employment lawyer

California Employee Seating Lawsuit Not Limited to Cashiers

March 9, 2019 | by Nassiri Law

A number of California employment lawsuits have been won in recent years by cashiers at retail locations seeking a place to sit at work. The door was first opened in 2010 when a pair of California Court of Appeal rulings allowed cashier plaintiffs to seek remedy when employers failed to provide reasonable seating.

In 2016, the California Supreme Court held in Kilby v. CVS Pharmacy Inc. that when tasks performed at a given location reasonably permit seating AND providing a seat wouldn’t interfere with the performance of any other tasks that might require standing, “a seat is called for.” Furthermore, if an employer argues no suitable seat is available, the burden is on the employer to prove unavailability.

As our Los Angeles labor and employment attorneys can explain, this provision is most often applied to cashiers, tellers and others who frequently work in stationary locations, but it’s not necessarily limited to the retail or banking sector or solely to cashiers. Continue Reading ›

Nurse Alleges California Racial Discrimination Led to Wrongful Termination From Hospital

December 16, 2018 | by Nassiri Law

A former nurse at a hospital in Pasadena has filed a California racial discrimination lawsuit against the hospital where she worked for nearly four decades, up from a housekeeper in 1984 to a registered nurse, charge nurse and later a nursing instructor. For the first 30+ years of her employment, her work experience was positive. Until late 2017, she’d never had any written reprimands. It was around this time two new supervisors were named to oversee her department. From that point on, she alleges, nurses who were black and Latina were routinely targeted for discriminatory action, with allegations coming from a small group of white nurses.

As the San Gabriel Valley Tribune reports, the lawsuit filed in Los Angeles Superior Court alleges the hospital fired wrongfully terminated her for retaliation and intentionally inflicted emotional distress when she reported racial discrimination, which the hospital failed to prevent. Once the new supervisors started, she alleges Latina and black nurses were regularly singled out, harassed, given poor performance evaluations, stripped of advisory board roles and passed over for promotions. In fact, the very same month the supervisors took over, plaintiff was given a reprimand on the basis of a reportedly anonymous complaint by another worker, indicating misconduct. Problem was, on the date specified, plaintiff wasn’t even at work.

The following month, human resources personnel called her in for a meeting about further employee dissatisfaction. It was at that time she told HR that she was being discriminated against, pointing out a white nurse who had been the subject of another complaint months earlier had been given the chance to defend herself fairly, while she was denied that same opportunity when she asked. The very next month, she was again called to HR for another anonymous worker complaint. In the face of all this, plaintiff said she offered to go back to the registered nurse position she held previously and step down from her supervisory role. However, she was told the hospital didn’t allow employee demotions, her lawsuit states. Later that month, she was fired. Continue Reading ›

Fox is Now Being Sued for Racial Discrimination

June 5, 2017 | by Nassiri Law

Fox News Channel has been faced with numerous claims of unlawful employment actions in recent months. Fox has settled numerous sexual harassment cases, and is now facing an expanded racial discrimination lawsuit. The expanded lawsuit involves multiple former Fox workers, all of whom claim they were racially discriminated against while performing their jobs for Fox News Channel.

Racial discrimination and sexual harassment can both result in civil actions against companies in which executives or managers engage in unlawful behavior, as well as civil actions against companies which fail to correct a hostile work environment being created in the workplace.

Orange County employment discrimination lawyers understand how devastating it can be for victims to be treated inappropriately and unfairly due to their protected status, like their race or gender. Victims have rights, and high-profile anti-discrimination claims like the recent cases against Fox News may help to raise awareness of discrimination issues and prompt more people who are being victimized to take action. Continue Reading ›

Will Cities and Counties Soon Investigate Discrimination Claims in California?

May 28, 2017 | by Nassiri Law

When you believe you have been discriminated against, it can be difficult to know where you should turn. If the discrimination caused you to experience damages, Orange County employment attorneys can assist you in using the civil court system to obtain compensation from employers for losses resulting from discriminatory behaviors. Some victims of discrimination also turn to government agencies for help, although the assistance available with this method can be more limited in important ways, as compared with having an attorney represent your interests and advocate for you.

Soon, California workers who have been discriminated against could have another source to turn to for assistance if unlawful discrimination is occurring. Capital Public Radio reported a new bill is working its way through the state legislature which would help to provide broader anti-discrimination protection for workers by enhancing the resources available to those workers for reporting discriminatory behavior. Continue Reading ›

California Court Sides With Airline in Flight Attendant Wages Lawsuit

March 8, 2017 | by Nassiri Law

A judge in California has ruled on an employment lawsuit, ruling in favor of the airline in finding out-of-state workers with limited attendance in the state aren’t entitled to protections under California’s wage-and-hour laws.

The class action litigation, to which four flight attendants had been a party to, alleged their airline employer had violated California’s Labor Code. They argued that because they were frequently stationed in the state and because state law governs their scheduled work for that pay period, they should be entitled to the benefits that come with that.

However, the judge favored the employer, finding the workers were hardly ever in California, which meant they weren’t eligible for California’s legal workplace protections – specifically, the wage and hour laws. Further, the fact that the airline is not headquartered in the state bolstered the defense. Continue Reading ›

Black Employees are Suing CNN for Racial Discrimination

January 13, 2017 | by Nassiri Law

Current and former employees at CNN, based in Atlanta, are suing the company, as well as Turner Broadcasting and Time Warner, for alleged racial discrimination.

Employment attorneys are seeking class action status for the lawsuit, which they assert was spurred after several employees came forward after DeWayne Walker filed his employment lawsuit in January 2016. Those stories involved allegations of nepotism, abuse of power, discrimination, retaliation and revenge.

Walker was a CNN producer who sued the company last year for $50 million, alleging racial discrimination and later retaliation for his filing a complaint with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. He asserted that CNN refused to promote him for more than a dozen years because of his skin color. He says he was skipped many times over for promotions that instead went to white employees. Walker currently works at the company has an integrated marking manager. 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 ›