Usually, there is no upfront cost for an employment lawyer in California. Most employment lawyers work on a “contingency” basis, meaning that they take a percentage of any settlement you receive.
When your work environment becomes untenable, you may feel trapped. California law offers clear protections to all employees in the workplace, and some have even further protection. But that still doesn’t mean your employer won’t illegally discriminate or retaliate against you, or won’t pay you fairly. In these situations, your employer is breaking the law, which means you may need to contact a lawyer to look at your legal options.
Having the right to file a lawsuit against your employer is certainly one part of the equation, but the other is the cost. Hiring a lawyer and filing a lawsuit can be expensive, but how much it would cost you-at least in an employment law case-to do so is a bit of a misconception.
Free Consultations With Dedicated California Employment Lawyers
Attorney Martin Gasparian founded Maison Law with the understanding that our clients work hard to provide for their families, and simply want to go to work without being harassed, discriminated against, and paid what they’re owed. We also realize that many of our clients don’t have the financial means to pay thousands of dollars out of pocket for a lawyer.
That’s why we’re proud to offer our services on a contingency basis, and we’ll thoroughly review our billing process with you during your free initial consultation. To get started, contact us today for a free consultation.
California Law and Your Rights As an Employee
California has some of the most employee-friendly laws in the country, protecting employees from illegal conduct on the part of the employer. This includes unlawful discrimination in teh workplace, along with laws regarding wages and hours worked.
Specifically, employers cannot discriminate, retaliate, or otherwise treat certain employees differently than others based on certain characteristics. Codified in Section 1102 of the California Labor Code wrongful termination occurs when an employer retaliates against an employee for taking any of the following actions:
- Complain, report, or participate in an investigation about workplace harassment or employment discrimination.
- Request reasonable accommodations for a disability or religious beliefs.
- Report violations of law or policy.
Also, the California Fair Labor and Employment Act (FEHA) prohibits employer discrimination based on one or multiple of the following characteristics:
- Age
- Disability
- Ethnicity
- Gender
- Race
- Pregnancy
- Military status
- National origin
- Religion or other protected status
If your employer creates a hostile work environment in retaliation for you standing up to discrimination or harassment to the point that you have to quit, wrongful termination protections still apply. Forcing you to quit because of a hostile work environment is legally known as “constructive discharge.”
Wage and Hour Laws
The Labor Code also provides several protections for certain California employees-those classified as non-exempt-so that your employer must pay you fairly for your hours worked. Sections of the code outline the following protections for employees, stating your employer must:
- Provide you a minimum wage.
- Pay you overtime if you are a non-exempt employee.
- Reimburse your business expenses.
- Provide you with breaks and meal periods.
- Provide you with itemized wage statements.
- Provide you with Workers’ Compensation Insurance.
California employers consistently try to bypass these laws by misclassifying you, not keeping accurate records of your hours worked, or simply refusing to provide you with legally-mandated breaks. All of these constitute violations of the law and give you the right to file a lawsuit.
Standard Phases of a California Employment Case
No matter how strong you believe your case to be, it’s important to understand that filing a lawsuit against your employer requires courage and fortitude. More to the point, it is likely to be a long battle. Although every case is unique, you depend on your job for your livelihood, while your employer is often a corporation or other business with ample resources at their disposal.
Our Fee Agreements
Moreover, you likely don’t have the financial resources to pay a retainer fee upfront. That’s why our firm is proud to offer our services on a contingency-only basis. This means that you receive our dedicated and expert legal services without paying any money out of your pocket. Instead, our fee agreements typically work off of a percentage of whatever we recover for you in a settlement.
That said, the phases of an employment case usually consist of pre-suit, litigation and resolution.
Pre-Suit
The first step, which could be taken even before consulting with us, will be to file a charge with the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing (DFEH) or the Labor Commissioner’s Office’s Division of Labor Standards Enforcement (DLS).
Filing complaints with these administrative bodies will launch an investigation that requires your employer to respond. Either body has enforcement arms that will investigate your claim by gathering statements, obtaining evidence, and potentially making a ruling or requesting a mediation, which it often recommends. Once the particular body closes the case, they issue a Closing Order and Right to Sue Letter that will allow you to proceed to file a civil lawsuit.
From there, you should consult our team of experienced California employment lawyers. We offer free consultations, and if we deem your case viable, will formally enter into an agreement with you to pursue your claims.
Initially, we’ll work with you to gather any pertinent evidence and documentation. The time your case spends in pre-suit litigation depends on California’s various statutes of limitations, which sets time limits on filing your claim in civil court. As such, contacting us as soon as possible will make sure your case gets filed on time.
Litigation
Once we file your Complaint in civil court, your case will officially be initiated. It is here that patience is key. There is a general timetable for a case moving through the litigation phase, but the process can last for years. Most of the time, cases resolve much more quickly. The formal gathering of evidence through interrogatories, depositions, and producing documents is known as the “discovery” process. Discovery is the main part of the litigation phase.
Resolution
Cases usually resolve in two ways: settlement or trial. The fact is, filing a lawsuit is always a gamble, with no guarantee of a favorable outcome. That said, our team of experienced lawyers know how to position your case to make sure you get the compensation you deserve. Your case can settle at any time once in the litigation phase, even during trial. However, it is more likely that your case will resolve during mediation, which occurs prior to trial.
Your settlement amount is usually based on:
- Lost wages
- Lost benefits
- Emotional distress damages
Again, every case is different, so your settlement amount will vary depending on the circumstances of your case. What you need to understand, though, is that you will not be paying any money out of pocket once you agree to become our client. Instead, our payment will be taken as a percentage from your settlement amount. Our firm takes pride in making our services affordable and will keep you apprised of any changes at any point during our representation of you.
Contact Our California Employment Lawyers Today
At Maison Law, we take a great deal of pride in our approach to employment law cases and believe that our results speak for themselves. Client satisfaction is our number one priority, and our California clients can rest assured that if they need a strong representation with no upfront costs, they will find that in our lawyers. If you or someone you know has had their workplace rights violated, please contact us for a free consultation.
