Orange County Employment Lawyers Blog

Medical Marijuana Legalization Creates Employment Issues

May 16, 2015 | by Nassiri Law

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.

According 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 ›

Jobs Suitable for Persons With Autism

May 15, 2015 | by Nassiri Law

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.

A 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 ›

Employees Fear Reporting Sexual Harassment in Workplace

May 13, 2015 | by Nassiri Law

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.

A 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 ›

Disgruntled Workers Haul Thousands of Petitions for Wage Increase to L.A. City Hall

May 10, 2015 | by Nassiri Law

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.

Protesters 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 ›

Many California Employees Earn Less Today Than in 1979

May 7, 2015 | by Nassiri Law

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.

Researchers 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 ›

Minimum Wages Increase for California Food Service Employees

May 5, 2015 | by Nassiri Law

California restaurant employees who earn tips, such as servers, bartenders, hosts, and server assistants, are in some ways more fortunate than those who do the same job in most other states around the nation.

In most states, there is a minimum wage for hourly employees and a much lower minimum wage for workers who make most of their income from tips. For example, in South Carolina, an employee working a retail job is entitled to federal minimum wage of $7.25 per hour. An employee at a local chain restaurant waiting tables is entitled to only $2.13 per hour from their employer, as long as they earn more than that in tips. If no customers came in one day, and a server earned less than $2.13 per hour, employer would be required to pay the difference between $2.13 and $7.25 per hour after employees tips are applied towards the deficiency. Continue Reading ›

Military Reservists Accuse DEA of Employment Discrimination

May 4, 2015 | by Nassiri Law

Military status discrimination is serious problem, and it is only getting more common due to the large numbers of veterans who have returned form the battlefields of Iraq and Afghanistan and other locations in which the war on terror is being waged. United States service members who decided to put their lives at risk, and defend our way of life deserve better that coming home to face employment discrimination as a result of their military status.

According to a recent report from 760 KFMB, a group of military reservists who are employed as federal agents with the United States Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) have fled an employment complaint in which they allege harassment and discrimination by their employer. Two of the agents gave an interview in connection with the news report in which they have stated service members should not be treated as second-class citizens by their employer. Continue Reading ›

LA Truck Drivers Protest Wages and Employment Misclassification

May 2, 2015 | by Nassiri Law

Driving a truck is a lot harder than most people think. It not only involves being away from home for long periods of time, hours on the road, and having to spend most nights sleeping in the truck, it also involves a lot more physical labor than one might imagine. Drivers are responsible for making sure the cargo is properly secured and may have to load and unload the truck themselves.

Traditionally, all of the hard work and loneliness came with decent pay, so drivers could be able to provide for themselves and their families. These days, transportation companies are making it difficult to earn a decent living from driving a truck, but the job hasn’t gotten any easier.

According to a recent news article for ABC 7 Los Angeles, truck drivers recently walked off the job at Long Beach and Los Angeles ports to protest low wages and employment misclassification, which is costing them much-needed benefits. Continue Reading ›

Young v. United Parcel Service, Inc. – U.S. Supreme Court Weighs Pregnancy Discrimination Claim

April 15, 2015 | by Nassiri Law

In weighing a case of alleged pregnancy discrimination, the U.S. Supreme Court issued an important ruling in favor of pregnant workers. In a 6-3 ruling, the court ruled the former United Parcel Service Worker should get another chance to show her employer was wrong to force her on unpaid leave, rather than give her a lighter duty assignment as her doctor recommended.

That decision reversed earlier findings by lower courts which determined UPS wasn’t in violation of the federal Pregnancy Discrimination Act because light-duty work was expressly offered to only other types of workers: Those who lost their commercial vehicle driver’s license, those with a condition covered under the Americans With Disabilities Act and those who suffered a job-related injury.

The Pregnancy Discrimination Act, passed in 1978, clarified that gender discrimination included discrimination on the basis of pregnancy, childbirth and/or other related medical conditions. The law also instructs companies to treat pregnant workers the same as others who are similar in their ability or inability to work.

Feliciano v. Autozone, Inc. – Sexual Harassment Claim May Proceed

April 14, 2015 | by Nassiri Law

A female auto shop worker will be allowed to pursue her claim of sexual harassment against her employer, although other claims of disability discrimination and wrongful termination on the basis of race, religion and national origin were dismissed.

The Connecticut Supreme Court recently reversed the trial court decision on the issue of sexual harassment in Feliciano v. Autozone, Inc., in which plaintiff is a black woman from the U.S. Virgin Islands who practices the Rastafarian religion. As part of that religion, she wears her hair in dreadlocks.

In the spring of 2007, the company became aware of a situation in which nearly 20 transactions were flagged for potential abuse of a customer awards loyalty program discount. Those transactions were all processed by plaintiff, who later conceded she had allowed other employees to use her customer service number. She admitted this was wrong. Termination of employment was recommended on the grounds of violating the company’s loss prevention policy. Within a week, she was fired.