Orange County Employment Lawyers Blog

California Employers’ Top Employment Law Mistakes

October 26, 2013 | by Nassiri Law

The California Chamber of Commerce recently came out with an informational bulletin describing the top things employers do to get sued.

Employment attorneys in Orange County know that there are of course situations in which employment law violations stem not from maliciousness or greed, but rather from a misunderstanding or misapplication of the law. It doesn’t make it any more acceptable to the employee who has been wronged. However, perhaps incorporating a greater amount of education might serve to reduce the number of employees who are improperly denied overtime, base wages and breaks.

In identifying the most common employer wage and hour law offenses, the chamber starts with the classification of workers. Employers may surmise that workers would prefer a constant salary. By labeling a worker exempt, an employer can avoid having to pay overtime and can avoid having to offer certain meal and res breaks.

Home Care Aides, Nannies, Get Wage and Hour Boosts

October 24, 2013 | by Nassiri Law

Efforts at both the state and federal level have boosted the level of workplace protection for home health aides, nannies and other domestic workers.

Our Costa Mesa wage and hour attorneys understand that two separate measures will extend minimum wage and overtime protection to these workers, many of whom historically had been treated under the law as little more than “babysitters.”

Advocates for low-wage workers say such measures will go far in ensuring that these workers – primarily female minorities – will be treated equally under the law.

Proving Age Discrimination in the California Workplace

October 22, 2013 | by Nassiri Law

Recently, a veteran newspaper reporter, heralded for her deft and ample coverage of the crime and courts beat in seedy Southern Florida, was recognized for her skilled fast embrace of new technology, with an editor publicly calling her a “social media star.”

Little more than a year later, she was offered a “voluntary buyout,” which a thinly veiled attempt by a company to shed older (i.e., more expensive) workers. Our age discrimination lawyers in Costa Mesa believe that this approach is not only discriminatory, it’s short-sighted, as it ends up reducing the overall quality of the finished product.

Still, such buy-outs are not technically illegal, even if they do blatantly target the over-55 crowd (every single one of the 40 employees at the paper offered the buyout was over the age of 55). Administrators can get around it by making it “voluntary.” The publisher reportedly told the employees in explaining the deal that, “surely, many of you have contemplated retirement and, if not, could probably use the skills honed during decades in the news business to land other jobs.”

Report: Age Discrimination Rampant in NYC

October 21, 2013 | by Nassiri Law

A new report by the AARP indicates that many New Yorkers over the age of 50 feel that age discrimination is rampant in the Big Apple.

According to the survey, more than 45 percent of workers over the age of 50 said that they were concerned about age discrimination at work. More than a quarter answered affirmatively when asked whether they had been denied a job opportunity because of their age. Nearly as many said they believed they had been fired, laid off or forced to retire from a job because of their age. Just as many said they had to suffer rude and discriminatory comments regarding their age from co-workers and even bosses.

Our California age discrimination lawyers know that we’re kidding ourselves if we think New York is the only place it’s happening.

Employment Lawsuit Issues To Take Center Stage in New U.S. Supreme Court Term

October 18, 2013 | by Nassiri Law

As the U.S. Supreme Court begins another session this month following its summer recess, there are a number of pending cases that could have a significant impact on labor and employment law.

While our Costa Mesa wage and hour lawyers want to be hopeful about the outcome of these cases, the reality is that the court did not hand out many decisions that favored workers during the last term.

The 2012-2013 term resulted six-out-of-six “wins” for employers. These decisions aided employers in a number of ways. In general, those included making it easier to win cases against them, discouraging such cases from being filed in the first place, making it tougher to obtain class action status and clearing the way for more cases to be decided via arbitration, which is generally considered more favorable to the business than the worker.

Age Discrimination Case Heard by U.S. Supreme Court

October 15, 2013 | by Nassiri Law

The U.S. Supreme Court recently heard oral arguments in an age discrimination lawsuit brought by a former district attorney from Illinois.

The high court was asked to determine whether the Age Discrimination Employment Act is the only remedy through which individuals may seek recourse for discrimination on the basis of age.

However, our Costa Mesa age discrimination attorneys understand that the case of Madigan v. Levin may not even get that far, as the justices appeared to focus less on the merits of the case and more on whether it was one they should be deciding at all.

California Wage and Hour Lawsuits May be Prompted by New Minimum Wage Law

October 12, 2013 | by Nassiri Law

California has always been a trailblazer.

The latest new territory involves being the first state to raise hourly minimum wage rates to double digits – $10-an-hour by 2016, per a bill that recently received Gov. Jerry Brown’s signature. In the interim, the rate will graduate to $9 hourly by next summer.

While this is good news, we fully anticipate this change will coincide with a rise in California wage and hour lawsuits.

Wage and Hour Lawsuit Filed Against Outback Restaurant Chain

October 10, 2013 | by Nassiri Law

Historically, large restaurant chains have been one of the top violators of federal and state wage and hour laws in the U.S.

This may have to do with the fact that the restaurant industry is unique in the way it is permitted to structure its pay (on the basis of tips). The hours are usually not the typical 9-to-5, and it is typically lower-level staff (servers, bussers, line-cooks and hosts) who are exploited.

Outback Steakhouse is no exception. Our Costa Mesa wage and hour lawyers have learned the latest claim against the chain is a class action that stems from a group of Nevada employees. They allege the company failed to provide them with breaks to which they were legally entitled, mandated they begin working prior to the start of their shifts and discriminated against nursing mothers by not providing enough break time or private settings for them to pump milk.

Pregnancy Discrimination Act of 1978 Turns 35

October 9, 2013 | by Nassiri Law

The federal law that made it illegal for employers to discriminate against pregnant women – or those who had recently been or might become pregnant – has just turned 35.

While it may be difficult for some in the younger generations to fathom a time when a woman’s reproductive status was ever an issue with employers, there are still many workplaces that apparently have yet to receive the memo.

Pregnancy discrimination attorneys in Costa Mesa know that pregnant workers still confront discrimination even now.

California Age Discrimination Lawsuit Filed Against Local Government

October 8, 2013 | by Nassiri Law

If there was one thing you could say about the would-be worker, it’s that he’s been persistent. The 49-year-old, who has been trying to secure a job with the city of Burbank for four years now, has applied for a total of 11 positions.

So far, he’s reportedly been turned down for nine of those, while his applications for the two other posts are pending.

In a recent California age discrimination lawsuit, the 49-year-old applicant claims he has been turned down because of his age.