Recent Blog Posts
What are the Whistleblower Laws in CA?
California’s whistleblower protection laws are intended to protect workers who discover that their employer is acting unlawfully. If an employee discovers fraudulent conduct, wage and hour violations, discrimination, harassment, or other illegal conduct, California law encourages them to report that conduct either internally or externally without fear of retaliation. Continue reading to learn about… Read More »
Most Common Labor Violations
California and federal laws guarantee workers many rights and legal protections. Many employers implement practices aimed at skirting these protections, or they outright flout the law when they think their workers will not complain. Employers who bully workers into forfeiting their legal rights can be held accountable for their actions, as can employers who… Read More »
Employment Defamation Lawsuits
Ideally, every employment relationship would end cordially and professionally, with both sides wishing one another well. Unfortunately, that is not how things always work in the real world. Employees can be fired for personal reasons, employers can take an employee’s resignation personally, and any number of other confounding factors can make the parting anything… Read More »
Co-Worker Harassment
Harassment of any kind is unacceptable in the workplace. California law prohibits hostile workplace harassment, meaning attacks and other hostility based on membership in a protected class (i.e., based on the employee’s race, gender, religion, sexual orientation, etc.). California law also prohibits workplace “quid pro quo” sexual harassment, which occurs when a supervisor demands… Read More »
How Does Severance Pay Work in California?
Unfortunately, not everyone gets to leave their employment on their own terms. Whether due to downsizing, layoffs, or termination for cause, losing your job can create unexpected hardship and financial stress. Severance pay can be a nice benefit to ease the sting of being terminated. Many employers offer severance packages to certain employees who… Read More »
Exempt vs. Not Exempt Overtime Pay in California
California employees are guaranteed certain protections, including the right to workers’ compensation benefits, protection from harassment and discrimination, overtime pay, minimum wage, and certain rest breaks throughout the day. Not all employees are entitled to all protections, however. In California, certain employees are exempt from overtime pay requirements. Read on to learn about the… Read More »
A Summary of California’s Laws on Vacation Pay and Paid Time Off
The provision of vacation time to employees is a privilege, not an entitlement, offered by many California employers. Both employees and employers should have an understanding of their rights and responsibilities under vacation or paid time off (PTO) policies, such as how vacation time can be used, when employees are owed money for unused… Read More »
Wage Laws on Mandatory Training: What Are Training Wages in CA?
Sometimes, a company will hire an employee and give them a start date two weeks out, but require the employee to attend “training” before their first day. Other times, employers may require current employees to attend training after work hours or on the weekends. In either circumstance, can the employer claim that the employee… Read More »
Overtime on the Seventh Day: Working 7 Days in a Row
California’s labor laws require employers to pay workers overtime when they exceed typical work hours for a given day or a given week. The typical workday is eight hours, and the typical workweek is forty hours over a seven-day period. For covered employees not subject to an exemption, working seven days in a row… Read More »
Wrongful Demotion Laws in California
California is an “at-will” employment state. That means that employers can generally terminate any employee for nearly any reason, so long as the reason itself is not illegal (unlawful discrimination, retaliation for exercising a legal right, etc.), the termination does not fall within certain protected time periods (such as protected medical or family leave),… Read More »
