California Employment Law Blog

According to the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), tech giant IBM discriminated against thousands of older workers laid off by the company from 2013 to 2018. In late August, the agency notified a group of ex-employees that IBM routinely ignored laws that protect workers from age discrimination in hiring and firing. Discrimination was encouraged…

Public policy in the United States generally favors unimpeded competition. For workers, that translates to a basic freedom to pursue the livelihood of their choice. However, companies frequently try to keep their employees and independent contractors from working for competitors. Noncompete agreements are required by nearly half of all American companies as a condition of…

Employers sometimes commit wage theft through illegal deductions from their workers’ paychecks. California law protects employees and penalizes employers for these violations, just as they do for failing to pay overtime, denying rest or meal breaks or other illegal activity. In the Golden State, employers can only make deductions allowed under state or federal laws,…

Most employer-employee relationships in California are on an at-will basis, meaning either party can terminate the relationship for almost any reason, with or without cause. However, wrongful termination occurs when employers fire workers for retaliatory reasons or unlawful motivations, such as discrimination. Worker protections under California law The California Fair Employment and Housing Act makes…

As an employee, you have the right to fair treatment by your employer. This doesn’t mean everything will always go as planned, but there are both federal and state laws in place to help protect you against unfair circumstances. If you suspect that you were wrongfully terminated, you’re sure to have feelings of both frustration…

America is supposed to be the land of opportunity. They say if you put in the time and effort, you can lead a happy and financially stable life. However, if you’re a minority, your chances of upward mobility may look a little different. According to the American Bar Association, structural racism is still a common…

Californians living with a disability already face many challenges in their everyday lives. Those struggles exponentially increase when employers treat them differently in the workplace or the application process. In addition to the federal Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), California enforces state laws protecting the disabled, including the Unruh Civil Rights Act, the Disabled Persons…

According to the U.S. Equal Opportunity Commission (EEOC), workplace retaliation continues to be the most frequently filed complaint in California and across the nation. Retaliation claims are often filed after workers experience other forms of discrimination. Federal and state laws protect employees from discrimination over age, disability, race, sex and gender, sexual orientation, harassment, pregnancy,…

Employers commit wage theft in a number of ways, such as not paying minimum wage or overtime, refusing to give rest or meal breaks or failing to follow other wage and hour laws. If you experience any of these infractions, you can submit a claim with the California Department of Labor Standards Enforcement (DLSE). Here…

An economic think tank says workers – especially those whose earnings are at or near the minimum wage – are more likely to experience wage violations during an economic downturn. The Washington Center for Equitable Growth says workers, on average, lose one-fifth of their pay to wage theft. Researchers say even when the economy is…