Orange County Employment Lawyers Blog

New Employee Retirement Plan Contributions Announced for 2016

October 21, 2015 | by Nassiri Law

The Internal Revenue Service has announced the new employee retirement plan contribution limits for 2016. The announcement came on October 21, 2015, and employees need to be aware of the new rules applicable to 401(K)s, 403(b), 457 plans, Thrift Savings Plans, IRA limits, SEP IRA limits, and other tax-deferred retirement accounts.

Los Angeles employment law attorneys know that many companies no longer offer defined pension benefits to workers. Individual retirement accounts may be the only option employees have for planning ahead for the future. When employers do offer pensions, however, employers need to abide by rules and regulations set by the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA). These rules relate to everything from when pensions must vest to reserves employers must set aside to ensure they can fulfill their promises to workers.

New Employee Retirement Plan Contribution Limits

Amazon Drivers Join the List of California Litigants in Misclassification Cases

October 18, 2015 | by Nassiri Law

Southern California employment law attorneys know there have been a series of lawsuits arising from the misclassification of workers as contractors instead of as employees. Now, Engadget indicates that drivers who work for Amazon.com have joined the list of workers who believe they were incorrectly classified as independent contractors, thus receiving none of the workplace protections and employee benefits that they deserve.

Four drivers who worked for Prime Now have filed the initial claims against Amazon, and more may pursue claims as the drivers seek class action status following a September ruling by a judge allowing three Uber drivers to file class action litigation.

Were Amazon Drivers Misclassified?

Employee Questions about Using Medical Marijuana at Work

October 14, 2015 | by Nassiri Law

The San Francisco Examiner recently invited readers to submit questions about concerns they may have involving their employment situations. One of the questions being asked more often and was submitted to the news outlet was what happens if a worker takes medical marijuana for anxiety and is also looking for a job. The person who submitted the question stated she does not drive a bus and does not engage in any hazardous activities or operate heavy machinery. The worker is also concerned because the employer has stated it does random drug tests. Continue Reading ›

New California Laws Affect Younger Workers

October 12, 2015 | by Nassiri Law

While California has a very broad economy, it is still very much an agricultural state that employs a lot of farm workers. According to a recent news article from the Lompoc Record, a new law designed to increase pesticide restrictions may actually have a major effect on employability of young farm workers.

Many farm workers are under the age of 18, as they have been for hundreds of years. While the working age in California is normally 18, there are exceptions for agricultural workers. While the law does not prohibit farms from hiring people under the age of 18 to work in the fields with adults, the law does say that underage workers are not allowed to perform early-entry work anymore. On a farm, early-entry work means going into the fields immediately after pesticides have been sprayed. The workers are required to wear protective gear, but, until this new federal law went into effect, both underage and adult workers could do early-entry work. Following the new law, underage workers are prohibited from performing early-entry work. Continue Reading ›

State of Federal Law on LGBT Employment Discrimination

October 10, 2015 | by Nassiri Law

There has been a lot of progress in the last few years in reaching equality for members of the LGBT community. There was the overturning of the Don’t ask Don’t Tell military regulations, the National Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), and now the Supreme Court has decided that no state can refuse to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples. As we have all seen with the situation involving Kim Davis, federal judges would not allow a clerk of court to continue to refuse to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples based upon religious reasons.

However, one area where there still is yet to be equality involves LGBT employees in the workplace. There is still no federal law against discriminating against LGBT community members in terms of employment. Continue Reading ›

LA Judge Dismisses Lawsuit Against Teacher’s Union

October 8, 2015 | by Nassiri Law

Unions have been around for a long time, and they have done a lot of good for workers across the country. There was a time when workers had no rights and no benefits, and factory owners would actually have security guards physically harm any workers protesting or participating in a strike. There were even famous cases where security company employees hired by wealthy employers fired upon striking workers.

However, over the years, there have been some incidents involving corruption in unions, and this has helped those who are against unions make a case to workers that unions are no longer necessary. That being said, in many cases, unions are still a very strong tool disgruntled workers can use to fight for better treatment and fair pay. Continue Reading ›

A Look at Workers’ Satisfaction in Los Angeles

October 6, 2015 | by Nassiri Law

According to a recent news article from Los Angeles Weekly, more than 50 percent of millennials living and working in the Los Angeles area are not happy with their jobs. The article is focusing on college grads, who spent a great deal of money getting a college education and now have hundreds of thousands of dollars in student loan debt and are working jobs they don’t like.

A recent report from UCLA’s Labor Center focusing on young workers in Los Angeles states that nearly 60 percent of workers between age 18 and age 29 are forced to take low-wage positions. In this particular study, UCLA defines low wage in the Los Angles area as $13.38 per hour. The study also defined millennials as anyone born in the first half of 1980 or born in the following 20 birth years. This is somewhat different that the standard definition of the generation, which includes people born later than 2000. The study has also determined that around two-thirds of Los Angeles’ workers in this target age group are Latino. Continue Reading ›

How the “Gig Economy” is Affecting Employment Data

October 4, 2015 | by Nassiri Law

Recently, there has been a lot of discussion about how the economy is growing across the country and in the Los Angeles area. However, unlike in previous periods of economic growth, much of this job growth has been attributed to what is being referred to as “on demand” jobs “or “gigs.” While the term gig has being around a long time, it formerly was used when a band got hired to perform for a night. These days a gig could mean when someone online requests a single service, such as helping to fix a computer problem, or even coming to help put together furniture a customer bought from IKEA.

There are also ridesharing companies, such as Uber and Lyft. These companies get customers to download their apps for their smartphones. When a user needs a ride, he or she can call an Uber, for example. A driver who is working with the ridesharing company will have an iPhone that tells them someone has requested a ride. The ridesharing driver can either accept the request or do nothing. If he or she accepts the ride, then the driver is expected to pick up the rider and take the rider to his or her designation, and the app handles all of the payment, including a tip for the driver. Continue Reading ›

Report: Los Angeles Warehouse Workers on Strike

October 2, 2015 | by Nassiri Law

Going on strike is not something anyone really wants to do. While it may be empowering to finally make an employer feel the effects of unfair labor practices, it is not easy to live without a paycheck. For that reason, workers who are forced to go on strike hope their employer will not be able to financially weather the strike and will cave before the strikers do.

According to a recent news article from The Nation, dozens of workers at the California Cartage warehouse went on strike. The Cartage Warehouse is part of the Port of Los Angeles and employs large numbers of Longshoremen’s Union members, as it has throughout its storied past. The Los Angeles ports have been the site of many disputes between workers and management over the years, much like the large ports and shipping piers in major cities across the country. In addition to longshore worker strikes, we are now seeing trucker strikes and warehouse worker strikes. The ports are staffed by members of the various unions. Continue Reading ›

California Minimum Wage Bill Stalls Again

September 30, 2015 | by Nassiri Law

There is no question that the minimum wage in California is too low. While some employers may not agree with this statement, anyone making minimum wage who actually tries to live in Los Angeles or the Orange County area and take care of a family knows all too well the reality of the situation. The bottom line is dedicated employees are working hard for minimum wage, but they are unable to make ends meet and take care of their families.

In order to correct this problem, there has been a lot of talk about raising the minimum wage in California, but, if these bills do not pass, it may not be anything more than talk. According to a recent news article from Business Management Daily, legislative efforts to raise the statewide minimum wage have stalled. The main bill, which many consider to be controversial, is Senate Bill 3 (SB 3), which was designed to increase the state minimum in wages in phases over several years. The total increase would have been in the amount of $3 per hour. The bill would have also set up a schedule for annual cost of living increases (COLAs). The first phase would have increased the minimum wage rate for the state of California to $11.00 per hour, and this would have gone into effect on January 1, 2016. On July 1, 2017, there would have been an automatic increase in the state minimum wage to $13.00 per hour. The automatic COLA increases would have begun in 2019. Continue Reading ›