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Unfortunately, not every employer is law-abiding, and bosses who do not respect the law can significantly harm their employees. However, several state and federal laws safeguard employees’s rights and require employers to pay for their wrongs.
What Are My Employer’s Legal Obligations?
You might owe your employer plenty of duties, but remember that your employer also owes you duties. Your employer must respect your right to a non-discriminatory workplace, adequate pay for your labor, a safe working environment, and a working relationship that honors your contractual rights.
A Santa Clarita labor and employment lawyer can win legal relief in the following employment disputes:
- Wage and hour violations,
- Hostile work environment claims,
- Catastrophic personal injuries,
- Wrongful termination,
- Sexual harassment,
- Workplace discrimination,
- Consumer rights violations, and
- Workplace injuries.
Our services cover an array of employment matters, and we can maximize your damages in any employment dispute.
Work Injuries
The potential to suffer an injury on the job is present in any working environment. Even if your employer is not at fault for your work injury, it may be liable under the state’s workers’ compensation requirements to pay for your:
- Medical care,
- Wage loss, and
- Lost earning capacity.
Time is of the essence in workers’ compensation claims, and we can quickly file a claim and ensure your employer pays all applicable benefits while you recover from your injuries.
In many work injury cases, workers’ compensation benefits are the only benefits employees can recover from their bosses, which means they cannot recover damages for pain and suffering. With this in mind, you want to ensure you win the maximum compensation and relief available in your case. We can handle this task for you by doing the following:
- Timely filing your claim,
- Fight denied claims,
- Make sure your employer respects your injury-related restrictions,
- Help you retain the best healthcare provider for your case,
- Ensure your employer’s carrier correctly calculates your wages, and
- Negotiate with your employer’s carrier.
A workers’ compensation case can be a fight, but you deserve the benefits, and we can jump in the ring to win them for you.
Wage and Hour Violations
Non-exempt employees are entitled to at least minimum wage and overtime pay. The minimum wage in California is $16 per hour, but if you are a non-exempt employee working in the Los Angeles area, you might be entitled to receive at least $16.78 per hour.
In addition to paying minimum wage, employers must pay the following overtime premiums to non-exempt employees:
- An employer must pay an employee at least 1.5 times their regular pay rate if they work more than 6 days in a week, more than 8 hours in a day, or more than 40 hours in a week; and
- An employer must pay an employee 2 times their regular pay rate if they work more than 8 hours on their seventh consecutive day of work or if they work more than 12 hours in a day.
If your employer has not paid you according to these laws, you can file a wage and hour complaint with the California Labor Commissioner’s Office or a lawsuit in civil court. Your relief could include unpaid wages and penalties.
Workplace Discrimination
Employment discrimination can hurt everyone in the workplace. If an employer or prospective employer fires you, denies you work benefits, or treats you poorly based on one of the following protected characteristics, you can sue for unlawful discrimination:
- Disability,
- Color,
- Gender,
- Religion,
- Race,
- National origin,
- Marital status,
- Age (40 or older),
- Sex,
- Veteran status,
- Sexual orientation,
- Military status, or
- Genetics.
You can sue if discrimination is based on the characteristics you have, the characteristics your employer assumes you have, or the actual or perceived characteristics of people with whom you associate.
Available Remedies
So, what can you recover when you take legal action against your employer? Relief could include:
- Punitive damages,
- Compensation for lost wages,
- Orders for job reinstatement or promotion,
- Increased work benefits,
- Payment for lost earning capacity,
- Compensation for emotional harm,
- Payment for financial losses, and
- Compensation for legal costs.
The timing of your case, the quality of the evidence you present, and the strength of the arguments you make affect the amount of your damages. We have been representing employees for years and know how to get the most relief out of each employee’s case.
Contact Us for Top-Level Representation
Are you seeking an experienced and award-winning employment attorney in Santa Clarita, CA? If you are, give Lawyers for Justice, P.C., a call. We have received multiple honors from the legal community and have won over $100 million for mistreated employees and consumers. You can reach us on our website or call us to schedule a free consultation.
