Orange County Employment Lawyers Blog

Major Tax Breaks for Two Tech Sector Employers for Adding Jobs in California

April 12, 2016 | by Nassiri Law

If you turn on any cable news network you are likely to see what is going in the Republican primaries, and you are likely to hear about jobs to going to China if you ever see Donald Trump speak. Regardless of your opinion of who, if any of the people running for the presidential nomination in both parties is the right person for the job, there is no question that more jobs in American in a good thing for the nation.

While manufacturing jobs are getting harder and harder to come by in the United States, there is an increase in jobs in the tech sector. While California is well known as the center of the tech industry, many only think of Silicon Valley, and there is good reason for that as it has been a major hub over the years. However, when many may not realize is that due to tax incentives locally, Los Angeles is becoming a major hot bed for tech center jobs, and this only expected to increase over the next several years. Continue Reading ›

California Supreme Court Orders Employer to Let Workers Have a Seat

April 10, 2016 | by Nassiri Law

Every time we go into a retail establishment we see workers standing at the register. There is no real reason that these workers can’t be sitting in a chair other than due to the fact that they have always been required to stand. However, just because it has always been done a certain way to does it make a good reason to doing that something that doesn’t make a lot of sense.

While this seem like a trivial issue, those who worked as a cashier know how painful it can be to stand in the same spot for hours on end. While store owners realize it is painful and are often willing to provide a rubber mats for employees to stand on, they are not ever willing to allow these workers to sit in a stool or chair while working the register. Continue Reading ›

American Apparel to Eliminate 300 Jobs in Los Angeles

April 8, 2016 | by Nassiri Law

According to a recent news feature from the Orange County Register, the clothing retailer American Apparel is cutting 300 jobs in Los Angeles and 80 more in Garden Grove. The 80 employees may not be the only ones laid off in Garden Grove as union leaders are preparing for that number to reach 150 in the next week or so. These jobs are at a processing facility run by the clothing manufacturer in the Los Angeles area.

These employees work as sewers, laborers, and even supervisors at the clothing manufacturing plant. As one might expect, the union that represents these workers in not happy with the all the past and future layoffs and has called for a major picket outside of the company’s factory. Continue Reading ›

California Jury Orders Taco Bell to Pay Workers in 10-Year-Old Case

April 7, 2016 | by Nassiri Law

According to a recent news article from Eater, a lawsuit that has dragged on for ten years involving employees who sued for half a million dollars claiming that Taco Bell made them take unpaid lunch breaks is finally over. The lawsuit ended when a California jury awarded the plaintiffs $500,000 in back due wages for the unpaid lunches.

The case was first filed 10 years ago by two employees. These employees consolidated other cases that were already in the system and got it certified as a class action lawsuit. They then recruited enough class members for the litigation to proceed as class action matter. Continue Reading ›

California Domestic Workers Demand Fair Wages

April 5, 2016 | by Nassiri Law

Equal pay for equal work has long been one of the main goals for those fighting for women’s rights. However, while the goal and the protests have been around for decades, we are still a long way from realizing that goal. For this reason, those in the Democratic party running for the presidential nomination have said this will be a major policy issue if they are elected.

This is especially a problem in industries that are dominated by female workers. According to a recent news feature from the Huffington Post, 95 percent of all domestic workers in California are women. They are now demanding better wages. Continue Reading ›

Labor Issues for Rams as They Move to Los Angeles

April 3, 2016 | by Nassiri Law

While there is a lot of excitement about the St. Louis Rams’ upcoming move to Los Angeles, the team has been worried that the contracts already executed will become subject to California labor law instead of Missouri law, which is where they were located when the contracts were executed, according to a recent news feature from NBC Sports.

The obvious reason the team ownership was concerned about which law would apply to the contracts is because California is a lot more progressive than other states, especially those in the Midwest. In other words, when a labor dispute arises, the law in California is likely to be a lot more favorable to to the interests of the employees than to the employer. Continue Reading ›

Former Chipotle Employee Suing Company for Sexual Harassment

April 1, 2016 | by Nassiri Law

Chipotle has been in the headlines a lot recently, mostly because of allegations of hundreds of cases of food poisoning in stores across the country, man of which were shuttered until the source of the contamination was identified and addressed. While that problem appears to be solved and the company’s sales are beginning to recover, the company is back in the news again because a former employee is suing them over what the plaintiff has called a “sexually-charged atmosphere.”

According to a recent news article from NBC 4 Southern California, plaintiff alleges that she and other female employers were subject to frequent sexual harassment at their workplace. One example alleged in her complaint is that her supervisors intentionally ordered a shirt they knew to be too tight. She said she asked for a larger shirt, but her manager asked her if she needed a larger size because her breasts were too big. She also alleged they used the store security cameras to watch women they believed were attractive. Continue Reading ›

On Demand Workers May Be Allowed to Unionize

March 29, 2016 | by Nassiri Law

On demand employees, also know as “gig workers,” may be able to enter in a collective bargaining agreement, according to a recent news feature from the Los Angeles Times.

These gig workers – so named after musicians’ use of the term “gig,” referring to a scheduled performance – include Lyft and Uber drivers, who operate like on-demand taxi drivers. They’ve been having a lot of trouble based upon the fact that their employer wants to consider them independent contractors entitled to a lot less than statutory employees, because it is a more cost effective model for the company. It should be noted the California Labor Commission has twice ruled that these drivers are employers and not employees and are entitled to things such as workers’ compensation. Continue Reading ›

Employment Lawsuits Have Plagued Donald Trump

March 27, 2016 | by Nassiri Law

These days, it is virtually impossible to turn on the television, open social media or even take public transportation without hearing about Donald Trump and his bid for the GOP presidential nomination. Regardless of your feelings about him as a candidate, he is clearly an excellent marketer and seems thrilled every time he is mentioned in the press – even if it is for a story depicting him in a negative light.

A recent article from the International Business Times reports Trump has been sued by hundreds of his own employers for alleged violations of the local and national labor laws. The article suggests that the may be somewhat different from his “tough but fair” reputation on The Apprentice, where he was known for his catch phrase, “You’re fired.” Continue Reading ›

Los Angeles Franchise Owners Apprehensive about Joint Employment

March 23, 2016 | by Nassiri Law

Most everyone in the U.S. has eaten at a McDonald’s restaurant at least once in their life. While most are aware that many fast food locations are franchises, they probably have not given much thought to how that works.

While a portion of the locations are company owned, meaning they are owned, operated, and staffed by company employees, more than half of the locations are franchised. This means that a person who wants a McDonald’s franchise, for example, can apply for a license from the company if they can meet all of the requirements. This can include going to a training program, paying several hundred thousand dollars, and even purchasing land and giving it to the company. Continue Reading ›