Orange County Employment Lawyers Blog

Getting Fired in California over a DUI

February 2, 2016 | by Nassiri Law

According to a recent news article from HR.BLR.com, an employee was driving his personal vehicle when he was arrested and charged with drunk driving in California. At the time of his arrest, he was working for a major insurance carrier as a claims handler.

Two weeks after his arrest, employer told him he needed to answer a series of questions, and he would face termination if he refused to answer these questions. He disclosed the details of his arrest. He was given a probationary sentence, where, if he were to abide by all terms of the court and prosecutors, they would dismiss his probation in two years. This is a fairly standard deal for first-time DUI offenders in California. Continue Reading ›

Arbitration Mandatory for California Truck Driver Wage Disputes

January 29, 2016 | by Nassiri Law

According to recent news feature from HR.BLR.com, a California employer operates a shipping, distribution, and warehousing business at ports in Southern California, including Los Angeles and Long Beach. The company accepts the shipments at the docks, stores the merchandise, and then has its drivers deliver the goods throughout the state of California.

The California employer hires a number of drivers who they classify as independent contractors. Many of these so-called independent contractors filed claims with the Labor commissioner for the state of California pertaining to wage disputes. In response to the claims, employer filed a motion with the court to make the drivers handles their wage disputes in arbitration rather than with the court. Continue Reading ›

One Wage for Restaurant Workers

January 27, 2016 | by Nassiri Law

If you have never waited tables, you probably do not understand how servers get paid and why tips are very important. In 43 states in the nation, restaurant workers get paid far less than minimum. While the federal minimum wage is $7.25, an employee at restaurant waiting tables probably makes around two dollars and change per hour.

As the worker goes through the day, he or she serves people and gets tips. At the end of a shift, a worker goes into the manager’s office with his or book. The manager tells the server how much money they owe the house for the day, and whatever is left over (tips) the server keeps. However, before he or she can leave, the server must “tip out” other people, like bartenders who make the drinks, bussers, bar backs, hosts and hostesses, and server assistants. This is based on a percentage in sales. Continue Reading ›

U.S. Supreme Court to Address Mandatory Public Union Dues

January 23, 2016 | by Nassiri Law

According to a recent news article from the Sacramento Bee, the United States Supreme Court held oral arguments on the issue of whether a public union could force employees in a particular sector to pay dues as a mandatory condition of employment.

Specifically, this case at issue is Friedrichs v. California Teachers Association. Currently, the government-run union requires all teachers in the state of California to be a member of the union and to pay around $1,000 per year in membership dues if they want to work as a teacher. Continue Reading ›

Workers’ Compensation and Employee Misclassification Issues

January 19, 2016 | by Nassiri Law

If a worker is classified as an independent contractor, then by the classification’s very nature, the worker is not an employee. In many industries there is a lot of worker misclassification. One of the biggest industries with worker misclassification problems is the construction industry, and, in California, there are a lot of construction workers.

The reason employers often to try classify all the workers as independent contractors is because it is cheaper when you do not have a pay a worker overtime or give him or her any benefits. Continue Reading ›

New Law Affecting Employee School Leave In California

January 17, 2016 | by Nassiri Law

According to a recent news article from Capital Public Radio, a new law has taken effect in the state of California that is designed to protect workers who need to take off time from work to handle a school emergency with their children or to enroll the child in daycare or school.

This legislation was authorized by California State Senator Hannah-Beth Jackson, a Democrat representing Santa Barbara, and she said the new law reflects a modest change to help working families make ends meet while taking care of their children and making sure they get a good education. Continue Reading ›

Top 5 Areas the EEOC is Pursuing Litigation to Protect Workers

January 15, 2016 | by Nassiri Law

Companies need to be aware of areas where the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission is cracking down. As Business.com explains, the EEOC is “notorious” for initiating court action against employers, sometimes over more minor infractions.

Employers should be aware of specific areas where EEOC is focusing its attention, and tracking litigation trends from the agency can help companies to keep abreast of the EEOC’s focus. Employees should also be aware of the steps EEOC is taking to provide them with important protections from a wide variety of discriminatory actions on the part of companies.

Wage and Hour Claims Keep Rising

January 13, 2016 | by Nassiri Law

Washington Post reported there has been a significant increase in wage-and-hour lawsuits in recent years. Wage and hour lawsuits arise under the Fair Labor Standards Act and employees bring these lawsuits when they are paid less than the law requires; when they are not paid overtime properly; when they are incorrectly classified as contractors instead of employers; when they are victims of wage theft; or when other employee-protection laws are violated.

There are many reasons why more wage-and-hour claims are being filed. Employees and employers both need to be aware of the added potential for litigation of these types of claims. Employers must ensure they are complying with all laws related to paying workers so they don’t find their company the defendant in litigation. Workers also need to know what their rights are and how to seek legal remedies when those rights are violated.

California Considering New Regulations to Prevent Workplace Violence Among Healthcare Workers

January 11, 2016 | by Nassiri Law

Healthcare workers, including nurses and home health aids, are one of the groups most at risk of getting hurt in the workplace as a result of violence. Workers within the healthcare profession typically face three times the risk of workplace injuries due to violence compared with the overall rate of such injuries in the private sector.

In light of concerns about their safety, nurses have been lobbying in California for a law which would provider better protections. Sacramento Bee reports that California is moving forward towards becoming the state with the most comprehensive protections for California healthcare workers in the United States.

Class Action Status Granted in Pay Disparity Case

January 9, 2016 | by Nassiri Law

A lawsuit was filed by a female employee against the insurance company Farmers, according to LA Times. The plaintiff in the lawsuit claimed she was paid less than men who had similar positions at the company, despite the fact those men had decades less experience than she did. After she filed the lawsuit, three additional women opted into the suit over the course of the late summer. Additional women also began to file claims, bringing the total number of women suing the insurance company to 12.

It is very common for employment discrimination cases to involve not just one plaintiff, but many. If a company discriminates against one woman by offering her lower pay than her male counterparts, the company likely engages in this discriminatory practice across the board and ends up paying many women less than they should receive if the discrimination was not occurring. Because discrimination is usually pervasive and affects many workers, it is very common for lawsuits of this type to involve multiple plaintiffs all coming forward with similar claims.