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California has a very diverse economy, and this is one of the reasons it is such a great place to live. In terms of jobs, there are a variety of different sectors and opportunities not available to residents of other states. Not only do we have the world’s leading computer design and software industry located in Silicon Valley, but we have large amounts of farmland on which a large portion of our nation’s food supply is produced each year.

uscapitolWith all of these farms and agricultural industries within our state’s borders, there are a lot of jobs available for farmworkers. However, in addition to great opportunity for farmworkers, we also see many farmworkers being taken advantage of by employers who care more about making money than they do about farmworker safety, health, and quality of life.

According to a recent news article from The Daily Caller, a decent sized crowd of California farm worker union supporters showed in Washington, DC to protest what is happening in relation to a California farmworker labor dispute. Continue Reading ›

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Statistically speaking, California has a larger number or low wage jobs than many other cities and states across the country. Part of this is result of the large variety of employment opportunities throughout the state, and part of it is a long history of California’s employers taking advantage of the working poor.agreement

advertisementAccording to a recent article from The Berkeley Blog, low-wage jobs may be California’s Achilles’ heel. A study referenced in the article showed that, in 2014, around one-third of all workers in the state of California earned less than $14 per hour. This equates to around 5 million workers, and most of them are adults working full-time to support their families. To make matters worse, they have an average annual income less than $16,000, and the vast majority of them does not have any health insurance, benefits, or receive overtime pay. Continue Reading ›

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The workers’ compensation system in California is a very complex process. While it tries to take into account every possible contingency in such a way as to balance workers’ rights and need for quick access to benefits with employers’ need for a way to predict workers’ compensation expenses, from time to time the system will need a major overhaul to keep it up-to-date with changing times and economic conditions.

to-sign-a-contract-3-1221952-mTo this end, California state legislators and Governor Jerry Brown passed a piece of legislation, which provided for somewhat sweeping changes to the state’s workers’ compensation act about three years ago. Many saw these changes as favoring employers and insurance companies, causing a disadvantage to providers of medical care for injured workers and rehabilitation providers, and, in turn, harming many disabled workers, even though it was designed to provide more cash benefits to workers.

Since the bill was enacted, there have been reports of a five percent drop in medical claims associated with workers’ compensation petitions. This has undoubtedly upset medical providers around the state, and they have pushed for new changes to the state workers’ compensation act. A newly proposed piece of legislation entitled Senate Bill 563 aims to address their concerns. According to a recent article in the Sacramento Bee, State Senator Richard Pan, a physician himself, wishes to take away some of the teeth from the utilization review required to approve any medical treatments as absolutely necessary prior to awarding disability benefits to pay for those medical treatments. Continue Reading ›

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For the past year, there has been a great deal of debate about creating a minimum wage for the City of Los Angeles. The state already has a minimum wage, but it has become increasingly clear that state minimum wage does not equate to a living wage for the residents and workers in Los Angeles.

Fears of Min WageWith that in mind, the debate over whether or not Los Angeles should follow the lead of other cities and establish their own minimum wage is quickly turning into a debate of what the new minimum wage for the city should be, as it was obvious some form of a minimum wage law was needed. There was understandably a lot of input from advocates for low-wage workers and also for business owners and other employers in the city of Los Angeles. As one could easily imagine, workers’ advocates and employers had vastly different ideas on what the new minimum wage should be and when it should take effect.

There were three main proposals that emerged as frontrunners in the debate, and the amounts of the new minimum wage ranged from around $11 per hour to $15 per hour. The number of years to fully implement the increased minimum wage ranged from a little as three years to more than 15 years. According to a recent news article from the Washington Post, city officials have decided to raise the citywide minimum wage to $15 per hour, and this increase will take effect by 2020. Continue Reading ›

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It is a sad fact some unscrupulous employers will stop at nothing to make money, even when that involves taking advantage of their hardworking employees. According to a recent news article from Orange County Breeze, three employers were recently arrested and charged with stealing wages from their employees on a public works project.

davestressedAuthorities say one businessman has been charged with four felony counts of conspiracy to take employee wages earned during a public works project, over 30 counts of taking employee wages on a public works project, 20 felony counts of tax evasion, 4 counts of conspiracy to commit a crime, and an additional 10 counts of conspiracy to file false or counterfeited documents. Continue Reading ›

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Cities and states across the country have legalized marijuana, decriminalized simple possession, or legalized the use of medical marijuana, as is the case in the state of California. However, one question that tends to arise is if marijuana is legal to use, can an employer fire an employee for legally using marijuana? Unfortunately, in many cases, it appears the answer to this question is yes.

tray-of-marijuana-1437843-mAccording to a recent news article from the Boston Globe, a woman whose employer fired her for using marijuana is now suing her previous employer for wrongful termination.

The woman interviewed as part of this story was elated when she was hired at what was going to be her dream job with a marketing agency. Her elation quickly turned to anger and despair when she was fired her first day on the job because she had failed a pre-employment drug trust. She was told she failed the drug test because she had tested positive for marijuana. At first, she was more confused than angry, because medical marijuana is now legal in Massachusetts and is, therefore, not an illegal substance. She had also disclosed her use of medical marijuana during a job interview. She told her prospective employer she takes marijuana as treatment for a digestive disorder, and this treatment is legal and approved by her doctor. Continue Reading ›

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Despite the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and other state and federal anti-discrimination employment laws, it still remains difficult for people diagnosed with autism and other intellectual disabilities to obtain employment, and, if they do, to keep their jobs.

advertisementA recent news feature from the San Francisco Gate looks at what jobs people with autism can not only do, but also can excel at.   This article was written after author attended a workshop for people living with autism and their family members.

One of the main questions asked by the audience is what kinds of jobs have people with autism been successful at in the past. The answer to this question, according to the speaker, depends on how a particular person with autism learns. She describes people with autism as learning either as a visual thinker, a pattern thinker, or a word fact thinker. Continue Reading ›

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Sexual harassment in the workplace is still a big problem in California and across the nation. According to a recent news article from Main Street, despite high frequency of workplace sexual harassment incidents, employees are often too afraid to report when they are harassed out of fear it will have consequences for their continued employment and advancement. This fear of reporting means victims are not telling supervisors, filing lawsuits, or taking part in lawsuits others have already filed.

sadness1A spokesperson for the Equal Opportunity Employment Commission (EEOC) says, according to studies and other reports, one of out four women working in the United States is a victim of sexual harassment. This includes women working in the lowest paid jobs as well as the highest paid jobs at equal rates. It should be noted, some of these numbers are merely estimates, at it is difficult to form an accurate accounting, even through anonymous surveys, since many women are afraid to disclose they were sexually harassed at work. Supervisors, co-workers, and even third-party contractors and vendors perpetrate many of these sexual harassment incidents. Continue Reading ›

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It is hard to turn on the local news these days without hearing about the struggle for low wage employees in California and their fight for fair wages. We have seen strikes by truck drivers, pleas from restaurant workers, and now, according to a recent article from the My News LA, protests are bringing carts full of petitions for a minimum wage increase into LA City Hall.

wheelbarrow-206210-mProtesters have amassed cartloads of petitions signed by about 100,000 supports demanding city officials to raise the city minimum wage to $15.25 per hour.   The $15.25 amount comes from one proposal for a minimum wage increase currently being debated in the legislature. Supporters and union leaders say there are about 700,000 Los Angeles residents who currently earn less than $15 per hour and need city officials to back the proposal, enforce the current law, and allow them access to earned sick days of which many workers are currently being denied. They are calling for a law with “no loopholes” and stress that, without effective regulatory safeguards in place, any minimum is meaningless if employers can continue to get away with routine violations.

Currently, Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti has created a proposal to raise city minimum wage to $13.25 per hour, which is what city council members are now considering, along with another plan to raise city minimum wages to $15.25. Those who brought petitions to city hall support this higher amount. The $13.25 minimum wage, if passed, would go into effect by 2017, and the $15.25, if passed, would go into effect by 2019. There is also a provision in both plans to include cost of living increases for future years to keep each respective law current in light of inflation and changes in the economy. Continue Reading ›

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According to a recent report in the LA Times, many of California’s lowest paid workers actually earn less than similarly situated workers in 1979. The article focuses on a study from University of California Berkeley, which found a significant increase in income inequality in California beginning the in 1970s.

notmuchmoneyResearchers determined employees and independent contractors who earned the least amount of income in the 1970s have faced the harshest decreases in average wages in the last 40 years, when adjusting for inflation. On the other hand, the highest paid workers in the 1970s have realized the largest increases in wages, when adjusting for inflation.

While some may argue about the manner in which inflation adjustment is calculated, it is necessary to make any legitimate comparison of income differences over a period of four decades. This is no different when comparing gross box office revenue of a classic movie made at a time when it cost 25 cents to purchase a ticket to today’s ticket prices as high as $20. Continue Reading ›

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