri Law

When we think of an electric car, several economy models like the Chevrolet Volt, the Nissan Leaf, or Toyota Prius might come to mind. However, for those looking for a higher end luxury or sport model electric car, a Tesla might be a better option. Two of these new model Teslas are the Model S and Model X, and they are being made in a factory in California according to a recent news article from ET Auto.

Unlike workers at the Detroit big three automakers and the foreign car companies with manufacturing plants in the United States, Tesla employees are not working in a union shop as of this time. The United Auto Workers (UAW) union hopes to change that by enrolling enough employees at the electric car factory to have the plant declared a union shop. Continue Reading ›

SuperShuttle Files Lawsuit in California Over Worker Classification

May 24, 2016 | by Nassiri Law

According to a recent news feature from the Los Angeles Times, SuperShuttle has filed a lawsuit in California to get all of its many drivers classified as independent contractors. There are a variety of reasons for this, but it is primarily because company leaders do not want to have to carry liability insurance for their drivers and do not want to be responsible for any negligence committed by any other drivers. Company administrators to avoid paying workers’ compensation or having to spend money on workers’ compensation insurance.

When we hear the term ridesharing, we often think of Uber or Lyft. These companies allow a rider to go on his or her smartphone and request a ride. The driver will show up in a car that is self-owned and does not have any logos or paint scheme related to the ride sharing company. Originally, Lyft drivers would have a large pink mustache affixed to the front of their car, but the company seems to be getting away from that. Continue Reading ›

Car Wash Workers in LA Standing Up to Employers

May 21, 2016 | by Nassiri Law

There are many full service car washes in Los Angeles and Orange County, California. For many years, these workers would put in a full day of hard work at leave with less than $50 paid in cash. There was no fixed schedule, according to a recent news article from Truthout. Workers would often wait around for hours until cars arrived and then were told to begin work. They were not being paid anything for those hours they were forced to stand around. If they failed to wait there, they would not get any work that day.

Car wash employees said there was no accountability and nothing that could be done to make their respective employers follow the labor code in California. If they complained, they would simply be fired – an illegal and retaliatory action – and would be replaced with someone else. One of the reasons they were able to do this was because they largely hired Hispanic workers who may not speak English and are often reluctant to go to the authorities for fear of retaliation from the employer and loss of wages in general. Continue Reading ›

Employees at LA Luxury Hotels Complain of Unsafe Working Conditions

May 19, 2016 | by Nassiri Law

Many people who stay in hotels, even very expensive luxury hotels, will leave all kinds of trash for housekeepers to deal with. According to a recent news article from NBC Los Angeles, this often includes medical waste that must be specially handled and safely disposed of in an approved receptacle.

While the hotel chains are required to show a safety video to housekeepers and other hotel staff, according to a complaint filed by the employees of one high-end hotel in Beverley Hills, many workers claim they are not provided with the waste disposal equipment and other safety equipment featured in the worker safety video. In other words, their employer is telling them they are aware of the problem, want employees to know there is a hazard and the safe way to handle medical waste, but allegedly does not want to spend the money providing workers with the necessary tools to complete this task. Continue Reading ›

Poultry Processing Workers Allege Illegal, Unethical Employer Actions

May 16, 2016 | by Nassiri Law

Chicken doesn’t come cheap. Or at least, not for the workers who toil to process it for the masses.

A new report by Oxfam America asserts workers in U.S. poultry processing plants risk high rates of injury, illness, difficult working conditions and unsympathetic bosses. But perhaps the worst offense, the one that is the greatest assault on their dignity as human beings: Lack of access to adequate restroom breaks.

This takes a toll on all workers, but women especially. Routinely, the workers say they are denied requests to use the restroom. Supervisors not only deny or ignore their requests, they mock them for it. They threaten punishment. In some cases, they threaten to fire them. Workers told researchers it was not uncommon for them to wait up to an hour or more after making the request. Even when acquiesced, the supervisors usually set a time frame in which they must return.

Horrifyingly, workers say they are forced to wear diapers that allow them to urinate and defecate where they stand on the assembly line. They reduce the amount of liquids they drink – sometimes to a dangerous degree – so they won’t risk needing to use the restroom at work. They endure pain and discomfort and worse, serious health problems as a result of these violations of basic human rights. Continue Reading ›

Orange County Sexism Lawsuit Settled for $57k

May 14, 2016 | by Nassiri Law

A $57,500 settlement was reached in an Orange County gender discrimination lawsuit in which plaintiff, an employee of Irvine Range Water District, alleged she suffered system sexism by her superiors.

Although the settlement agreement did not require the employer to concede any wrongdoing, plaintiff’s complaint asserted there was plenty.

According to the lawsuit, plaintiff was hired as an engineering technician for the district back in 2007. Four months later, she was promoted to executive secretary and then the following year, she received another promotion to analyst. However, things began to spiral downward when a new supervisor came on-board. Continue Reading ›

Castro-Ramirez v. Dependable Highways Express – Associational Disability Discrimination

May 11, 2016 | by Nassiri Law

A sharply divided California Court of Appeal, Second Appellate District, Division Eight, issued a decision allowing a plaintiff to proceed with his associational disability discrimination claim against his employer. This was a reversal of the trial court’s opinion in Castro-Ramirez v. Dependable Highways Express Inc., wherein a father alleged he was fired for his need to assist his disabled son.

This kind of “association” discrimination is outlined in the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), which bars discrimination against an employee based on their association or relationship with an individual who has a known disability. The provision in 42 U.S.C. 12112(b)(4) means a company is forbidden from taking adverse action against a worker simply for associating with or having a relationship with someone who is disabled.

Under the ADA, companies are required to give qualified workers with disabilities reasonable accommodations. However, federal courts have held in prior cases (see Tyndall, 4th Cir. 1994, Overly, 6th Cir. 2006) that this association discrimination provision doesn’t mean workers are entitled to employment modifications in order to care for a disabled spouse or child. Continue Reading ›