It looked like a classic case of employer retaliation. A. was a bartender at Kolla’s nightclub in Orange County. In April 2014, after she hadn’t been paid for three shifts in a row, she approached the club’s owner to ask about her unpaid wages. In response, her boss flew into a rage. He fired A. on the spot, telling...
Continue ReadingAlthough women have been an important part of the U.S. workforce for decades, many employers unfortunately still have doubts about their capacity to serve as both professionals and mothers. The outdated, prejudicial beliefs that pregnant women and working moms are a liability, less committed to their jobs, or unable to perform at top levels professionally, pervades California workplaces —...
Continue ReadingIn this blog post, we’ll break down the details of SB 331, explaining what it says about when your employer can and can’t use legal methods to keep employees silent, and how an employment lawyer can help you if you’re facing pressure from an employer’s gag order. Settlement Agreements and SB 331: When Can My California Employer Limit What...
Continue ReadingEvery year, thousands of Californians are deprived of their legally entitled rights, benefits, and protections by employers who illegally classify their workers as temporary contractors instead of employees. In 2020, California passed a new law, known as AB 5, that took a bold stance against the epidemic of employee misclassification that runs rampant in the gig economy. However, due...
Continue ReadingIf you are working 7 days in a row in California, you might be entitled to overtime pay. What is the maximum number of days allowed to work in a row? In California, labor laws mandate that employers provide employees with a day of rest during each workweek. Specifically, employees generally cannot work more than six consecutive days in...
Continue ReadingMore than half of non-unionized employees in the U.S. have signed an arbitration agreement in order to work at their current job. Employers often require workers to sign these agreements to prevent them from suing their company in public court for any labor violations or wrongdoing. Until recently, employees in California could use a unique state law to bypass...
Continue ReadingFrançoise Brougher was excited to accept her new role as Chief Operating Officer at Pinterest in 2018. As COO, Françoise was in a critical and influential position at the popular digital scrapbooking company — around 70% of whose users are women. When she joined Pinterest, though, Françoise was shocked to encounter hostility, misogyny, and unequal compensation at the top...
Continue ReadingIt’s a situation that’s all too common. Cassandra worked as a product sales specialist at GE. Although she’d only been there for two years, she was already regularly recognized as one of the company’s top performers. But when she complained to GE about her supervisor’s repeated sexual harassment, the company never followed up on her report with an investigation....
Continue ReadingPregnancy discrimination is among the most pervasive and least discussed forms of employment discrimination in the U.S. Even though discrimination against pregnant workers is banned under federal law, some states, like California, offer women who are expecting even further workplace protections. Unfortunately, it’s sometimes no accident that many women are still unaware of the rights and protections they’re afforded...
Continue ReadingAn executive at Wells Fargo. An Orange County golf club attendant. Fourteen male crew members on ABC’s TV production team. Professionally, they don’t seem to have much in common — except that in the past year, all have spoken out about the pervasive sexual harassment they experienced in their jobs. These three cases are an unfortunate testament to the...
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