Los Angeles Employment Lawyer Blog

In a recent case in Kentucky, a woman who blew the whistle on the administration of Gov. Ernie Fletcher received over $500,000 and a new job within the state. She claimed that there were improper hiring practices and also that after engaging in whistleblowing, or reporting on her employer’s illegal practices to an outside agency, she was retaliated against. Retaliation and any other form of discrimination in response to whistle blowing is illegal under both Federal and California laws.

Whistleblowing is protected, as it is a vital means of discovering illegal activity of an employer from those who know and observe it best: the employees themselves. Retaliation in the workplace is very much what it is in the outside world—payback for your actions. Whistleblowers are protected when they make an accusation against their employer from any form of retaliation whether it be pay decreases, harassment, or even firing.

If you suspect your employer of engaging in discrimination, harrassment, or other illegal activities and you have blown the whistle in California, you are protected by law. Call the Law Offices of Greenberg & Rudman LLP at 1-800-252-9776 for a free consultation regarding your legal rights and how one of our experienced employment lawyers may be able to help you. The experienced attorneys at Greenberg & Rudman will fight aggressively for your rights both in and out of the courtroom. With over 50 years of combined legal experience, extensive trial knowledge, and state of the art trial media exhibits, our attorneys know how to put the law to work for your case.

Stephenie Steitzer, Louisville Courier Journal 04/24/2008

Equal pay discrimination according to the law exists only when you are receiving less pay than an equal counterpart. Equality must exist in education, experience, and in basic job duties. A recent Supreme Court case last year made it more difficult for women to prove equal pay discrimination in the workplace versus their male counterparts. The ruling held that women had a mere 180-day time-period to file their equal pay discrimination suit. Democrats in the U.S. Senate tried to pass a bill this month that would have extended that time period, easing the burden on women to discover and prove that they were not receiving equal pay. However, Republicans successfully blocked this bill from passing this week.

What does this mean for women in the workplace? Equal pay discrimination is still a very real problem to working women today. Estimates from a Vanderbilt University Study earlier this month showed that a male accountant in America earned on average $49,000 while a woman accountant with the same experience earned a mere $33,000. While arguments abound that women receive more non-monetary benefits such as time-off to care for children, this debate has often been found lacking. Men also receive non-monetary benefits, and are more likely to be promoted, simply because they are male.

The duty now lies on a woman to show that she is making less in the workplace for equal experience, work, and duties than her male counterparts. And these rulings from the Supreme Court show that the earlier you discover this, the better chance you have of prevailing. While it is discouraged at many work places to discuss your salary, it is often the best way to find out if you are a victim of pay discrimination.

If you find that you are being paid less than your equal counterpart for the same work in California, call the Law Offices of Greenberg & Rudman LLP at 1-800-252-9776 for a free consultation regarding your legal rights and how one of our experienced employment lawyers may be able to help you.

Statistics taken from: http://law.vanderbilt.edu/article-search/article-detail/index.aspx?nid=101

Age discrimination is illegal under both Federal laws and State Laws. However, age discrimination is slightly different than other forms of discrimination. Much of the practices that can look like age discrimination aren’t actually illegal. For example, it is not illegal to offer early retirement packages to those who are about to retire. It is also not illegal to hire a less senior employee to replace a more senior employee so that the company can save costs in paying lower salaries. However, these same practices can be illegal if the reason behind the action is that the employer is trying to lay off older employees in favor of younger ones. If the reasons behind the actions are biased, the practices that once seemed legal, become illegal.

Age discrimination applies to workers aged 40 years old or older. You cannot be discriminated against for age bias if you are under the age of 40, even if you suspect that you were terminated or bypassed for a raise for a younger employee. Also, the burden is on you to prove that your employer discriminated against older employees based on discrimination and age bias, not for a legal reason. This is often hard to prove, but one way to show this bias is to show a consistent and continual practice by an employer to all or many older employees over time.

If you have noticed age bias or discrimination in your workplace, call the Law Offices of Greenberg & Rudman LLP at 1-800-252-9776 for a free consultation regarding your legal rights and how one of our experienced employment lawyers may be able to help you. The experienced attorneys at Greenberg & Rudman will fight aggressively for your rights both in and out of the courtroom. With extensive trial experience, our attorneys know how to put the law to work for your case.

Clinical depression can be devastating to yourself, friends, family members and your social life. But it also can affect your work. Oversleeping, an inability to focus, lack of motivation to do even simple tasks—these are all symptoms of clinical depression that can make work life difficult and tedious. While there are treatments for clinical depression such as therapy and medication, sometimes the symptoms continue to effect life in the workplace. Clinical depression is a recognized disability under the Americans with Disabilities Act and State Law. You have the right to reasonable accommodations in the workplace to assist your needs to do your job effectively.

In order to have reasonable accommodations in the workplace, your employer must know that you have a disability. You should arrange a confidential meeting with your supervisor to disclose your disability, and negotiate reasonable accommodations. These accommodations may be that you need to leave work early to get to therapy sessions, or that you may need more time to accomplish a task that requires great concentration. As long as your request is reasonable and does not place an undue hardship on your employer, your employer must accommodate your request. Further, once you have tried to negotiate accommodations with your employer, you cannot be fired simply for your disability. This is known as wrongful termination.

If you have clinical depression, and you are concerned that you are not receiving adequate reasonable accommodations, or you have been retaliated against or wrongfully terminated due to your disability, call the Law Offices of Greenberg & Rudman LLP at 1-800-252-9776 for a free consultation regarding your legal rights and how one of our experienced employment lawyers may be able to help you.

In a recent filing in Minnesota, a Federal Judge approved a class action suit for more than 6,000 older employees of 3M Co. The CEO, Jim McNerney, engaged in age bias against older employees. The suit alleges that Mr. McNerney and 3M consistently favored younger employees for pay raises, promotions, training programs, and all other aspects of employment. Older employees were also terminated more frequently than younger employees.

These actions are known as age discrimination. Federal and State law protect older employees from being discriminated against based on their age. While often the most difficult type of discrimination to prove, it is still an unfortunate practice in many workplaces today. Often, the discrimination isn’t against just one worker in particular, but against all of the older employees. This is a ground for a class action lawsuit, where many workers have been discriminated against by a common employer. Large and small corporations can be the perpetrators of age bias in the workplace.

If you have noticed practices that may suggest age bias or discrimination such as younger employees consistently given raises, promotions or opportunities not given to older employees, or many older employees being terminated, call the Law Offices of Greenberg & Rudman LLP at 1-800-252-9776 for a free consultation regarding your legal rights and how one of our experienced employment lawyers may be able to help you.

Sexual harassment is often thought to be a “woman’s problem” in the workplace. Mainstream media and news often reports of a woman receiving advances from her male co-workers and bosses. The movie 9 to 5 showed the extremes of sexual harassment in a comical light. But often, men suffer sexual harassment in silence. Whether it is from a male or female co-worker or boss, men are the victims of sexual harassment in their workplace. But the societal views of men being more sexual, more thick-skinned, prevent many men from confronting their bosses and speaking out about these heinous workplace activities.

Men often feel that they won’t be believed, or that they will be seen as weak or overly sensitive if they report sexual harassment in their workplace. But the truth is it is illegal, and Federal and State laws protect your rights not to be in a hostile work environment. Men or women can be sexually harrassed by men or women. Sexual harassment can happen to anyone regardless of your gender or sexuality. And if you are working in a hostile work environment or you have experienced quid pro quo harassment (the threat of “do this or you are fired”), you have rights that are protected by the law.

If you have experienced sexual harassment in your workplace, call the Law Offices of Greenberg & Rudman LLP at 1-800-252-9776 for a free consultation regarding your legal rights and how one of our experienced employment lawyers may be able to help you.

Juries have begun to make the message clear: discrimination based on age, race, gender, national origin, sexuality, and medical disability has no place in the workplace. California has long been a progressive state working hard to place even better protections in the law for hard workers throughout the State of California. The attorneys of Greenberg & Rudman LLP have over 50 years of combined work experience in knowing these laws and protecting the rights of workers in Pasadena and throughout the state. Whether you are searching for an attorney who knows your community well, or based on their excellent trial experience, our attorneys will work hard to win your case.

With state of the art trial technology, distinguished expert witnesses, and a winning track record, our aggressive trial attorneys will fight for you inside and outside of the courtroom. We have settled numerous fair agreements with employers for cases ranging from discrimination, harassment, disability rights, and employment claims. Our initial consultation is absolutely free, and we work on a contingency fee, meaning we don’t get paid unless you do. If you live or work in Pasadena or the greater Los Angeles area, call the Law Offices of Greenberg & Rudman LLP at 1-800-252-9776 for a free consultation regarding your legal rights and how one of our experienced employment lawyers may be able to help you.

Retribution is a legal term that is not that different from what it means in the outside world-payback. It can happen for many reasons: you have reported your boss for illegal or suspected illegal activity to an outside agency; you have filed a worker’s compensation claim; you have a medical disability and have begun negotiations for a reasonable accommodation; or you have gone to your boss about lost wages, errors in your paychecks, or wage discrimination (you are being paid less than your equal counterpart due to your age, gender, race or other qualified category). Retribution is simple, once one of these examples has happened, you notice that your working environment is suddenly harder, your pay is less, or you are wrongfully terminated from your job.

Retribution is illegal and you are protected from wrongful and discriminatory retribution practices from your boss for many qualified actions. The list above is not all-inclusive; there are many more reasons why your boss cannot fire you without legal cause. Additionally, sexual harassment is a very common ground for retribution. You have been asked to perform a sexual favor, or your boss has asked you on a date, but when you decline, your workplace becomes hostile. All of these examples are illegal. What can you do?

There is help. While your boss is not necessarily breaking the law for being a jerk, or for firing you if he had a legal cause, many times retribution is easy to see since it follows some other illegal act or practice on the part of your employer. If you have become the victim of retribution in your workplace, call the Law Offices of Greenberg & Rudman LLP at 1-800-252-9776 for a free consultation regarding your legal rights and how one of our experienced employment lawyers may be able to help you.

There are many jobs that include tips into paychecks for employees. Among them are restaurants, carwashes, coffee shops, valets, deliverymen, bartenders and skycaps. Often, workers do not see their fair share of tips, often promised to make up their less than minimum wage hourly rates. In many recent cases, employers have been facing class action lawsuits when workers discover that they have not been receiving tips that were supposed to go to them.

Starbucks recently had to give $105 million to baristas who did not receive the appropriate share of the tips every day. American Airlines, was found by a Boston jury to have violated Massachusetts tipping laws by instituting a $2 fee for curbside check-in, devastating the tips paid to skycaps, and in turn lowering their wages. This is becoming more and more common among large corporations, but it is also faced every day in small restaurants, carwashes and bars.

It is very important that you keep accurate records. What did you make in tips each day? Because tips vary so much, it is very difficult to go back if you are not keeping records and show that your boss has not been giving you your fare share. However, if you are not meeting the minimum wage with your tips included, or you know that you are not receiving your earned or promised tips, your rights are protected under California and Federal law. Call the Law Offices of Greenberg & Rudman LLP at 1-800-252-9776 for a free consultation regarding your legal rights and how one of our experienced employment lawyers may be able to help you.

Despite being just as experienced, and having the same level of education, teaching qualifications, and performance reports, women teachers were paid less than the men and the younger teachers. This is known as age discriminationand gender discrimination, and it violates Federal and many times State law. If you are equal in qualifications, doing comparable work, the law states that you are to receive the same pay. But many times, this is not the case. In the Elizabeth Forward school district in Pennsylvania, the women discovered that they were being paid far less than their equal counterparts.

After filing a suit for gender and age discrimination, the jury awarded $1.2 million in damages to the women teachers. This is not the first time that a federal jury has found for discrimination suits in this district. Surprisingly, many times the conduct continues, even after the lawsuits. It is important to stay aware of the wage discrepancies between you and your equal counterpart of another age, race, or gender.

California law and Federal law both protect against this kind of wage discrimination. If you find that you are being paid less than your male or younger counterparts for the same work, and you possess the same qualifications or better, you may be a victim of discrimination. Call the Law Offices of Greenberg & Rudman LLP in California at 1-800-252-9776 for a free consultation regarding your legal rights and how one of our experienced employment lawyers may be able to help you.

Brian Bowling, Pittsburgh Tribune-Review 04/10/2008

Carwashes, one of many types of employers that use immigrant workers to staff their business, were exposed in a recent article by the LA Times as practically continuing the use of slave labor wages and threatening deportation to workers who would testify against them. While the California minimum wage is set at $8.00 per hour, carwasheros (immigrant carwarshers) were found to be making tips only, and even then they were only getting maybe $10 to $30 a day even while working more than a typical eight hour shift.

What is worse, these workers didn’t know there was a choice. Many carwashes are engaging in this practice and so the thought was- well it is happening here and it is happening over there- so what can we do? Further, the owners would openly flout deportation as a threat against any who would report them. These owners are blatantly breaking the law. Labor law in California not only protects proper wages per hour, but also protects against falsified time records, and not receiving overtime pay. And according to whistle-blowing laws, you cannot be deported or fired for reporting your boss’s illegal activity.

Now that workers are coming forward, there are many more options. Workers no matter what their legal status have rights. First, keep accurate records of the hours you work, including whether or not you punched a time card or got a meal or rest break. Check that the records your employer is showing you are the same as your records. Also, you should be paid at least $8.00 an hour including your tips. If you suspect that you are being cheated of your wages or meal breaks, or that your boss is engaged in this illegal activity, call the Law Offices of Greenberg & Rudman LLP at 1-800-252-9776 for a free consultation in California regarding your legal rights and how one of our experienced employment lawyers may be able to help you.

Article is featured in The Los Angeles Times, Sunday, March 22, 2008.

Wal-Mart was accused of violating California labor law which provides lunch and meal breaks to employees who work more than six hours in a shift in a class-action suit from 2005. After determining that many employees were not receiving these meal breaks and were working through without stopping for meals, employees sought an employment lawyer who took the case to trial. After four months of testimony, the jury took just three days to hand down a verdict of over $170 million dollars.

Similar cases among corporations such as Starbucks, The Dollar Tree and other corporations have shown an increasing trend; employers aren’t always keeping accurate records and paying you your full wages. Keeping accurate records yourself is the first step in protecting your rights.

But what do you do if you find that, like these corporations, your employer is withholding wages or meal breaks from you and your fellow employees? Call the Law Offices of Greenberg & Rudman LLP at 1-800-252-9776 for a free consultation in California regarding your legal rights and how one of our experienced employment lawyers may be able to help you. The attorneys of Greenberg & Rudman LLP have over 50 years combined legal experience, and they know how to handle labor law disputes like these cases. Call now for your free initial consultation.

If you live in Long Beach, California and you are looking for an employment lawyer, your search is over. The attorneys of Greenberg & Rudman LLP are experienced trial attorneys who understand the needs of the medically disabled in today’s working world. If you suffer from a medical disability, such as Multiple Sclerosis, a physical handicap or limited mobility, attention-deficit disorder or other mental health disorders, or have suffered worker’s compensation injuries such as lower back pain and wrist pain, your rights are protected under California Law and Federal law. You cannot be fired for your disability without first attempting to have reasonable accommodations for your disability in the workplace.

If you are disabled, and you are experiencing problems at work due to your disability, the lawyers at Greenberg & Rudman LLP can assist you in making sure that you are provided reasonable accommodations, or if need be, assistance with wrongful termination cases. The attorneys have extensive trial and settlement experience, and know your rights. With a successful record of verdicts and settlements for their clients, the lawyers at Greenberg & Rudman LLP will put their experience to work for your case. We work on a contingency fee, which means you pay nothing up front, and we only get paid if you do. Call today at 1-800-252-9776 for your free initial consultation in California.

Racial discrimination and harassment in the workplace has long been a problem for minority workers, but the majority is now also facing what has been termed reverse-racial discrimination; whites are being discriminated against by minority-run businesses. While still not a large number of cases brought each year, the number has been vastly growing to show that whites are now also receiving the brunt of racial discrimination especially in the hiring and firing processes of employment.

In a recent case, a white news anchor claimed that he had been the victim of racial discrimination in the news office when he was fired, and later the station hired an African-American news anchor to replace him. In California, unlike in other states, you do not have to show the unusual circumstances of why your employer is specifically discriminating against a majority in order to bring a reverse-racial discrimination claim. However, after reviewing the evidence, the judge dismissed the case on a summary judgment motion. But the trend continues: issues of reverse-racial discrimination are far more common in minority neighborhoods where whites go in for an application and are turned away due to their difference in racial background and the color of their skin.

If you have been the victim of reverse-racial discrimination, call the Law Offices of Greenberg & Rudman LLP at 1-800-252-9776 for your free initial consultation, and information on how our experienced attorneys can protect your legal rights.

Hicks v KNTV Television, Inc., courtesy of the California Employment Lawyers Association Bulletin, March 2008.

Employers are barred by Federal law and State law from discriminating between workers based on age, race, and gender in determining pay for their employees. Where you and your co-worker are doing equal work, of equal skill, in equal positions, you should be paid accordingly, and cannot be paid differently based on your age, race or gender. However, employers don’t always heed this law, and often it goes undiscovered because co-workers do not often discuss their pay among each other.

While not talking about your salary is a common workplace practice, if you discover that you are making significantly less then your co-worker for the same work based on one of the protected categories, you may be the victim of wage discrimination. Worse, you could also be the victim of racial or sexual discrimination in addition to the difference in your wages. While employers often have legitimate reasons for pay differences between employees, this is not always the case when race, age and sex are involved in the equation. A woman may be paid far less than her male counterpart in the workplace, simply because she is a woman. This is discrimination, and it is not supported by the law.

If you feel that you are the victim of wage discrimination in the workplace, call the Law Offices of Greenberg & Rudman LLP at 1-800-252-9776 for your free initial consultation, and information on how our experienced attorneys can protect your legal rights.

Driving down Sunset Boulevard in Hollywood, picket signs outside of restaurants and carwashes are easy to spot. Finally, the public is speaking out about the more than 26% of the California Population that is foreign-born and immigrant workers. These workers are often exploited to work longer hours, in unsafe conditions, and for less pay than their naturalized and citizen counterparts. Finally, the courts, the public, and the press are realizing that enough is enough.

There are over 3.7 million Californians working in jobs whose median wage is less than $10 an hour, and these workers are considered “low-wage” employees. It is estimated that as many as two million more workers may be employed in California’s growing underground economy. Most low-wage workers are immigrants and are nonwhite. Traditionally these low-wage jobs in California include restaurant and food service employees, janitors, farm laborers, health aides, cashiers , hotel cleaners, assemblers, security guards, retail clerks and sewing machine operators, to name a few. In addition to making $10 or less per hour, many immigrants are making much less than the California minimum wage of $8.00 per hour. Even greater numbers are being forced to work beyond the typical 40 hour workweek, through meal and rest breaks, and when they look at their pay stub (if they are lucky enough to have a pay stub) they find there is no overtime pay. Many times they are listed as having worked a part-time workweek, though in fact they worked much, much more.

What can these workers do? Fortunately, attorneys such as the experienced lawyers at Greenberg & Rudman LLP have been fighting for the equal opportunities and the rights of immigrant workers for years. They know the law and know how to get each worker their rightful pay and to fight predatory employment practices. How can they help you? If you are an immigrant worker, keep your pay stubs. If you do not receive pay stubs, keep very clear records of your hours worked and what you are paid (as well as what you are supposed to be paid). In many cases, you can recover more than just your wages owed but also labor penalties for withheld wages. When you are ready to discuss your case, call the experienced attorneys at Greenberg & Rudman LLP at 1-800-252-9776 for your free consultation and to discuss your case and how the law can help you.

In a recent Los Angeles case, a man from India was promised $120,000 a year to come work for a US company. However, after only months of working here, his salary was cut in half without any explanation. When he pursued the matter further, the President of the company told him it was an incentive to have him work harder to “earn” the full salary. A lawsuit ensued.

This kind of broken promise is commonplace among the migrant working employers, but it is less often spoken of in professional fields. Yet the problem remains, lured with promises of great salaries and a better life, employers bring workers from overseas only to pay them half or less of what they were promised. This is known as a breach of contract, and your rights are protected under the law. If you have an agreement to be paid one salary, your boss cannot without cause lower that amount significantly just because he feels like it. Federal law and State law protect your rights and you should seek the protection of a competent employment lawyer to help you in this situation.

The attorneys of Greenberg & Rudman LLP have a combined 50 years of practice in winning cases like these for California workers. Our law offices offer a free consultation, where you can discuss your prospective case at absolutely no fee. Additionally, we work on a contingency fee basis, which means that you pay nothing and we don’t get paid unless you do! With cases like these you need an aggressive winning legal team who isn’t afraid to take your case all the way through trial. The attorneys of Greenberg & Rudman LLP have extensive trial experience with state of the art trial materials and expert testimony when needed. Call for your free consultation today at 1-800-252-9776 to discuss your case and how the law can help you.