CA Employment Law: Employer Advice & Defense of Claims

Avoid or Defend Against Claims for ADA Violations, Worker's Comp, Harassment, Termination, Wage/Hour Violations - by Experienced San Diego Attorneys

Complying with California Wage and Hour laws

There are many employment laws governing your employee pay and hour practices.  We will make sure you have the information you need to avoid wage and hour disputes, including the following:

• We can advise you on distinguishing employees who can be paid by salary (“exempt employees”) from those who must be paid hourly wages.
• Hourly employees have to be paid overtime. We can help you figure out the circumstances that will require overtime pay, and when you can require it as a condition of employment.
• We will consult with you about how often you must pay employee wages and overtime wages.  We will also advise you on how to properly handle wage disputes, and about the formal legal requirements you must follow when paying wages to an employee who has been terminated or laid off, so that you can avoid penalties.
• You are not required to provide your employees with vacation time, however, if you do, we will advise you as to your legal obligations and your rights in managing your business's vacation pay.
• We can advise you about when current and former employees do and do not have a right to inspect personnel files, which records you don't have to allow inspection of, your obligations regarding payroll records and inspection rights, and how you must facilitate the right to inspect. 

Workers' Compensation

Workers' compensation laws obligate you to take certain steps to prepare for and deal with employee injuries or illnesses that occur due to work.  Consequences for failing to comply with these laws can include significant criminal penalties and lawsuits against you personally.  We will provide you with the guidance you need about:

• the insurance you're required to keep
• how to fulfill your notice requirements to new and current employees
• what actions you must take when an employee is injured or becomes ill
• what medical treatment must be covered during investigation of the claim
• when an injured employee will meet the criteria for temporary and permanent disability benefits, and the scope of these benefits
• what actions you must take if an employee returns to work after a job injury, including issues regarding what work assignments the employee is given
• how you can avoid discrimination against employees who seek workers' compensation benefits or have disabilities.

Laws forbidding Discrimination and Harassment

In all your employment practices, you have obligations under discrimination and harassment laws.  Protected classes under the California Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA) include discrimination based on race, religion, disability, sex, marital status, medical condition, age, and sexual orientation.  Failing to comply with these laws can lead to litigation and other consequences that can disrupt your business and place it at financial risk.  We will help you understand your legal obligations, including those described below:

• We will explain your duty to take all reasonable steps to prevent harassment and discrimination, and your duties when there has been a claim of harassment or discrimination, which includes adequate investigation and specific procedures.
• We will assist you in providing employees with notice about sexual harassment that meets California's legal requirements.
• Our knowledgeable attorneys can advise you about what's needed to help keep your hiring practices and ongoing employment relationship in line with discrimination and harassment law.
• We will inform you about when an employee has a right to take family or medical leave, and consult with you about discrimination issues that may arise when an employee returns to work.
• We can advise you on what “reasonable accommodations” may be required for particular employees.

Laws forbidding Retaliation or Discrimination

California law prohibits employers from discriminating against employees in a very wide variety of circumstances, including situations where employees need time off for domestic violence, alcohol treatment, and in other circumstances you may not suspect.  In addition, there are many things that employers cannot inquire about, including arrests that did not result in conviction, certain drug convictions, and more.

There are also restrictions on an employer's ability to limit an employee's conduct, and requirements for certain notices to be given to employees in particular circumstances.  As your business attorneys, we can advise you in advance on laws you need to be conscious of for your particular business, and assist you whenever a situation arises where you need to tread carefully to avoid violating California law.

Undocumented Workers

Your obligations under California law regarding wages and working conditions apply equally to undocumented workers.  Unless needed for compliance with federal immigration law, you can't inquire about immigration status when an employee files a workers' compensation claim or otherwise seeks to enforce labor laws.

Employee Leave

Our attorneys will explain the legal requirements of employee leave with you so that leave is properly applied to eligible employees.  As discussed below, you may be required to provide your employees with the right to take leave in various situations, such as military duty, pregnancy, or disability:

• California and federal law prohibit discrimination against employees based on their military membership.  When an employee takes military leave, we will advise you on your duties to that employee, which could include holding his or her job open and other job protections.
• You're prohibited from discriminating against pregnant women, and must provide pregnancy leave.  Our attorneys will consult with you about your obligations regarding pregnancy disability and reinstatement.
• Employees with disabilities are protected from discrimination under federal and California law, including job protections under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).  We will evaluate your circumstances to determine if you may be required to provide the employee with a leave of absence.

Employee Termination

We will protect your business interests by helping you carefully handle an employee's termination, and assess your ability to terminate an employee in light of applicable laws and existing agreements.  Termination raises many important issues that our experienced and knowledgeable attorneys will assist you with.

• Under California law, “at will” employees can be terminated for any reason that is not discriminatory, but employees employed by a verbal agreement for employment for more than one year, or an employee who has relied to their financial detriment on a promise of continued employment, can only be terminated according to the terms of the agreement. San Diego Law Firm can advise you in each of these difficult situations, protecting your business from lawsuits and discrimination complaints to the California Labor Commission.
• Terminated employees may be entitled to unemployment benefits, sometimes even when they have chosen to quit.  We can advise you about the process and any challenges you wish to make to an unemployment benefits claim.
• We will also advise you about whether you're required under the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act (COBRA) or California law to allow your employees and their family to continue health insurance benefits after termination and in certain other circumstances. 

How to Contact San Diego Law Firm

We handle matters throughout California, and new clients are always welcome. For more information or to make an appointment, please contact us either by:

Telephone: (619) 794-0243

E-mail: contactus@SanDiegoLawFirm.com
 

We can be reached by telephone Monday through Friday, 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. You may also use the form below to contact us. This form is answered Monday through Friday during the work day. Please remember that for us to become your attorneys, we must first have a written attorney-client agreement signed by both of us, so please do not email any confidential information at this point. After we have reached an agreement with you, we can then exchange information freely. We look forward to helping you.

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