Orange County Employment Lawyers Blog

Wage and Hour Lawsuits in California, Elsewhere, on the Rise: Report

November 18, 2013 | by Nassiri Law

Wage and hour lawsuits are reportedly outpacing many other types of employment litigation in California and throughout the country, according to a new report by the Institute for Legal Reform.

According to the report, wage and hour litigation has expanded significantly in recent years – and shows few signs of stopping.

Between 2007 and 2012, there was reportedly a total of $2.7 billion paid out in wage-and-hour lawsuits. Of that, approximately $470 million was paid out in 2012 alone, the report indicated. An average of $4.8 million was paid out per case.

California Age Discrimination Lawsuit Finds Fire Department Under Fire

November 16, 2013 | by Nassiri Law

A California age discrimination lawsuit brought by 15 firefighters who previously worked for the City of San Francisco has resulted in a victory and an order to pay the workers a total of $3.7 million.

The case is noteworthy for the simple fact of how much was awarded, but also because age discrimination cases tend to be tougher to prove than some other forms of harassment. The success of this case proves that workers who have faced inequitable treatment due to their age should not automatically assume their claim would be a lost cause.

A consultation with an experienced Costa Mesa employment lawyer can help you decide whether filing suit is the best course of action.

California Sexual Harassment Lawsuits Prompt Calls for More Training

November 13, 2013 | by Nassiri Law

Two separate cases of sexual harassment filed against top-level city officials in Los Angeles has prompted two council members to urge changes in the city’s anti-harassment training courses.

Our Costa Mesa sexual harassment lawyers understand that for the City of Los Angeles, like many other places of employment, sexual harassment training is mandated for managers – and managers only.

The proposal made by the city’s Council President Herb Wesson and Councilwoman Nury Martinez would make it a requirement for all city employees. Additionally, rather than have the training be a two-hour online course, as it is currently, the sessions would require in-person attendance.

Employment Non-Discrimination Act to Be Weighed by Congress

November 11, 2013 | by Nassiri Law

A federal push to protect lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender employees is quickly gaining steam among lawmakers, with all but two Democrats in the Senate signing on to co-sponsor the legislation.

Our Costa Mesa LBGT discrimination attorneys know that in California, it is illegal to discriminate a worker or potential worker on the basis of one’s sexual orientation or gender identity. We are fortunate to have one of the most comprehensive protection laws in the country.

However, while federal employment law protects workers from discrimination on the basis of sex, race, color, religion, age, disability or nationality, it does not shield workers who face adverse employment action as a result of their LGBT status. This is a gaping hole in terms of worker protections, and one that legislators appear finally poised to close.

Family Medical Leave Act Expansion Mulled by Lawmakers

November 7, 2013 | by Nassiri Law

It’s been two decades since lawmakers passed legislation that would protect employees who were coping with a serious illness or family adjustment, either personally or in their immediate family.

Today, our employment lawyers in California understand the law, the Family and Medical Leave Act, better known as FMLA, is continuing to evolve.

The way the law is currently written, workers at companies with more than 50 employees are entitled to receive up to 12 work weeks of leave off in a period of 12 months for one of the following reasons:

‘Ministerial Exemption’ to Federal Discrimination Law

November 5, 2013 | by Nassiri Law

A woman previously employed by a nonprofit Christian ministry group has filed a wrongful termination lawsuit, alleging her employer fired her because she was going through a divorce.

Costa Mesa wrongful termination lawyers know that while the courts have broadly backed religious institutions with regard to employment actions – sometimes even those that would otherwise be deemed discriminatory – this woman alleges there is a clear double standard. While she was not allowed to keep her job, two men in the same ministry who had also endured divorce – and subsequent remarriages – were allowed to stay.

The woman, who had worked for the organization since the late 1980s, served as a spiritual director. IN that capacity, she helped to initiate student-led ministries at colleges throughout the country.

California Religious Discrimination Claims on the Uptick

November 3, 2013 | by Nassiri Law

Our Costa Mesa religious discrimination attorneys recently wrote in our Employment Lawyer Blog about the case of a retail clothing store employee who was fired for refusing to remove her hijab, or Muslim religious head covering, at the request of her employer.

Now, The Wall Street Journal is exploring the issue of discrimination on the basis of religion in greater depth, saying that the number of such claims has skyrocketed in recent years, as America – and its faithful – have continued to grow more divorce.

Many companies reportedly struggle with how to handle the complexity of how to manage religion as it pertains to the workforce. For example, there are instances in which a seven-day workweek, being embraced by some employers, interferes with the Jewish Sabbath. There are other instances in which religious clothing (such as the hijab) may clash with the dress codes of a given employer. There are other instances in which company policy may interfere with a worker’s belief system. For example, how does an employer charged with issuing gay marriage licenses cope with an employee who says that such actions are against his or her beliefs?

Disability Discrimination Lawsuits Proliferate Nationwide

November 1, 2013 | by Nassiri Law

A number of high-profile disability discrimination lawsuits across the country are an important reminder of the fact that although we have made a great deal of progress in this arena, we still have a far way to go.

Here in California, the Fair Employment Housing Act, enforced by the state’s Department of Fair Employment and Housing, bars employment discrimination on the basis of a person’s disability or even a perceived disability.

There are also requirements that hold employers to an expectation that they will reasonably act to accommodate workers with physical or mental disabilities and illnesses such as HIV/AIDS and cancer. In those cases where an employer fails to do this, the burden of proof is on the employer to show why doing so would cause an undue hardship.

California Hiring Practices Lawsuit Gets Class Action Status

October 30, 2013 | by Nassiri Law

Although the general tide toward employment litigation has been leaning more toward corporate interests lately, most notably with more stringent standards for class action filings, that doesn’t mean such cases are no longer happening at all.

Our Costa Mesa employment lawyers know that this was recently evidenced in a decision handed down by a federal judge in a Northern California courtroom. The judge In re: High-Tech Employee Antitrust Litigation, U.S. District Court Northern District of California, San Jose Division, has awarded class action status to the workers seeking recompense for what they say were unfair hiring practices engaged in conspiratorially by numerous technical firms in Silicon Valley.

Specifically, the workers allege the companies violated the Clayton Act and the Sherman Act, both antitrust laws. The workers say the ultimate goal of the companies was to drive down labor competition, and thereby deprive workers of job mobility – and potentially hundreds of millions of dollars in salary and other compensation.

California Internship Lawsuits: Blaming the Victim

October 28, 2013 | by Nassiri Law

A number of recent articles have boldly proclaimed that recent unpaid internship lawsuits have resulted in vast reductions of job opportunities and that the “era of internships is over,” urging companies to simply steer clear of interns altogether.

Our Costa Mesa wage and hour attorneys find this approach unfortunate, as in the long run, it does little to benefit the interns, the individual companies or the industry in which they hope to break into.

Regardless of whether these writers realize it, what they are doing is engaging in a classic form of victim blaming. Laws regarding how interns should be treated and what all parties should hope to receive from the arrangement have always been quite clear. However, it wasn’t until fairly recently that companies began to be called out on their blatant ignoring of these laws, which was ultimately leading to the exploitation of interns as a form of free labor.