Many of us feel grateful to have a job these days. We may shrink at the thought of doing anything that might endanger our employment and the weekly income we depend on.
Yet, when our bosses and employers violate California employment laws, they are taking advantage of us and it’s our right to seek what’s fair. Paychecks may be delayed for weeks or months. The minimum wage we are guaranteed may be denied. Employees may also have endured harassment, including sexual harassment in the workplace.
These and other violations can be reported by California workers to earn back what’s been taken and more. And workers can report these injustices while enjoying strong legal protection from retaliation.
Schedule a Free Consultation with a California Employment Litigation Lawyer
Employees wondering if what happened to them amounts to a California employment law violation have a no-risk way to find out. Maison Law of California offers a free case consultation to all victims of labor law injustices. This meeting is confidential, and your employer won’t find out about it.
Maison Law wants to hear about what happened to you or about what is still happening and go over your legal options. We desire to make sure negligent behavior by an employer comes to a quick end. We fight to make sure our clients receive full reimbursement and additional compensation for their hardships. We also work to make sure clients are fully protected from retaliation when they report workplace violations.
Contact us for a free case review before you speak with any company or state labor representative.
California Employment Law Departments
California workers, including documented and undocumented immigrants, are protected by well-established employment laws. These protections start with the California Constitution’s section on Labor Relations.
In California, the Division of Labor Standards Enforcement (DLSE), under the leadership of the California Labor Commissioner, investigates claims of wrongdoing by companies and awards employees what they are owed in back pay and benefits. The California Civil Rights Department (CRD) also accepts claims of employment discrimination, harassment violations, and employee privacy laws.
These departments look into claims of wrongdoing filed against employers. They can award victims the paychecks they’ve lost, the pay for breaks they’ve been denied, and punish companies for allowing many different types of harassment in the workplace. In some cases, these departments can grant victims the right to file lawsuits against their employers.
California Employment Law Violations
These protections for California workers are up to legal interpretation, and sometimes victims must have legal representation to make sure they are treated fairly.
The California Labor and Employment Lawyers at Maison Law work to protect clients in many different types of labor law cases. These are just a few of the types of claims we help victims file:
- Workplace employment discrimination involving issues of race, color, sex, age, sexual orientation, citizenship status, and many other protected categories.
- Workplace harassment and sexual harassment.
- Wrongful termination.
- Immigration employment violations.
- Employment contract violations.
- Employee privacy violations.
- Family, medical leave, and sick pay violations.
- Break and rest period violations.
- Delays or non-payment on a final paycheck after being fired or quitting a company.
There are many other forms of workplace violations prohibited by California and Federal law. In some cases, it may benefit the victim to file a claim with the U.S. Department of Labor or the United States Equal Employment Opportunities Commission (EEOC).
A skilled California Employment Litigation Lawyer assists clients to determine where a claim should be filed to get the best results possible. A victim’s attorney would also determine when it’s appropriate to file a lawsuit against an employer to secure additional support for clients.
In some cases, you may be required by the terms of an employment contract to deal with a violation in-house through arbitration. You would deal with corporate methods of resolving an employment law violation.
This could be the best and least involved route for you to take back what you’ve earned. However, having a lawyer represent you through negotiations with your company is a wise idea. Your lawyer would make sure you received what you were owed and be ready to file a lawsuit if a company wasn’t willing to make things right.
Employee Compensation Under California Employment Law
Victims shouldn’t have to report labor law violations without the hope of recovering what they’ve lost. They should be reimbursed for everything taken from them by an employer acting with malice or an employer simply ignorant of labor laws they are required to follow.
Employees should earn backpay and compensation that’s fair for what they’ve been through in a claim filed with California’s government. If they don’t receive what’s fair, victims should be granted the right to sue their employers to earn adequate support.
In a lawsuit, they may ask for these and other damages:
- Wages withheld during employer violations.
- Compensation for lost breaks and rest periods over however long they’ve been denied. That time would be calculated as work hours that you should be paid for.
- Emotional trauma caused by harassment, wage theft, job loss, and other incidents of discrimination.
- The reinstatement of your job and benefits if you were terminated.
- Share of fines and penalties levied against a negligent company. In some cases, victims who report employer wrongdoing are awarded a share of the penalties guilty companies are forced to pay.
- Attorney fees and legal fees.
Contact a California Employment Litigation Lawyer
Victims should not shy away from reporting labor violations for fear of being retaliated against or losing their jobs. California law protects all workers from being targeted after they’ve reported wrongdoing.
Our California Labor and Employment Lawyers would file lawsuits immediately against any company that fired employees or harassed them further. With strong litigation experience, Maison Law would see that victims got their jobs back and were awarded additional compensation.
We also represent clients who have been victimized by harassment and sexual harassment. We make sure this unprofessional and emotionally damaging behavior is stopped immediately and that clients reach the resolution they desire.
Contact Maison Law as soon as possible after you’ve experienced a labor law violation. We’ll discuss your case in a free evaluation and help you determine the best path to receiving justice and what’s owed to you.
