California employment attorney

Understanding Constructive Discharge and the Mixed-Motive Defense: A Case Review

August 3, 2023 | by Nassiri Law

At Nassiri Law Group, we are committed to representing employees who have faced discrimination and have been wrongfully terminated. We understand the complexities of employment law and strive to ensure that our clients’ rights are protected. In this blog post, we delve deeper into the intricacies of employment law, focusing on the concept of constructive discharge and the mixed-motive defense, through a recent case review.

What is Constructive Discharge?

Constructive discharge is a term that many may not be familiar with, but it plays a significant role in employment law. It occurs when an employer creates a work environment that is so intolerable that a reasonable employee would feel compelled to resign. This can include situations where an employee is subjected to workplace harassment, employment discrimination, or other forms of adverse treatment.

Groff v. DeJoy: Protecting Religious Accommodation Rights in the Workplace

July 20, 2023 | by Nassiri Law

In a landmark decision, the Supreme Court recently handed down a unanimous ruling in the case of Groff v. DeJoy, clarifying the extent of an employer’s obligation to accommodate employees’ religious practices. This decision has significant implications for workers across the country, reaffirming their right to freely exercise their religious beliefs in the workplace. In this blog post, we will delve into the details of the case, analyze the Supreme Court’s interpretation, and highlight the importance of religious accommodation rights for employees.

Case Background:

The case involved Gerald Groff, an evangelical Christian and former missionary who worked as a substitute mail carrier for the United States Postal Service (USPS). When the USPS made a deal with Amazon to deliver packages on Sundays, Mr. Groff faced a conflict between his faith and his job. He felt compelled to choose between fulfilling his religious obligations and adhering to his work schedule. After being disciplined for missing work due to religious reasons, Mr. Groff decided to take legal action, claiming a violation of his religious accommodation rights under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

Supreme Court Rules Against Race-Conscious Admissions in Harvard and UNC

July 20, 2023 | by Nassiri Law

In the landmark decision of Students For Fair Admissions, Inc., the Supreme Court has ruled against the race-conscious admissions programs at Harvard University and the University of North Carolina (UNC). Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr., writing for the 6-3 majority, declared that these programs were unconstitutional due to their negative use of race and involvement of racial stereotyping. Here, our Anaheim employment lawyers provides a legal analysis of the Supreme Court’s decision, highlighting its impact on both public and private institutions and discussing its potential implications in the employment arena.

The Application of the Ruling to UNC and Harvard:

The Supreme Court’s ruling applies to both UNC, a public institution, and Harvard, a private institution. UNC was subject to the ruling due to its status as a state-owned entity, as public institutions are bound by constitutional restrictions. In the case of Harvard, the Court determined that despite being a private institution, it accepted federal funding and agreed to be treated similarly to a state actor in matters related to admissions. This decision sets a precedent that private institutions receiving federal funding can be subject to constitutional scrutiny, including in matters involving affirmative action.

Understanding California’s Minimum Wage Increases Effective July 1, 2023

July 20, 2023 | by Nassiri Law

As of July 1, 2023, California is set to implement new minimum wage increases, ushering in significant changes for workers across the state. Our Orange County wage and hour lawyers can help you understand the new laws. These increases, designed to address the rising cost of living and improve income equality, will impact both employees and employers. In this blog post, we delve into the details of California’s minimum wage increases and their implications for businesses and workers.

Overview of Minimum Wage Increases:

Effective July 1, 2023, California’s minimum wage will experience a notable increase. The specific wage rates vary based on the size of the employer, with different rates applicable to small businesses and larger companies. Let’s explore the key details:

Several New California Employment Rules Signed Into Law

October 5, 2022 | by Nassiri Law

A number of new California employment laws are aimed at imposing greater employer responsibility to prevent workplace bias, including explicitly barring discrimination for off-the-clock use of cannabis and being more transparent when it comes to employee pay.

As a Los Angeles employment attorney, I’m here to assist and advise individuals who have been subject to workplace discrimination, harassment, retaliation, or wrongful termination. These new laws means there are higher compliance expectations for employers to ensure pay equity, reduce wage theft, and reduce retaliation.

Pay Transparency

Los Angeles Employment Lawyer Reminder: Minimum Wage Up to $15.50 in 2023

August 1, 2022 | by Nassiri Law

A fair share of California employment lawsuits stem from employers’ failure to pay fair wages – including minimum wage. As a Los Angeles employment lawyer, I can affirm that failure to pay the state’s minimum wage ends up costing employers far more in the long-run. This is why it’s important to point out that California’s minimum wage rates are about to increase.

As recently confirmed by the California Department of Finance, the state is increasing the minimum wage for all employers by 3.5 percent to 10 percent to keep pace with inflation. that means statewide, minimum wage is going to increase from $15 hourly for employers with 26-or-more employees (which was set January 1st, 2022) to $15.50 hourly, which will become effective January 1st, 2023.

It’s important to note that this is applicable to all employers regardless of size. That’s a notable deviation from previous California minimum wage increases, which had been separated by employers with 26 or more employees and those with 25 or fewer. That means this increase will be particularly impactful for smaller businesses, whose minimum wage was set to $14 hourly at the start of this year. They, just like larger companies, are going to be expected to increase the minimum wages to $15.50. For them, this is a 10 percent wage increase.

It should be noted, however, that with this increase in the state minimum wage also comes a corresponding raise in the minimum salary that is required for a work to be qualified as “exempt” under so-called “white collar exemptions.” (These are especially impactful when it comes time to paying time-and-a-half for overtime. Salaried employees are exempt from this, but as a Los Angeles employment attorney, I have seen far too many cases of employees being wrongly classified as exempt.) In order to be exempt, the employee must:

Perform specified duties in a particular manner.
Be paid a monthly salary that is no less than two times the state minimum wage for full-time employment.
As of Jan. 1, 2023, to qualify for a white collar exemption requires the employee to earn an annual salary of $64,480 (or $1,240 weekly).
Employee spends more than 50 percent of their time performing exempt duties.
Salary of exempt employees is guaranteed, and cannot be reduced for quality or quantity of work.

The proof burden for establishing that employee should be classified as exempt is on the employer, as established in the 1999 ruling of Ramirez v. Yosemite Water Co. Continue Reading ›

California Pregnancy Discrimination Claims Continue to Rise

January 10, 2022 | by Nassiri Law

One would think that as workplaces become more progressive and inclusive that pregnancy-based discrimination would increasingly become an issue of the past. Unfortunately, pregnancy discrimination, harassment, and retaliation in California workplaces have continued to rise the past five years.

The U.S. Department of labor reports 85 percent of women will become mothers while working.

According to analysis by Bloomberg Law, the number of federal pregnancy discrimination lawsuits has been climbing since 2016, with a sharp uptick in 2020 and 2021, the latter potentially setting a new record – despite declining birth rates. As our Orange County pregnancy discrimination lawyers know, there are a few explanations for this. Among them:

Economic instability has always created vulnerability for pregnant workers. Employees who need parental leave and make use of employer-supplied health insurance benefits are inevitably going to cost employers more, at least in the short term.
When the economy is in flux, it can be tougher to find a new job after you’ve lost you’re old one. If you’re one of those who have lost their job unfairly – and are having a difficult time landing a new one – you may be more motivated to take legal action against your employer, partly because the economic damage suffered is more significant – especially if you now have an additional dependent.
In the earliest days of the pandemic, there was heightened concern that pregnant women might be at higher risk of infection and/or having severe reactions. Some adverse employment actions may have been taken with good intentions, but that doesn’t necessarily make them legal. Pregnant women were often among the first laid off at the start of COVID-related shutdowns.
When the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission restarted issuing Notices of Right to Sue back in August of 2020, there was a backlog that had to be processed fairly quickly. Individuals have 90 days to sue from the time they receive that green light. That could account for some of the uptick in 2020 cases.

Do I Have the Right to Sue for California Pregnancy Discrimination?

Pregnancy discrimination cases can arise from failure to hire, demotion, failure to reinstate after pregnancy/childbirth leave, termination, failure to accommodate (including lactation) and more. Discrimination based on pregnancy is often attributed to inaccurate stereotypes, including misguided notions that pregnant women won’t perform their duties as well and mothers won’t fully commit to their jobs because they have kids. Potential employers continue to illegally ask female applicants if they have children or intend to. They may tell wrongly current workers they can’t accommodate them in pregnancy because of the physical nature of the job.

There are both federal and state protections against pregnancy discrimination and retaliation. Continue Reading ›

New California Law Would End “No Rehiring” Clauses in Worker Discrimination Settlements

September 28, 2019 | by Nassiri Law

When a 34-year-old former California correctional officer secured a $1.7 million settlement from her former employer in her pregnancy discrimination lawsuit, she thought that might be the end of it. The agency was accused of failing to accommodate her pregnancy, ultimately resulting in her baby’s stillbirth. But she’s back in court facing them again, this time for a clause in the settlement that required her to resign – and barred her from ever working for the agency again.

Although she does not want to return to that line of work, her concern is the impact this condition might have on her ability to collect disability retirement. A court hearing has been scheduled to address the issue, but this is something our Los Angeles employment attorneys have found affects many, many workers who have been discriminated and retaliated against.

It’s the driving force for a pending bill that would prohibit “no rehire” clauses like this in employment discrimination settlement agreements. Continue Reading ›

California Gender Discrimination Lawsuit at Tech Firm Alleges Systematic Disparate Wages

January 2, 2019 | by Nassiri Law

Women who work in tech are known to be at higher risk of gender disparity. Interestingly, in the early days of electronic computing, many of these jobs were strongly associated with women (as it was considered an unimportant, deskilled work). However, once it became clear that computers would be indispensable in almost every corner of industry and government, the female programmers who once held all the requisite skills suddenly were pushed out, boxed out of their jobs, denied promotions and replaced by men (especially when the women in question were married or had children).

In Silicon Valley, our California employment attorneys know the claims of gender discrimination have been well-documented. While companies insist they are doing their best to address these problems, the reality is progress has been slow and uneven.

Recently, another such gender discrimination lawsuit, was filed against tech giant Hewlett-Packard Enterprise, accused of systematic pay disparity that resulted in women consistently being paid less than their male counterparts for the same work – even when they had more experience or more seniority at the firm than their male counterparts. In one case, plaintiff said she was asked to step into the role of a recently-deceased supervisor, for which she was promised a promotion and a raise. Yet it wasn’t until another co-worker in a different department stumbled across financial documents with the firm that she – and others – learned she received far less pay (and no change in title) for taking over her predecessor’s responsibilities. Per The Mercury News, plaintiffs are seeking class action status. Continue Reading ›

California Employment Lawyer: Can I Be Fired for My Political Views?

October 18, 2018 | by Nassiri Law

Partisan tensions across the U.S. have gone from a long-simmer to near-boiling in recent months. Although most Americans define their politics as somewhere in the middle, an increasing number feel compelled to draw hard lines in the sand and publicly denounce or support certain candidates, policies or ideals. However, doing so could put you at odds with your employer. California employment attorneys have been fielding an uptick in queries on wrongful termination and just how far First Amendment free speech protections shield workers and their right to independent political views and expression.

In an out-of-state case making headlines, a former city government employee has filed a discrimination lawsuit alleging he was fired because of his vocal support of the Republican president, which he expressed by wearing a red “Make America Great Again” hat to work and in discussions with co-workers. He is asserting violation of his First Amendment free speech and Fourteenth Amendment equal protection rights, as well as discrimination based on age (59) and race (white).

The short of it is that while employment retaliation for a worker’s political activity is not covered under federal anti-discrimination laws, California statute is more stringent. The Bill of Rights in the U.S. Constitution protects citizens from free speech infringement by the government. It does not extend this protection to the workforce. What’s more, the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2010 ruling in Citizens United v. FEC means companies can freely endorse and campaign for political candidates and even try to influence a worker’s vote. They cannot, however, demand that you choose a certain candidate. Continue Reading ›