California Labor and Employment Law

Legal Grind: Low-priced Legal Advice in a Café Setting

I get a lot of phone calls from clients seeking legal assistance on smaller matters, things that might fall into the small claims court or paralegal category. Some of these matters are also outside of my area, things like wills, health care directives, or real estate deeds. I can’t really refer these clients to other attorneys because the matters are so small the attorneys probably wouldn’t take them. These clients (more…)

Popularity: 1%

Get Your Personnel File & Payroll Records Now

Did you know you have a legal right to inspect your personnel file and payroll records? Or get copies of your payroll records and any job-related document you have signed? If not, you’re not alone. But more important, what are you waiting for? All employees should check their personnel file and payroll records periodically to guard against unfair negative evaluations or warning letters, or mistakes in paychecks, withholdings or vacation accruals. It’s also important to do if you’re thinking about making a complaint or filing a lawsuit.

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Popularity: 6%

Thou Shalt Not Send Emails from the Office

Does your employer have a policy that employees have no property right in their emails? If they’re like most employers, then the answer is probably yes. Then watch out. In New York, a judge ruled that a hospital’s email policy means a doctor’s emails to his lawyers are not protected by attorney-client privilege. Normally, communications with your attorneys are privileged and can’t be used against you in a lawsuit. But if you send the (more…)

Popularity: 1%

House Passes Bill Banning Discrimination of Lesbians, Gays, Bis (but not Transgenders)

On November 7, 2007, the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (“ENDA,” H.R. 3685), a federal bill which bans employment discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation, was passed by the U.S. House of Representatives. The vote was decisive at 235-184. The bill is backed by the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights, NAACP, ACLU, (more…)

Popularity: 1%

Top 5 Tips: So You Want to Sue Your Boss?

So you want to sue your employer for racial discrimination, sexual harassment, whistleblower retaliation, failure to pay you your last paycheck, what have you. Now what? Here are five tips all clients should keep in mind before they pick up the phone to call a lawyer.

Tip 1: Write it, don’t say it. People think it’s enough to complain, request or report things orally to their employer. They complain about discrimination to HR over the phone. Or they tell their supervisor about a health and safety code violation. Well, what are you going to do when HR or the supervisor denies you ever talked with them? Don’t believe it? Happens all the time. Avoid the “he said, she said” by communicating with your employer by emails or send letters (certified mail, return receipt requested). (more…)

Popularity: 20%

Free Access to Federal Cases

Want to retrieve the full-text of US Supreme Court and Circuit Court of Appeal cases … for free? Now you can. Services like Westlaw and Lexis charge a lot for this service. But a new service called www.AltLaw.org puts these cases out there where they belong, in the public domain. The service is still in beta (i.e., the bugs are still being worked out), and I wouldn’t recommend you rely on it just yet for your mission-critical law briefs. It’s still slow and could be more user-friendly. But did I mention, it’s free? Westlaw and Lexis, take that! Thanks go to the folks at www.inter-alia.net for the tip.

Popularity: 1%

California Labor Dept Org Chart

Ever wonder where all the various California labor agencies fit in? I’m talking about the Department of Industrial Relations, the Division of Labor Standards Enforcement, the Labor and Workforce Development Agency, the Labor Commissioner, CAL/OSHA, and on and on. No? Well, you just might if you ever need to bring an employment or labor law lawsuit. And whoever you retain as your lawyer had better.

Without further ado, I present the organizational chart for the California labor department, otherwise known as the Department of Industrial Relations. And what a hard-working bunch they are.

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DLSE: Retaliated Employees Need Not File with State Labor Commissioner

There has been some confusion among federal and state courts in California as to whether an employee who has been the victim of whistleblower retaliation by their employer (under Cal. Labor Code s. 1102.5) must first file a complaint with the Labor Commissioner (under Cal. Labor Code s. 98.7) before they can proceed with filing a lawsuit in court. This is important because it potentially creates yet another hurdle for an (more…)

Popularity: 4%

Disabled Employee in San Francisco Wins $350K Judgment

Fellow attorney Richard Vaznaugh reports a unanimous San Francisco jury awarded an employee in a disability discrimination case $150k in lost wages and $200k in non-economic damages. Tania Garcia had worked at the Electrical Industry Service Bureau, Inc. in San Francisco as a data entry clerk when she became disabled due to eczema and started a medical leave. Ms. Garcia was placed on unpaid leave. Just 18 days before she was due to return to work, EISB fired her without warning because her disability had exceeded 90 days. Ms. Garcia made several efforts to obtain reinstatement with the help of her union but EISB refused. The jury found for Ms. Garcia on all claims. “I feel like I’ve finally got some peace and that they didn’t get away with it,” said Ms. Garcia. Congratulations to Mr. Vaznaugh.

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