Employment Law Articles

Discover and learn the latest valuable employment law articles for ideas, practical information, and DIY from a network of leading business and corporate lawyers.

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How to report a company paying employees under the table?

A worker can report cash wage "under the table" by hiring an attorney or reporting to EDD. Before you say that the employer is paying under the table, you should ensure that it is illegal because it is not illegal if done correctly.

Can an employer take away earned PTO?

Paid Time Off or PTO cannot be taken away or forfeited when the pay accrues as earned. An employer is prohibited from taking away earned vacation time to punish you.

What Makes a Strong Retaliation Case?

The standard for proving a retaliation case requires the worker to show that the supervisor's action against the worker might deter a reasonable worker from reporting discrimination or participating in the EEOC complaint process.

Do you get paid for training at a job?

Under California employment law, employers are legally obligated to pay employees for time spent training for a job. It is illegal for employers to require employees to undergo unpaid training.

What is paid time off?

Paid time off - also known as personal time off - is when an employee takes off work while still getting paid by the employer. Likewise, personal time off is when an employee gets paid or unpaid while away from work.

What does an employment lawyer do?

An employment lawyer help employers and employees understand their respective rights and obligations, such as wages, wrongful termination, overtime, PTO, disability, discrimination, harassment, etc.

13 Wrongful Termination Examples

Employees wins millions of dollars in wrongful termination lawsuits against their employers. If an employee has been dismissed for the reason that is deemed illegal in California, then they may be able to sue their former employer for wrongful termination.

How do I know if I am exempt from overtime pay?

As of 2023, to be exempt from overtime pay, you must make at least $62,400.00 per year or $5166.66 per month. To be classified as an exempt employee, your salary must be at least twice California's minimum wage for full-time employment. 

Women’s Rights When Experiencing Sexual Harassment at Work

Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (“Title VII”) makes it illegal for employers to allow anyone to be sexually harassed at work by anyone else, regardless of sexual orientation, gender, or sex. Women who experience sexual harassment at work may experience a range of negative consequences, including mental and physical health problems, lower earnings, and career interruptions.

How to respond to a notice of PAGA lawsuit?

5 steps to defend a PAGA lawsuit: 1) contact a PAGA lawyer after getting a PAGA Notice, 2) locate the arbitration agreement, if any, 3) determine if the safe harbor provision of the PAGA state applies, 4) compile a list of all employees that were similarly situated, 5) Collect the employee's manual.

What happens if you get an EDD audit?

An EDD audit is a process of verification that you have correctly withheld and reported personal income tax for wages paid to your employees. If you get an EDD audit, you may be liable for a wide range of fines, interest, and penalties on taxes that you owe.

What are the 4 Caregiver rights in California?

California caregivers are entitled to rest breaks, meal breaks, minimum wage, overtime pay for working over 8 hours per day, and double time for working over 12 hours, including overnight stays. Employers often face lawsuits from caregivers for violating caregivers’ rights, such as basic wages.

Terminating Employee with Cancer

Cancer is protected under the Disability Act, which protects an employee from retaliation and discrimination because of health impairment related to a cancer diagnosis. An employer cannot discriminate against an employee upon discovering that an employee has a severe illness or cancer.

Can I be fired for work restrictions?

No, you cannot be fired for work restriction if it is based on disability. However, an employer can fire an employee in some situations if the employee has work restrictions.

Annualized Compensation

An annualized compensation is to a predetermined gross pay per month paid to an employee for twelves months, totaling an estimated annual income.  In other words, annualized compensation - also known as annualized salary - is an estimate of how much pay an employee will earn over the course of a year if they were to work the full year. For example, teachers commonly do not work summer months and therefore need to annualized their salary for reporting taxes.

What is prevailing wage in California?

Prevailing wage in California is the minimum hourly rate employees earn on public work project. All workers employed on public works projects must be paid the prevailing wage. Our prevailing wage lawyer can protect your rights if you're not paid the California prevailing wage.

What qualifies as wrongful termination?

A termination is wrongful if the employer fires or laid off the employee on the employee based on a protected class such as sex, gender, race, ethnicity, religion, or age.

Can You Get Fired for Looking for Another Job?

Firing an employee for looking for another job is legal under California Labor Code § 2922. Employees in California are employed on an “at-will” which means the employee or employer can terminate the working relationship at any time for any reason.

Can an employee be terminated while on medical leave?

It depends on the reason the employee is on medical leave. Under the FMLA, an employee cannot be terminated simply because they take leave. An employee is free to take medical leave without fear of losing their job. However, if there is a reason unrelated to the medical leave, an employer does have the right to terminate an employee.

Can Slack Admins Read DMs?

Yes. Slack admin and employer can read every DMs, private channels, private messages sent between team members. Employers on either Slack's free tier or paid tier need to submit a request to Slack before they can access your private chats.

Four Hour Minimum Pay

Yes - under California employment law, when an employee is scheduled to work an eight-hour shift, and the work is canceled, the employer must pay a minimum of four hours.

Hourly Employees Working Off The Clock

To prevent employees from working off the clock, the company must have a clear policy that states working off the clock is prohibited and do not let employees stay late.

Former employer sabotaging new job

If your former employer is sabotaging your efforts to get a new job, you must know if you have a claim. This page will discuss what is required to file a lawsuit against your former boss.

FICA Withholding: What is FICA tax on my paycheck?

What is FICA tax on my paycheck? FICA is a federal wage tax. FICA taxes requires withholding from an employee’s gross earnings: 6.2% for social security and 1.45% for Medicare. The employer matches these percentages for a total of 15.3%.

Why Does EDD Do a Benefit Audit?

The EDD conducts benefit audits to help pay Unemployment Insurance benefits to only eligible claimants only, prevents fraud in the UI program, and helps companies control UI costs. The EDD’s responsibility is to collect payroll taxes and conduct payroll audits of businesses.

What Does PAGA Mean in a Lawsuit?

The word PAGA is an acronym for the Private Attorney General Act, which is the Labor Code that authorizes employees to file a lawsuit to recover civil penalties for themselves and other employees. PAGA confers a private right of action to individuals to prosecute under PAGA and incentivizes the employee to keep 25% of collected civil penalties.

What Qualifies as an EEOC Complaint?

The EEOC is a federal agency that investigates workplace discrimination and harassment based on race, gender, ethnicity, national origin, age, religion, medical status, and disability. There are time limits for filing a complaint with the EEOC.

EEOC Complaint Process

Before filing an EEOC complaint, employees should understand the entire EEOC complaint process. This article answers many Frequently Asked Questions on the EEOC complaint process.

Do guys get paid paternity leave?

A father is eligible for paternity leave if three conditions are met: 1) welcome a new child within the first twelve months; 2) Paid into the State Disability Insurance; 3) Has not taken more than eight weeks of paternity leave in the past twelve months.

California PTO Payout Law

California law declares vacation time to be earned wages, and vacation time is accumulated as work is performed. So, an employee who has the right to ten days of vacation per year will after six months of work earn five days of vacation time.

Suing For Unpaid Wages California

It is totally unfair for an employee to work and not get paid; employees have bills and rent to pay. Employees suing for unpaid wages in California can get help from an employment attorney.

What is a demand letter?

A demand letter is a letter that is commonly written by a lawyer on behalf of a client setting forth facts supporting a demand for money. A demand letter is usually the first step in resolving a dispute between two opposing parties.

EEOC Discrimination

Learn about the various types of EEOC-prohibited discrimination. The EEOC protects employees from discrimination based on gender, race, ethnicity, gender, religion, national origin, age, disability, etc.

Standard PTO Policy for Small Business

A standard PTO for small businesses depends on the years an employee worked for the company. On average, the standard PTO for one to five years is ten days and six to ten years averages fifteen days.

Retaliation for Reporting Harassment at Work

An employer who punishes an employee who reported sexual harassment in the workplace violates state and federal law and is liable for retaliation. Examples of retaliation include demotion, fewer working hours, segregation, or termination.

Obscene and Sexual Gestures a Work

We're not talking about the ubiquitous middle finger that says fuck you. Obscene and sexual gestures at work may include two fingers in a V shape, with a tongue in between. 

What Is Quid Pro Quo Sexual Harassment and Hostile Work Environment?

Quid pro quo harassment involves job benefits tied to sexual favors. A hostile work environment stems from severe, unwelcome sexual conduct. Both disrupt work via unwanted sexual behaviors. However, quid pro quo is an exchange of work favor for sex, while hostile environments are broadly abusive.

Reporting Time Pay

Wages are what we mean when we use the term "reporting time pay." If employers do not pay all of this at the moment of an employee being terminated, there may be waiting time penalties involved.

What Are the Signs of a Toxic Coworker?

The 8 identifying traits of of a toxic coworker are: 1. The toxic coworker is often sarcastic. 2. The toxic coworker often insults and mock others. 3. The toxic coworker is selfish...

Two-Week Notice Letter: 9 Tips and 2 Templates

If an employee decides to resign from his or her job, it is normal and expected to provide their employer with two weeks’ notice. Regardless of why a person is leaving their job, it is considered professional to give their employer enough time to make plans to cover the absence.

6 Things to Know About At-Will Employment

“At-will” means that an employer can fire an employee for any reason at any time without getting into legal trouble. The exception is that the reason cannot be illegal in nature.

7 Things Women Should Know About Sexual Harassment

Sexual harassment is an umbrella term covering many forms of unwelcome verbal and physical sexual attention. Sexual assault, meanwhile, is physical sexual contact or behavior that happens without the consent of the victim.

How Long Is Maternity Leave in California?

Under California law, companies with at least five employees must provide new parents with 12 weeks of unpaid maternity leave. Similarly, companies with at least five employees must also grant up to four months of unpaid pregnancy-disability leave to workers who are unable to work due to pregnancy or childbirth.
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