This fall, the U.S. Supreme Court is slated to hear oral arguments in three cases alleging LGBTQ workplace discrimination. In an amicus brief (documents filed in appellate matters by non-litigants – or amicus curiae – with a strong interest in the stakes), some of the biggest U.S. companies urged the…
Orange County Employment Lawyers Blog
Witnesses Can Be Key in California Workplace Harassment Cases
Civil claims based on California employment law can be difficult to prove, particularly when they involve a case of alleged harassment, which often boils down to “he-said-she-said.” But whether we’re talking about harassment, wrongful termination or retaliation, plaintiffs will generally bear the proof burden. This is why for so many…
Soaring Temps and Dress Codes: Are Your Company Rules Legal?
Temperatures in cities throughout Southern California soar well into triple digits around this time of year. For those who must brave the heat and still make it to work, many companies are seeing workers skirt the dress code rules with attire that may not meet company professional standards. But are…
Promotions Can Lead to Overtime Woes Some Workers
Landing a promotion is often a cause to celebrate. However, those who land supervisory roles in some industries find that when they move from an hourly post to a salaried position, they lose their access to overtime pay. That means employers start working them for as many hours they can,…
Spotlighting Residential Health Care Worker Wage Theft in California
Residential health care workers are winning the right to secure unpaid wages in California in wage theft lawsuits. However, actually getting paid has proven a different story, one our Orange County employment attorneys have been monitoring closely. While much has been made of the elder abuse in nursing homes and…
State Tracking of California Sexual Harassment & Gender Discrimination by 2020
A state-mandated project to track sexual harassment and gender discrimination in California government is slated to start in January 2020 – finally. Our Los Angeles sexual harassment lawyers know that not only will that make it a year late, but also long overdue. The $1.5 million project was supposed to…
Establishing Pretext in a California Employee Discrimination Lawsuit
In many employment discrimination lawsuits, proving pretext means showing evidence that the defendant employer’s reported reason for taking adverse employment action is contrived. In other words, the reason the company gave for the worker’s firing or other adverse employment event was made up in order to cover up its discriminatory…
California Wage & Hour Claims Not Subject to Federal De Minimis Rule
Although federal labor laws cut employers a break when it comes to payment of “de minimus” work – that which is “trivial,” and only takes just a few minutes. In other words, the de minimum rule employers can compel workers to complete a minimal amount of work off-the-clock, rather than…
Ride Hailing Behemoths Try to Bargain With Workers Seeking Employee Benefits
Rideshare companies may compete fiercely on the road, but when it comes to classifying drivers as employees, they are rock-solid united. The CEOs of Uber and Lyft penned an opinion-editorial in the San Francisco Chronicle voicing opposition to a new California law that would re-designate their drivers from independent contractors…
Cannabis & Your Company: Lawmakers Increasingly Offering Worker Protections
Nevada recently became the first state to ban employment discrimination of job applicants who use cannabis. Although other states have been inching toward this kind of measures, and employers have been adopting marijuana-friendly practices internally, Nevada is the first to adopt this into state law. Los Angeles employment discrimination attorneys…