WE HELP PEOPLE WITH PROBLEMS AT WORK

A claim for wrongful discharge, tortious discharge or retaliation can arise under many different circumstances. Whether an employee resides in California, Nevada or Utah, he/she may be entitled to damages if the employer terminated his/her employment in violation of public policy.

For example, an employer will be deemed to have violated the law if it terminated an employee due to race, religion, color, national origin, ancestry, physical disability, mental disability, medical condition, marital status, sex, gender, age, or sexual orientation.

Other examples of tortious discharge include terminations related to the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), the California Family Rights Act (CFRA), or the Pregnancy Discrimination Act. There are both federal and state laws that employee entitle an employee to invoke protections afforded by statute. State claims that exist, however, are determined on the state in which you reside or are employed.

This area of law is very complex and require detailed analysis by an experienced employment attorney. Please call and start your analysis today.

If an employer takes adverse action against an employee because he/she participated in a protected activity, that may constitute retaliation. Laws against retaliation are designed to prevent employers from engaging in coercion, intimidation, threats, harassment, or interference with protected rights.

For example, if an employee has reported any type of discrimination, unsafe working conditions, illegal or unethical practices, and the employer subjected the employee to an adverse employment action, the employee could be deemed a whistleblower and entitled to the protections afforded by law.

This area of law is very complex and require detailed analysis by an experienced employment attorney. Please call and start your analysis today.

California, Nevada, Utah and the Federal Government have enacted laws to protect you from certain types of harassing conduct at work. There are many ways that illegal harassment may present itself in the work place. It could be a slur or inappropriate jokes that demonstrate hostility towards race, sex, gender, age, nationality, medical condition, disability, religion, or sexual orientation.

Oftentimes this form of harassment presents itself as sexual comments, flirtation, inappropriate text messages, or touching. There are numerous forms of harassment that occur every day in the workplace that violate the law. If harassment and/or discrimination has occurred, an employee may be entitled to damages.

This area of law is very complex and require detailed analysis by an experienced employment attorney. Please call and start your analysis today.

If an employee is required to perform any task off-the-clock, he/she may be entitled to damages as a result. There are laws that prohibit employers from requiring an employee to do the following without pay: (1) go through a search prior to entry; (2) drive to an offsite location; (3) dress in protective gear; (4) spend time waiting to be shuttled to a worksite; (5) attend meetings or training; or (6) perform similar tasks that benefit the employer, without compensation. This list is not all inclusive.

This area of law is very complex and require detailed analysis by an experienced employment attorney. Please call and start your analysis today.

An employer must pay a nonexempt employee 1 ½ times an employee’s regular rate of pay when he/she works more than 40 hours per week. Some states require overtime to be paid if an employee works in excess of 8 hours in a day. If this has occurred, an employee may be entitled to damages. There are some exceptions that may apply.

This area of law is very complex and require detailed analysis by an experienced employment attorney. Please call and start your analysis today.

Most state laws require that an employer provide an uninterrupted meal break after working a certain number of hours or working for a continuous period of 8 hours in a day. In some states, employers are required to provide an employee ten minutes of rest break for every four hours of work performed. Although these rules vary from state to state, in most instances, employers are required to allow employees some form of meal and rest break during a normal eight-hour work day.

Nuances do exist from state to state.

This area of law is very complex and require detailed analysis by an experienced employment attorney. Please call and start your analysis today.

A common mistake often made by employers is misclassifying their employees as independent contractors. There are numerous factors that determine whether an employee may be legally classified as an independent contractor. When misclassification occurs, the employer may be required to pay the employee damages.

This area of law is very complex and require detailed analysis by an experienced employment attorney. Please call and start your analysis today.

An employee must be reimbursed for all work-related expenses, even if the employee does not ask to be reimbursed. If you have ever been required to use your personal cell phone, pay for office supplies, travel on behalf of the employer, purchase uniforms, or spend money to benefit your employer, you could have a claim for unreimbursed expenses.

This area of law is very complex and require detailed analysis by an experienced employment attorney. Please call and start your analysis today.

If you have vested vacation time or paid time off (PTO), an employer normally may not reduce those benefits. If an employer reduces vacation benefits during employment, has a “Use It or Lose It” policy, reduces PTO, or restricts the way in which an employee uses sick leave, an employee may have a claim for damages.

This area of law is very complex and require detailed analysis by an experienced employment attorney. Please call and start your analysis today.