Los Angeles Employment Lawyer Blog

California and federal labor laws protect migrant workers rights. Whether you are working in the field or on a farm, you have the law on your side. MSPA, a federal law, is designed to protect migrant employees for being exploited by their bosses. No matter what, you deserve to be paid the CA minimum wage. Additionally, you might be able to receive overtime if you qualify for it. An experienced employment attorney can help you determine what your specific rights at work are.

When migrant workers at a tree-planting company were allegedly paid less than the minimum wage and not paid for all hours worked, they stood up for their legal rights. Even those these workers were from Mexico and South America, and not American citizens, they are still protected under the law. They sued their employer and won one of the largest settlements in MSPA history: over $2.5 million dollars. The law is on your side!

If you are a migrant or seasonal worker with a MSPA claim to bring against your employer, call Greenberg & Rudman LLP TODAY. Stand up to your employer with the help of skilled employment attorneys. Call us at (1-800-ALAWPRO or 1-800-252-9766) for a free consultation about your legal rights. You can also visit us online at www.discriminationattorney.com for more info on MSPA. We are here to assist you!

Migrant workers in California are protected by employment law. The Migrant and Seasonal Agricultural Worker Protection Act (MSPA) provides employment-related protections to migrant and seasonal agricultural workers. The law states that every non-exempt farm labor contractor, agricultural employer, and agricultural association must:

• Disclose the terms and conditions of employment to each migrant worker in writing at the time of recruitment and to each seasonal worker when employment is offered, in writing if requested;
• Post information about worker protections at the worksite;
• Pay each worker the wages owed when due and provide each with an itemized statement of earnings and deductions;
• Ensure that housing, if provided, complies with substantive federal and state safety and health standards;
• Ensure that each vehicle, if transportation is provided, meets applicable federal and state safety standards and insurance requirements and that each driver be properly licensed;
• Comply with the terms of any working arrangement made with the workers; and
• Make and keep payroll records for each employee for three years

If you are a migrant worker who has not been provided with any of the above, call an experienced employment attorney to learn more about your rights. The skilled employment attorneys at Greenberg & Rudman LLP. Our skilled legal team can help you. Call the Law Offices of Greenberg & Rudman LLP at 1-800-252-9776 (1-800-ALAWPRO) NOW for a free consultation regarding your legal rights or visit us at our website at www.discriminationattorney.com for more information about all types of wage violation claims.

California’s job economy might be improving! This is great news to hundreds of thousands of CA employees. Around the country, the number of newly laid-off workers seeking unemployment benefits fell more than expected last week to the lowest total in a month, which could be a sign the job market is improving. In addition, the number of people claiming benefits for more than a week fell by nearly 80,000, to 4.5 million, a steeper decline than expected. While this is still a high number, it is good news that more people are keeping their jobs.

However, just because less people are losing their jobs does not mean that you have to tolerate discrimination or harassment in your CA workplace. If your employer or another coworker is mistreating you because of your race, religion, age, sexual orientation, gender, or nationality, or harassing you for any reason, then you need to stand up for your legal rights. Do not tolerate illegal behavior for fear of losing your job. An experienced employment attorney can help you defend your rights.

If you are an employee in CA who believes that you have been discriminated or harassed at work for any reason, call the skilled employment attorneys at Greenberg & Rudman LLP. Our skilled legal team can help you. Call the Law Offices of Greenberg & Rudman LLP at 1-800-252-9776 (1-800-ALAWPRO) NOW for a free consultation regarding your legal rights or visit us at our website at www.discriminationattorney.com for more information about all types of discrimination and harassment at work.

Certain CA employers must have posted a summary of job-related injuries and illnesses from 2009 at your place of business by February 1 and leave up until April 30 for you, the employee, to review. An experienced employment attorney can help you determine if your CA employer must post such a list. The summary must list the total number of job-related injuries and illnesses that occurred in the previous year. Companies with no recordable injuries or illnesses in the previous year must post the summary with zeros on the "total" line.

So, where can you look for this list? The form is to be displayed in a common area where notices to employees usually are posted. Your employer must also make a copy of the summary available to you if you move from worksite to worksite; such as construction workers, and employees who do not report to any fixed establishment on a regular basis. It is important that your employer follow CA employment law --- your rights need to be protected.

If you are an employee in CA who believes that your employer has not posted such a form and is not following CA labor law, call the skilled employment attorneys at Greenberg & Rudman LLP. Our skilled legal team can help you. Call the Law Offices of Greenberg & Rudman LLP at 1-800-252-9776 (1-800-ALAWPRO) NOW for a free consultation regarding your legal rights or visit us at our website at www.discriminationattorney.com for more information about all types of employment claims.

CA labor law prohibits your employer from sharing in or keeping any portion of a gratuity left for or given to one or more employees by a patron; gratuities are the sole property of you or the employee to whom they are given. Furthermore it is illegal for your employer to make wage deductions from gratuities, or from using gratuities as direct or indirect credits against your wages. CA law defines ‘gratuity’ as a tip or money that has been paid, given to, or left for an employee by a patron of a business over and above the actual amount due for services rendered or for goods, food, drink, articles sold or served to the patron. It can also include any amount paid directly by a patron to a dancer.

When a female stripper, or exotic dancer, realized that her bosses were taking apportion of her tip money at the end of the evening, she stood up for her legal rights. No matter your profession, CA law protects you against your employer if he is unlawfully taking part of the tips you earned. The woman sued the strip club and could win thousands of dollars in damages. Call an experienced employment lawyer if your boss is taking your tip money.

If you are an employee in CA who believes that your employer has been taking your tips, call the skilled employment attorneys at Greenberg & Rudman LLP. Our talented legal team can help you. Call the Law Offices of Greenberg & Rudman LLP at 1-800-252-9776 (1-800-ALAWPRO) NOW for a free consultation regarding your legal rights or visit us at our website at www.discriminationattorney.com for more information about all types of wage and labor violations.

Is your employer demanding that you submit to a drug test? Do you think he is breaking the law? He might be… An experienced employment attorney can help you decide. Additionally, the California Constitution and cases interpreting it protects strongly protect your right to privacy. Unlike in most other states, these privacy protections apply not only to acts of the government, but to acts by private employers.

If you are taking prescription medications and your employer requires you to take a drug test, anti-discrimination laws may apply, especially if your employer takes action; such as firing, demoting, or not promoting you, when you test positive for the drugs. However, some laws do require either drug testing or programs to ensure a “drug-free workplace.” A knowledgable employment lawyer can help you figure out if your job falls into this category.

If you are an employee in CA who believes that you have been unlawfully forced to take a drug test at your job, call the skilled employment attorneys at Greenberg & Rudman LLP. Our skilled legal team can help you. Call the Law Offices of Greenberg & Rudman LLP at 1-800-252-9776 (1-800-ALAWPRO) NOW for a free consultation regarding your legal rights or visit us at our website at www.discriminationattorney.com for more information about all types of employment claims.

California law clearly states that discrimination in the workplace is illegal. This includes race, gender, religion, age, and nationality discrimination. There are many ways your CA employer can discriminate against you because of your gender. Examples of gender discrimination against women include firing you or not promoting you because you are a woman, because you are a mother, or because you are expecting a child, or because your employer thinks you will not be as good at your job just because you are a woman. If you have experienced sex discrimination, call an experienced employment attorney.

When a woman called in sick one day, her employer fired her. She had told her boss the reason she needed to take a sick day was because her child was ill and she needed to care for him. Regardless, her boss still fired her. The reason? Her boss claimed their working relationship ‘wasn’t working out.’ The woman, who had an excellent performance record, knew it was something more… She stood up for her legal rights as employee and sued her employer. She won over $200,000 in damages from the discrimination she suffered.

If you are an employee in CA who believes that you have been discriminated at work because you are a woman, or a man, call the skilled employment attorneys at Greenberg & Rudman LLP. Our skilled legal team can help you. Call the Law Offices of Greenberg & Rudman LLP at 1-800-252-9776 (1-800-ALAWPRO) NOW for a free consultation regarding your legal rights or visit us at our website at www.discriminationattorney.com for more information about all types of discrimination at work.

In California, improper use of alcohol by yourself or another coworker may expose your employer to liability several laws. For example, your employer may be held liable if an employee consumes alcoholic beverages at a company-sponsored party and subsequently causes a car crash. Sometimes employers are held liable because negligent acts by employees under the influence of alcohol consumed at employer-sponsored events are found to be within the scope of their employment. Talk to an experienced employment attorney to see if your employer is liable for the accident caused by a drunk coworker.

If your employers’ business serves or sells alcohol he may be held liable if an employee consumes alcohol at his establishment and subsequently causes a crash. Employers with employees who drive as part of their job-such as delivery persons and sales representatives, may also be subject to legal action if the impaired employee causes a crash while conducting business. Don’t let your CA employer tell you that he is not responsible for his employers. Stand up for your rights.

If you are an employee in CA who believes that you have been hurt by a drunk co-worker, call the skilled employment attorneys at Greenberg & Rudman LLP. Our talented legal team can help you. Call the Law Offices of Greenberg & Rudman LLP at 1-800-252-9776 (1-800-ALAWPRO) NOW for a free consultation regarding your legal rights or visit us at our website at www.discriminationattorney.com for more information about employment claims.

In California, labor law protects the employee. A recent court case states that your employer might be responsible for you on your drive to and from a business trip or another ‘special errand’. Examples of special errands include:

• You go on a business errand for your employer, leaving from your workplace and returning to your workplace
• You are called to work to perform a special task for your employer at an irregular time
• Your employer asks you to perform a special errand after you leave work but before going home --- the entire trip “counts” as a special errand

This means that your errand might be within the course and scope of your employment and if you get in a car accident while driving on a special errand for your employer, your employer might be responsible for costs. Talk to an experienced employment attorney for more information.

If you are an employee in CA who believes that you have an employment claim to bring against your employer, call the skilled employment attorneys at Greenberg & Rudman LLP. Our skilled legal team can help you. Call the Law Offices of Greenberg & Rudman LLP at 1-800-252-9776 (1-800-ALAWPRO) NOW for a free consultation regarding your legal rights or visit us at our website at www.discriminationattorney.com for more information.

Many California employees are required by their employer to drive as a part of their job. Sometimes these employees receive a company car, sometimes they do not. If you are an employee who is drives as a condition of employment, such as a salesperson, you need to make sure that your CA employer is properly reimbursing you for the miles you drive for work. Call an experienced employment attorney to see if your employer needs to be paying you back for the miles you drive.

Gas in California is expensive and not getting any cheaper! If you are driving miles and miles for work and your CA employer is reimbursing you, or should be reimbursing you, make sure you are receiving the amount the law states that you deserve. So how much should your employer be paying you back? CA law says that when you are operating a car for business purposes, you should receive 58.5 cents per mile in reimbursement.

If you are an employee in CA who believes your employer has not been properly reimbursing you for the miles you drive for work, call the talented employment attorneys at Greenberg & Rudman LLP. Our skilled legal team can help you. Call the Law Offices of Greenberg & Rudman LLP at 1-800-252-9776 (1-800-ALAWPRO) NOW for a free consultation regarding your legal rights or visit us at our website at www.discriminationattorney.com for more information about mileage reimbursement.

In California, many employers attempt to avoid going to court for lawsuits by unhappy employees by requiring all employees to sign arbitration clauses. An arbitration clause is a commonly used clause in an employment contract that requires you and your employer to resolve your disputes through an arbitration process. That means that you need to settle your issues outside of the courts and with the help of a mediator, who is not necessarily a judge. Make sure your arbitration clause is legal.

If you want to sue your CA employer for discrimination or sexual harassment or any other employment issue and he is claiming that you must arbitrate, make sure that you singed an arbitration agreement. The mere fact that your employer gave you one to look at is probably not enough to require you to forego your legal right to hire an attorney and go to court.

If you are an employee in CA who did not sign an arbitration contract, but your employer is forcing you to arbitrate, call the skilled employment attorneys at Greenberg & Rudman LLP. Our skilled legal team can help you. Call the Law Offices of Greenberg & Rudman LLP at 1-800-252-9776 (1-800-ALAWPRO) NOW for a free consultation regarding your legal rights or visit us at our website at www.discriminationattorney.com for more info on employment contracts.

Many California employers require new employees to sign arbitration agreements before they start work. An agreement to arbitrate, rather than hire a lawyer to go to court, any disputes with your employer often looks something like "I agree, in the event I am hired by the company, that all disputes and claims that might arise out of my employment with the company will be submitted to binding arbitration." The clause might also incorporate the rules of the American Arbitration Association ("AAA") in effect at the time. Sometimes such clauses are unconscionable and thus not enforceable.

Often the employer is a position of power, forcing the employee to sign the agreement against his or her wishes. This ‘force’ can be express (your employer is telling you if you do not sign the agreement, you will not be hired) or implied (while your employer does not directly tell you that agreeing to arbitrate is a condition of your hiring, he says things that make you believe this is the case). If you believe that you have signed an arbitration clause that is unconscionable, call an experienced employment attorney.

If you are an employee in CA who believes that you have been forced to sign an unfair arbitration clause, call the skilled employment attorneys at Greenberg & Rudman LLP. Our skilled legal team can help you. Call the Law Offices of Greenberg & Rudman LLP at 1-800-252-9776 (1-800-ALAWPRO) NOW for a free consultation regarding your legal rights or visit us at our website at www.discriminationattorney.com for more information on arbitration clauses.

Many California employers have kept up with the technological advances and provided their employees with Blackberrys and other smart phones. If your employer has provided you with such a phone, he might be expecting you to be available and to respond to email or phone messages in the evenings and on weekends. Or maybe he wants you to coordinate work by email or by texting in the mornings before meeting at a job site or conference.

If you are an hourly employee and your employer expects you to be available after regularly scheduled work hours to perform work, or asks you to make phone calls, send emails, etc... regarding work, you might deserve overtime pay. Under both CA and federal law, your employer is obliged to pay you for the work you have done, regardless of whether the employer requested that the work be performed. Additionally, certain employees are subject to overtime pay.

If you are an employee in CA who believes that you have been working overtime but not receiving pay for the hours you spend working, call the skilled employment attorneys at Greenberg & Rudman LLP. Our skilled legal team can help you. Call the Law Offices of Greenberg & Rudman LLP at 1-800-252-9776 (1-800-ALAWPRO) NOW for a free consultation regarding your legal rights or visit us at our website at www.discriminationattorney.com for more information wage violations.

According to a recent study, California men who suppress their anger about unfair treatment at work are two to five times more likely to suffer a heart attack or die from heart disease than those who quickly vent their frustration. These results confirm that bottling up anger and frustration may harm the heart, a belief long-held by many scientists. if your CA employer is mistreating you, either by discriminating against you or not paying you the wages you deserve, call an experienced employment attorney.

If you are a CA employee who is being mistreated by your employer, stand up for your rights, and your health. In this tough economy, tensions are running high. Do not let your employer use this as a reason to treat you adversely because of your race, religion, age, nationality, gender, or religion. Additionally, if you are working overtime, but your employer is refusing to pay you extra for the hours you worked, you might have a wage violation claim to bring against your employer.

If you are an employee in CA who believes that your employer’s behavior toward you is causing you heart or health problems, call the skilled employment attorneys at Greenberg & Rudman LLP. Our skilled legal team can help you. Call the Law Offices of Greenberg & Rudman LLP at 1-800-252-9776 (1-800-ALAWPRO) NOW for a free consultation regarding your legal rights or visit us at our website at www.discriminationattorney.com for more information about your rights.

Many California employers to require their employees to take random drug tests in an effort to promote a drug-free workplace. In California, and a few others states, the use of medical marijuana has been legalized, which makes one think that if they have a medical marijuana license and they test positively for pot, they are OK. This may or may not actually be the case.

Federal law states that all marijuana use, including medical, is against this law. This conflicts with the California laws. So, if you live and work in CA, but are employed by the federal government, you might have to follow a different set of rules. If you are a registered medical marijuana user and your employer has used it as a reason to fire you, you might be able to bring a claim against him. Talk to an experienced employment attorney today.

If you are medical marijuana use in CA and you have been fired for testing positive for pot, call Greenberg & Rudman LLP TODAY. Stand up to your employer with the help of experienced employment attorneys. Call us at (1-800-ALAWPRO or 1-800-252-9766) for a free consultation about your legal rights. You can also find more information about harassment online at www.discriminationattorney.com. We are here to assist you!

Many califoria employees use their work computers or laptops to access their personal email accounts. Sometimes, Californians send work information to and from personal email accounts. How does this play into privacy? We all know that it is likely that your employer can read through your work emails, the ones you send using your work address on a company computer, but how about your personal account?

It seems that the answer is: no, your CA employer cannot violate your privacy by reading through your personal email account without your authorization. To be safe, it is probably best to keep your personal stuff (emails, IMs…) at home, on your home computer. However, if you do use your work computer to read and write personal emails, recent cases of employes suing employers for invasion of privacy have come out in favor of the employee.

If you are an employee in California who believes that your employer is reading your personal email account, call Greenberg & Rudman LLP TODAY. Stand up to your employer with the help of experienced employment attorneys. Call us at (1-800-ALAWPRO or 1-800-252-9766) for a free consultation about your legal rights. You can also find more information online at www.discriminationattorney.com. We are here to assist you!

Irwindale is a city in LA, California. While a small city, it hosts a skate park, a teen center, a senior center, and a public gymnasium. The city is made up of residents from all races, including black, white, Asian, and Hispanic. Many of the citizens of Irwindale work in the surrounding area, at the Speedway or for one of the manufacturing plants, such as Miller Brewing Company.

If you are an Irwindale resident who believes you have been mistreated, either by discrimination or harassment, by your employer, call an experienced employment attorney today. Don’t let your employer take advantage of you --- let the experienced team of Greenberg & Rudman LLP protect you! With over 50 years of combined experience, our excellent legal teams know employment law and understand the LA court system. Let us help you win thousands of dollars like we have helped out other clients. We will fight for your rights!

If you live or work in Irwindale, CA and you have an unfair termination or other employment claim to bring against your employer, call Greenberg & Rudman LLP TODAY. Stand up to your employer with the help of your local Irwindale, CA employment attorneys. Call us at (1-800-ALAWPRO or 1-800-252-9766) for a free consultation about your legal rights. You can also visit us online at www.discriminationattorney.com. We are here to assist you!

Thousands of California employees are on social networking sites such as MySpace, Twitter and Facebook. It is completely legal for you to use these sites after work hours and in your free time at home. However, what if you post something on you Facebook page or tweet something about your boss or another co-worker that is negative or hurtful? Or what if you have risqué pictures of you up on your Myspace page? Chances are your boss or others will find out. Does this mean you will get fired?

The rules are uncertain. Your boss certainly does not have the right to invade your privacy, but if your profile is set to public, that’s a different matter. While it seems that your employer cannot fire you for something you do outside the office, such as partying with friends, it is best to be overly-cautious. However, if you are on Facebook or Twitter or another social networking site and your feel that your employer is invading your privacy, contact an experienced employment attorney.

If you are an employee in California who believes that your employer is using your MySpace or Twitter, etc... as a reason to fire you, call Greenberg & Rudman LLP TODAY. Stand up to your employer with the help of experienced employment attorneys. Call us at (1-800-ALAWPRO or 1-800-252-9766) for a free consultation about your legal rights. You can also find more information online at www.discriminationattorney.com. We are here to assist you!

In California, your employer must pay you for the hours you work. This might also include the hours you spend preparing for your job. Talk to an experienced employment attorney to see if your wages should include the time you spend waiting in line to go through your building’s security or putting on necessary protective clothing. Make sure you are getting paid for the work you do!

When production line workers at a local meat-processing plant felt like they were not receiving appropriate pay for the hours they worked, they stood up for their rights and took legal action. The employees alleged that they weren’t paid for the time they spent donning and doffing safety and sanitary gear and performing other related work activities. They took their employer to court and won $250,000 in damages for not receiving the proper pay.

If you are an employee in CA who believes that you have not been receiving the proper pay, call the skilled employment attorneys at Greenberg & Rudman LLP. Our skilled legal team can help you. Call the Law Offices of Greenberg & Rudman LLP at 1-800-252-9776 (1-800-ALAWPRO) NOW for a free consultation regarding your legal rights or visit us at our website at www.discriminationattorney.com for more information about wage violations.

Is your CA employer or another co-worker bullying you? Are you losing sleep over the hostile workplace behavior? A recent study shows that current or past exposure to workplace bullying is associated with increased sleep disturbances. Additionally, even if you are not the one being bullied, the study indicates that bullying has detrimental effects even when it is experienced indirectly. You have the right to work in a safe, non-hostile environment.

Workplace bullying is a serious issue and is often considered to be one of the leading job stressors. In CA, the law says your employer needs to make sure your work environment is not a hostile one. If you have reported bullying in your CA workplace and your employer has not resolved the issue, talk to an experienced employment attorney. You might be able to bring an employment claim against him.

If you are a male or female employee in CA and you believe you have been bullied at work, call the law offices of Greenberg & Rudman LLP TODAY. Stand up to your employer with the help of experienced employment attorneys. Call us at (1-800-ALAWPRO or 1-800-252-9766) for a free consultation about your legal rights or you can also visit us online at www.discriminationattorney.com. We are here to assist you!