Orange County Employment Lawyers Blog

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.

California Wage and Hour Law May Put Brakes on Uber, Lyft

April 13, 2015 | by Nassiri Law

Two federal judges in California have ruled that it should be up to a jury to decide whether drivers for on-demand ride serves Lyft and Uber should be classified as independent contractors or employees.

The reason it matters is because if the drivers are in fact employees, the companies have been misclassifying them, and in term denying them important employment benefits, such as workers’ compensation, unemployment, minimum wage and overtime. They also aren’t reimbursed for gas or car maintenance expenses.

Lawsuits filed against both companies in California are pursuing a request to obtain class action status.

Former Coach Gets $5 Million in California Wrongful Termination Lawsuit

April 11, 2015 | by Nassiri Law

A former high school football coach in Southern California who was wrongly terminated for blowing the whistle on a sexual hazing scandal at a Catholic school will receive nearly $5 million in damages.

Jurors decided with the coach in his lawsuit and awarded him $900,000 in compensatory damages, and gave authorization for punitive damages. Jurors were set to debate how much those damages should be when the diocese offered $4 million to settle those claims.

The coach alleged he was wrongfully fired, retaliated against and then defamed after he reported hazing at the high school in December 2012.

Adams v. ActionLink LLC – Wage and Hour Dispute Settlements Should be Reviewed by Lawyer

April 10, 2015 | by Nassiri Law

When wage-and-hour disputes are investigated by state or federal authorities, there may be a finding of wrongdoing and the company may agree to settle the matter with the government, in an effort to avoid litigation. However, workers may be free to pursue additional litigation, assuming they didn’t sign away their rights by cashing the check offered in the settlement.

That’s what nearly happened in the recent case of Adams v. Action Link, LLC, reviewed recently by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit. The case reveals why it’s so imperative for workers in this situation to have the settlement agreement reviewed by a lawyer before signing and/or cashing the check. They may be signing away rights to additional compensation by doing so.

Here, according to court records, the Department of Labor launched an investigation into the labor practices of a marketing company after receiving a complaint alleging the firm was mis-classifying some workers as non-exempt and failing to pay them the overtime they were due.

Gender Discrimination Lawsuit Targets Twitter

April 8, 2015 | by Nassiri Law

A proposed class action lawsuit has been filed by a former female employee of social media giant Twitter, alleging the way the company initiated promotions was discriminatory to women workers.

The gender discrimination lawsuit is just the latest to be filed against a California-based technology firm. Others that have faced similar allegations include Facebook and Silicon Valley venture capital firm Kleiner Perkins Caufield, which is being sued by Reddit’s CEO.

In the case against Twitter, filed in a state court in San Francisco, plaintiff alleges the microblogging giant had no formal way of promoting workers. It did not post job openings or grant promotions. Rather, it reportedly relied on a “shoulder tap” process that effectively blocked women from the company’s highest-ranking engineering posts.

California Equal Pay Act Introduced by Female Democrats

April 6, 2015 | by Nassiri Law

Inspired by the Academy Awards acceptance speech of actress Patricia Arquette, a group of female Democrat lawmakers are introducing a bill that would help women workers earn the same paycheck as men for the same work.

The measure, SB 358, is sponsored by the Democratic members of the California Legislative Women’s Caucus and would strengthen protections against pay discrimination and retaliation against workers who ask about pay.

Sponsors of the bill called it “long overdue.” Equal Rights Advocates conducted a study in 2013 that found companies in California pay women 84 cents for every dollar earned by a man. That gap is even wider for Latina women, who earn 44 cents to every dollar white men make.