Riverside is a city located in the Inland Empire metropolitan area of California. The city is the most populous one in the county with an estimated 314,998 people, and it is considered part of the Greater Los Angeles Area. Major employers in the city include Kaiser Permanente, the County, UC Riverside, Cal Baptist Church, Parkview Community Hospital, AMR Medical Response, and Collins Aerospace. Whether you faced discrimination based on a protected characteristic or your employer failed to follow wage and hour law in paying you, it’s important to call the results-oriented Riverside employment law attorneys of the Calderone Law Firm to see whether you have a viable claim. We are seasoned advocates and understand the ins and outs of employment law matters. Vincent Calderone has over 25 years of experience handling workers’ claims and handles many cases on a contingency fee basis.
Riverside Employment LawEmployers are forbidden from treating employees adversely on the basis of characteristics that are protected under the law, such as race, national origin, gender, disability and religion. Both federal and state laws specify particular characteristics that are protected. For instance, the federal Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) prohibits employment discrimination based on a worker’s disability when a company has, at a minimum, 15 employees. Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, national origin, religion, sex, and color when your employer has at least 15 employees.
The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) administers many of the federal anti-discrimination laws, including the ADA and Title VII. A number of these federal laws cap compensatory and punitive damages based on the size of the employer.
The California Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA) is the state anti-discrimination law. It protects a wide range of characteristics and applies so long as an employer has at least 5 employees. Protected characteristics under this law include sex, sexual orientation, religion, color, race, disability, national origin, ancestry, marital status, gender identity, gender expression, veteran or military status and age over 40. If a company takes a negative action against you based on a protected trait, you may be able to file a lawsuit under FEHA. In some situations, multiple traits are implicated. For example, if you are not promoted to a customer-facing position because you wear a turban, you may have a claim for national origin, religious, ancestry, race, and color discrimination. For another example, if you were fired because you were in an accident that put you in a wheelchair, and your employer doesn’t want to employ a disabled person and because you asked for an accommodation that would not have posted an undue hardship for the employer, you may have a claim for disability discrimination.
Sexual Harassment Lawsuits in RiversideSexual harassment is illegal in California workplaces. It can take the form of quid pro quo or hostile work environment harassment. For instance, if your boss tells you that you must have sex with him to keep your job as his secretary, this is quid pro quo harassment.
DamagesIf our Riverside employment lawyers are able to establish liability in your discrimination lawsuit, we may be able to recover compensatory damages on your behalf. The losses that may be compensable include back pay, front pay, and emotional distress. When discrimination or harassment is egregious, our lawyers can ask for punitive damages, which are damages meant to punish a wrongdoer.
Wage and HourFederal, state and local laws can impact wage and hour rules that companies must follow with regard to their nonexempt employees. Companies must pay minimum wage to nonexempt employees and provide proper rest breaks. Overtime must be paid when a certain number of hours is worked per work week, or a certain number of hours is worked in a single workday. However there are nuances to these laws in the event that you are classified as a certain kind of worker, so you should call a lawyer about a potential claim.
Consult a Seasoned LawyerSadly, not all companies follow the rules with regard to their employees’ rights. If you have to go up against a company in a discrimination, wage and hour, whistleblowing or other employment law claim, you should call our seasoned Riverside lawyers. Our founder, Vincent Calderone, has litigated these cases for more than 20 years. Contact us online or call us at (424) 348-8290.