Orange County Employment Lawyers Blog

Labor Issues for Rams as They Move to Los Angeles

April 3, 2016 | by Nassiri Law

While there is a lot of excitement about the St. Louis Rams’ upcoming move to Los Angeles, the team has been worried that the contracts already executed will become subject to California labor law instead of Missouri law, which is where they were located when the contracts were executed, according to a recent news feature from NBC Sports.

The obvious reason the team ownership was concerned about which law would apply to the contracts is because California is a lot more progressive than other states, especially those in the Midwest. In other words, when a labor dispute arises, the law in California is likely to be a lot more favorable to to the interests of the employees than to the employer. Continue Reading ›

Former Chipotle Employee Suing Company for Sexual Harassment

April 1, 2016 | by Nassiri Law

Chipotle has been in the headlines a lot recently, mostly because of allegations of hundreds of cases of food poisoning in stores across the country, man of which were shuttered until the source of the contamination was identified and addressed. While that problem appears to be solved and the company’s sales are beginning to recover, the company is back in the news again because a former employee is suing them over what the plaintiff has called a “sexually-charged atmosphere.”

According to a recent news article from NBC 4 Southern California, plaintiff alleges that she and other female employers were subject to frequent sexual harassment at their workplace. One example alleged in her complaint is that her supervisors intentionally ordered a shirt they knew to be too tight. She said she asked for a larger shirt, but her manager asked her if she needed a larger size because her breasts were too big. She also alleged they used the store security cameras to watch women they believed were attractive. Continue Reading ›

On Demand Workers May Be Allowed to Unionize

March 29, 2016 | by Nassiri Law

On demand employees, also know as “gig workers,” may be able to enter in a collective bargaining agreement, according to a recent news feature from the Los Angeles Times.

These gig workers – so named after musicians’ use of the term “gig,” referring to a scheduled performance – include Lyft and Uber drivers, who operate like on-demand taxi drivers. They’ve been having a lot of trouble based upon the fact that their employer wants to consider them independent contractors entitled to a lot less than statutory employees, because it is a more cost effective model for the company. It should be noted the California Labor Commission has twice ruled that these drivers are employers and not employees and are entitled to things such as workers’ compensation. Continue Reading ›

Employment Lawsuits Have Plagued Donald Trump

March 27, 2016 | by Nassiri Law

These days, it is virtually impossible to turn on the television, open social media or even take public transportation without hearing about Donald Trump and his bid for the GOP presidential nomination. Regardless of your feelings about him as a candidate, he is clearly an excellent marketer and seems thrilled every time he is mentioned in the press – even if it is for a story depicting him in a negative light.

A recent article from the International Business Times reports Trump has been sued by hundreds of his own employers for alleged violations of the local and national labor laws. The article suggests that the may be somewhat different from his “tough but fair” reputation on The Apprentice, where he was known for his catch phrase, “You’re fired.” Continue Reading ›

Los Angeles Franchise Owners Apprehensive about Joint Employment

March 23, 2016 | by Nassiri Law

Most everyone in the U.S. has eaten at a McDonald’s restaurant at least once in their life. While most are aware that many fast food locations are franchises, they probably have not given much thought to how that works.

While a portion of the locations are company owned, meaning they are owned, operated, and staffed by company employees, more than half of the locations are franchised. This means that a person who wants a McDonald’s franchise, for example, can apply for a license from the company if they can meet all of the requirements. This can include going to a training program, paying several hundred thousand dollars, and even purchasing land and giving it to the company. Continue Reading ›

Los Angeles Mayor Unveils New Employment App

March 18, 2016 | by Nassiri Law

We all know that finding a new job can be difficult. This is especially true if you are currently unemployed. As the saying goes, it’s easier to find a job when you already have a job. However, we talk about finding a new job, many people do not even know where to begin.

According to a recent news feature from CBS Los Angeles, Mayor Eric Garcetti has just released a new smart phone app designed to help people in the city find jobs. The way the app works is that it searches jobs from various listings and aggregates the results. This includes an average of around 50,000 jobs within city limits and another 100,000 jobs in Los Angeles County. Continue Reading ›

Unemployment Down in LA, Though Jobs Down as Well

March 15, 2016 | by Nassiri Law

A recent news feature from the Los Angeles Business Journal discusses how the unemployment rate is down in Los Angeles County. At the time, reports show there are nearly 90,000 fewer jobs on the books since the start of this year.

As for the actual numbers, the unemployment rate fell to 5.8 percent, which is a significant drop from the higher rates we were seeing in the past year. However, while a sharp drop in the unemployment rate is normally thought of as a positive, it may not be so in this case. In order to calculate employment, we have to figure out the number of people who are not working, but are willing and able to work, and are currently looking for employment. Continue Reading ›

Hospital Workers Protest High Salaries of Executive

March 14, 2016 | by Nassiri Law

Companies expect workers to understand that when the economy is bad or if the company has experienced tough times for other reasons. While that may make some sense, it doesn’t always seem that way when the company executives are making $500,000 a year and getting millions in bonuses while telling everyone else they need to tighten their belts.

According to a recent news feature form the Orange County Register, union member employees from Kaiser Permanente are protesting these excessive salaries as well as these huge bonuses. They chose to hold the protest outside the Ritz Carlton Hotel, where the healthcare executives were holding their board meeting. The choice of venue to hold the meeting at hotel known for being extremely luxurious amenities only serves to prove their point. Continue Reading ›

Domestic Workers Protest in California

March 12, 2016 | by Nassiri Law

According to a recent news article from the Inland Valley Daily Bulletin, domestic workers participated in a demonstration in support of a proposition that would provided overtime for domestic workers permanently. There is currently a law that provides for overtime pay for domestic workers, but it was a done via a piece of legislation that is set to expire at the end of 2017.

When a new and possibly controversial bill is being proposed, it will sometimes include a date at which it is no longer in effect as part of an effort to gain more support. This is known as a sunset provision in the law. The law that is currently in effect is known as the Senate Bill 105 (SB 105) that first went into effect in January 2014 and was set to expire in in December 2017. Continue Reading ›

Costco Raises Wages to Keep Best Workers

March 10, 2016 | by Nassiri Law

As it stands now, Costco is considered one of the better employers for which you can work. This is one of the reasons they have one of the highest rates of retention for workers in the retail industry. Workers there say this is not only because of better pay, but also because of how well workers are treated by the company. Many people assume all workers want is more money, but they also want to be treated with respect, like a valued part of the company. This is one of the major reasons attrition rates will stay down.

However, it is obvious the amount of pay is the primary reason people will stay at a company, because, at the end of the day, nobody is working for a big box retailer simply because they love the work. According to a recent news feature from the Orange County Register, Costco is raising its minimum wage for employees to keep up with increased competition from other employers who have recently raised their employee wages as well. Continue Reading ›