Blog - California Legal Developments

Posted March 26, 2023.

Workplace discrimination is a serious issue affecting California workers, occurring when an employer treats an employee or a job applicant differently or unfavorably because of their personal characteristics, such as age, disability, race, gender, sexual orientation, or religion. Workplace discrimination can have negative consequences for both the individual and the organization, such as lower productivity, higher turnover, lower morale, and legal liability. Read more...

Posted March 7, 2023.

If you're a California employee out of work through no fault of your own, you may be eligible to collect unemployment benefits. Read more...

Posted February 16, 2023.

The length of a wrongful termination case can vary greatly, depending on the case's complexity, the evidence's availability, and the parties' willingness to reach a settlement. Generally, a wrongful termination case can take several months or even years to resolve. Read more...

Posted February 15, 2023.

Employers in California are generally not required by law to offer you a paid holiday. Additionally, if you work overtime on holidays, the law doesn't require them to pay a higher premium rate for overtime on holidays. But many employers choose to pay their employees more if they work overtime on holidays. Read more...

Posted November 15, 2022.

California laws on missed meal periods and rest breaks protects California employees. Workers in California have a rights to paid ten-minute rest breaks and unpaid thirty-minute meal periods depending on the length of their shift and the kind of work they perform. Read more...

Posted October 10, 2022.

Unemployment insurance is a state-run benefits program which pays workers when they lose their jobs. Applying for unemployment benefits with the California Employment Development Department (EDD) is a necessary step to confirm you qualify. Sometimes unemployment benefits are reduced or denied. If you believe you've been wrongly or unfairly denied unemployment benefits you have the option to file an appeal. There are short and specific deadlines for filing an appeal, so you must file without delay. Read more...

Posted August 23, 2022.

The first False Claims Act was enacted in 1863 by the Federal Government, in response to fraud by defense contractors. California's False Claims Act also allows whistleblowers to file a qui tam lawsuit to recover money owed to the government lost through fraud. Examples include Health Care fraud, Cyber fraud, Medicare or Medicaid fraud, Defense Contracting fraud, Pandemic-Related fraud, Collusive Bidding fraud, and False Certification fraud. A qui tam lawsuit also entitles the whistleblower to a portion of the funds recovered, and protects the whistleblower from retaliation   Read more...

Posted August 17, 2022.

California protects employees who disclose information about violations of state or federal law or provide testimony or information during an investigation to a public body. Employers are not allowed to retaliate against covered employees or their family members. Examples of retaliation include firing, demoting, cutting hours, cutting pay, transfers to a remote or less desirable location without an apparent reason, giving an undeserved poor performance review, denying a raise and giving an unfair workload. Read more...

Posted August 4, 2022.

What is a wrongful termination and what are my rights if I'm terminated? An example of a wrongful termination would be where an employer fires an employee who exercises a right such as reporting unpaid wages or filing a claim for unpaid wages with the labor commissioner, or reporting a health and safety violation, or tries to protect a fellow worker from discrimination or harassment in the workplace. Another example would be an employer firing an employee in violation of the terms of their employment contract with that employee. California and federal laws protect employees from wrongful termination. This article answers certain frequently asked questions about wrongful termination in California. Read more...

Posted August 3, 2022.

What rights do I have as a pregnant employee? When an individual becomes pregnant while employed, there are common questions regarding their rights to medical leave and to take time off to care for their family. Both state and federal laws protect employees from discrimination based on their pregnancy, childbirth or any related medical conditions. This article addresses certain frequently asked questions about pregnancy and employment in the state of California. Read more...

Posted July 22, 2022.

No matter how your employer pays you - whether by check, pay card, or other method, your employer must make sure your have a way to get all your wages in cash, without paying a fee, and without delay. Checks from your employer must have the name and address of someplace in the state where you can go and cash it without paying a fee. Similarly, if you're paid by pay card, your employer must let you know where you can with draw all your wages at one time without paying a fee. Your employer also cannot make you to open a bank account to get your wages. Your employer may prefer to pay you by direct deposit, but if you don't have a bank account or do not want to accept direct deposit but prefer a paper check, your employer is not allowed to charge you a fee to get a paper paycheck. Additionally, if you are paid by check that bounces due to non-sufficient funds, there is a daily penalty of a day's wage until the check is made good by your employer. This penalty can go on for up to 30 days. Read more...

Posted July 15, 2022.

Stress or anxiety is sometimes a normal part of going to work, but when your boss or a co-worker causes so much emotional distress, that you cannot do your job you may be in a hostile work environment or other situation where you may be able to sue for emotional distress. The behavior must be more than mere slights or annoyances, and you generally need to show the behavior was so severe and outrageous that no reasonable person could tolerate it and that your emotional distress was is serious. Read more...

Posted July 11, 2022.

Employees have rights at work, including equal pay for equal work, to be paid for every hour worked, paid rest breaks, on time meal periods, protection from discrimination and illegal employer retaliation, and protection from a hostile work environment. Read more...