Orange County Employment Lawyers Blog

California Employers Convicted for Workers’ Compensation Violations

June 4, 2017 | by Nassiri Law

According to a recent news article from Business Insurance, two employers in California have just been sentenced to prison following convictions involving workers’ compensation violations. Prosecutors have stated that one employer, a licensed contractor, did not have workers’ compensation as required to protect his employees in case of an accident.

Anyone who has ever worked in any type of employment setting has probably seen the workers’ rights poster that is handing in the break room or next to the copy machine. This poster, while you may not give it much thought, lists the important right afforded to by your by your employer pursuant to state, local, and federal law. This includes your right to minimum wage and your right to overtime pay in most situations. Continue Reading ›

The Problem with Wage Theft in California

June 1, 2017 | by Nassiri Law

When an employer does not pay his or her employees all of the money and benefits that they are rightfully owed, this is known as wage theft. According to a recent news article from Pasadena Star News, wage theft is a serious problem in California.

The worst part is that the employees who are victims of wage theft are often the lowest paid or minimum wage workers, so this creates an even greater hardship on people who are working desperately so they can take care of themselves and their families. To get an understanding of how big the problem has become in our area, a recent study from the Economic Policy Institute shows that around $2 billion per year is stolen due to minimum wage violations alone. 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 Sues Store Over English Only Policy

May 24, 2017 | by Nassiri Law

Discrimination on the basis of race and national origin are prohibited by both state and federal law, and Orange County employment discrimination lawyers provide legal assistance to victims of unlawful discriminatory actions who wish to pursue claims for compensation. Discrimination can take many forms beyond a company simply not hiring or not promoting someone due to their race. Just recently, for example, the Department of Fair Employment and Housing in California filed a lawsuit against Forever 21, which is a local clothing store. Forever 21 is being sued for discrimination against Spanish speaking employees.

According to CBS Local San Francisco, Forever 21 allegedly violated civil rights laws by unlawfully discriminating against employees who speak Spanish. The clothing retailer adopted an English-only policy to apply at its flagship store in San Francisco. The store prohibited staff members from speaking any language other than English, according to the lawsuit which has been filed. This prohibition against languages other than English extended not just to talking with customer, including Spanish-speaking customers, but also to situations where staff members were not interacting with the public. Continue Reading ›

Tesla Accused of Racial Discrimination

May 21, 2017 | by Nassiri Law

A lawsuit has been filed against Tesla by an African-American who spent two years working on the assembly line. The worker claims in the lawsuit he experienced harassment on an ongoing basis for months on the basis of his race. Orange County anti-discrimination lawyers regularly represent clients making claims of racial discrimination, which is prohibited under state and federal law.

Unlawful racial discrimination not only includes a company’s refusal to hire, fire or promote a person based on race but it also includes the creation of a hostile work environment. A hostile work environment is created if an employee who s a member of a protected class is made to feel uncomfortable on the basis of his protected status. If an African-American is treated poorly by coworkers due to his race, this would be an example of illegal discriminatory behavior a company could be held accountable for. Continue Reading ›

Nike Sued for Wage and Hour Violations in California

May 18, 2017 | by Nassiri Law

Nike is being sued for violating wage and hour laws within the state of California. The case was filed as a putative class complaint. Many Nike employees could become part of the class action claim against the company for failing to pay wages as required under California law.

There are many protections in place under state and federal law to ensure every employee is paid a fair wage in the state of California. An Orange County employment lawyer can provide assistance to those who are not paid at least minimum wage, who are not paid required overtime or who are otherwise deprived by their employers of money they earned. Continue Reading ›

A Look at Factory Worker Conditions in LA

May 15, 2017 | by Nassiri Law

We often hear about the working conditions for factory workers in countries like China where those making cellphones for American consumers live in company dorms that allegedly have nets over the building to prevent workers from jumping out windows in suicide attempts. These suicide attempts are allegedly related to the poor working conditions for workers who are taken far away from home and their families.

While conditions are not generally considered this bad in America, at least not in the past 50 years or so, according to a recent news article from Racked, factory conditions for workers in Los Angeles are worse than we might think. The article focuses on stories of several workers. Continue Reading ›

Report: Employees Demonstrate at LA County Sanitation Districts HQ

May 14, 2017 | by Nassiri Law

According to a recent news report from the San Gabriel Valley Tribune, more than 200 workers at the Los Angeles County Sanitation Districts were present for a major demonstration. They were carrying picket signs and chanting about management and the rights they are fighting for, but this was not a strike. While we typically associate picket signs and workers’ rights chants with a strike or even a work slowdown, we are seeing more and more of these demonstrations where workers will express their concerns and then go back to work.

The concern for these sanitation workers is coming to a boil as talks are ongoing that may affect their paychecks. The picketing workers included wastewater plant employees, supervisors, IT specialists, and engineers. The rally was the first for this agency, as they have not had many issues involves disgruntled employees in the past. However, these workers do have considerable power should there ever be a strike, as they are responsible for the sanitation needs of nearly 6 million people in nearly 80 cities and unincorporated parts of the county. Continue Reading ›

Department Store Workers Avoid Strike

May 13, 2017 | by Nassiri Law

According to a recent news article from CNN Money, workers at a major department store chain have managed to avoid a strike when it seemed like the situation had turned hopeless in terms of reaching a deal with management.

Before we get to the actual dispute in this situation, much of the trouble stems from a shift from people shopping in so-called brick and mortar stores to online shopping with giants such as Amazon. There is no question that the retail market is changing, and that will mean big changes for the employers and employees at department stores. However, the changes go much further than that, as even the shopping malls that typically house these large anchor stores, as they are often called, are also closing as less people go out to the mall these days. Continue Reading ›

Terminated D.C. Metro Workers Sue for Discrimination

May 12, 2017 | by Nassiri Law

The Washington, D.C. metro transit system operated by Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) has been in the news a lot in the past decade, and none of it has been for positive reasons. We have seen reports of trains crashing and people injured and killed and a train trapped in a smoke-filled tunnel that caused the death of one victim. We have seen reports of workers injured or killed, and numerous safety violations, as well as a seemingly never-ending barrage of accusations of financial mismanagement.

In yet another recent news article for the Washington Post, we learn that five fired metro track workers are now suing WMATA on various claims, including discrimination and the creation of a hostile work environment. These workers had all been employed in the transit systems track inspection department. Two of these plaintiffs were track walkers and two of them were department supervisors. The last employee was a maintenance engineer. Continue Reading ›