Woodland Hills California Employment Law Blog

Some workers, especially those in skilled trades, enjoy the benefits of large organizations that protect their rights directly. For example, the California Labor Federation represents over two million working people in the state. However, we know that not everybody enjoys the same protection. At Jay S. Rothman & Associates, we are proud to step in and represent clients who do not have large, state-wide organizations backing them up. 

One of the most common types of problems we see is, unsurprisingly, the unwillingness of employers to pay our clients the wages they are due. Payroll often represents the largest percentage of the cost of doing business. We find it unfortunate that some companies are willing to bend or break the rules in order to reduce the impact employees have on a corporate budget. 

When you are a California employee, your employer must provide you with a safe and healthy workplace free from various types of discrimination. One of the things your employer cannot do is take any action against you that inhibits your right, or the rights of your co-workers, to report discrimination to supervisors and/or the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. The EEOC considers any such action your employer takes either before or after you make a discrimination complaint as an adverse employment action. 

Adverse employment actions can take many forms, but some of the most common ones are the following:

• Terminating your employment
• Taking away your supervisory responsibilities
• Threatening you with an unfavorable work reassignment and/or a lowering of your salary or wages
• Threatening you or a member of your family with an immigration action such as deportation
• Overly scrutinizing, analyzing or examining your work
• Belittling you in the media

As someone who earns a living working in California, you have certain rights, and one of them involves your right to call attention to harassment, discrimination and wrongdoing within your place of business without having to fear for your job. When your employer, supervisor or someone else at your place of business treats you unfavorably because you took such action, he or she may be guilty of employment retaliation, and you may be able to hold that employer accountable. At the office of Jay S. Rothman & Associates, we have a firm understanding of what constitutes workplace retaliation, and we have helped many victims of this type of behavior pursue appropriate recourse.

Per the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, you have certain rights with regard to participating in what are known as “protected activities,” and no one in your place of business can treat you poorly or unfairly because you decide to exercise them. What might work-related retaliation look like? It can take on numerous forms, but you may be a victim of workplace retaliation if your employer demotes you, fires you or changes your duties for less desirable ones in the wake of you exercising a protected right.

California employees might use many different methods to prove that they were working during certain hours, but you might not have the opportunity to use some of the more effective options should you find yourself already embroiled in a wage and hour dispute. Any overtime your employer might owe you would probably depend on:

• Total hours you work per week
• Hours per day or shift
• Number of days per week you work

Some cases of unpaid overtime are relatively straightforward, but the rules have the potential to become complicated quickly. It is important to keep track of your hours. This might, in certain cases, preclude the necessity to go to trial, therefore avoiding costly court fees and maximizing any recompense you might receive from your employer.