Orange

Located in the Los Angeles metropolitan area with several of its 34 incorporated cities situated on the coast, Orange County is the third most populated county in the state. The northern and central parts are more densely populated. Many Fortune 500 companies, including Pacific Life, Western Digital, Taco Bell, Blizzard Entertainment, and Broadcom call the county home, but start-up culture also thrives. The trustworthy Orange County employment lawyers of Calderone Law Firm may be able to represent you if your employer has committed violations in connection with employment discrimination, whistleblowing, and wage and hour laws.

You are protected from workplace discrimination by federal, state, and local antidiscrimination laws. Not every negative action by an employer counts as actionable discrimination. Rather discrimination occurs when an employer takes an adverse employment action against you due to a protected trait, such as when the company fires you, does not promote you, pays you differently for the same work, fails to give you equal opportunities for training, and more. In most cases, you’ll find that the California Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA) provides greater production than federal laws. It prohibits discrimination in companies and organizations with at least five employees; however, sexual harassment is prohibited in workplaces even when there is only one employee. Additionally it protects a far wider range of traits than do federal laws. For instance, it provides explicit protection for gender identity discrimination. If you were fired because you transitioned from male to female, our attorneys could pursue a gender identity discrimination lawsuit for damages on your behalf under FEHA.

Both California and federal laws protect whistleblowers. California Labor Code section 1102.5 provides that if an employer retaliates against a whistleblower who has informed the police or the government about an employee who has broken the law, the company may need to reinstate him or her and any benefits that were lost as a result of the retaliation. Employer retaliation can include firing, failure to promote, demotion, wage reduction, and other serious employment actions. Each law offers different protections. Under the California False Claims Act, which prohibits acts that defraud the government, for instance, you may be able to bring a qui tam lawsuit for damages in the event that your employer has submitted a fraudulent charge or claim.

Worker classification is key in wage and hour lawsuits. Workers may be classified as independent contractors, exempt employees, and nonexempt employees—the last category receives the most protection under the law. Employers are required to carefully apply rules that apply to compensation when it comes to nonexempt employees. Unfortunately, rather than follow those rules, some employers classify nonexempt employees as independent contractors, a class of workers who do not receive the same wage and hour protections. Your classification as an employee is based on how much control you exert on the job and how you are paid, among other things.

In some cases, a plaintiff has a strong case in a wage and hour lawsuit, but the damages are so small most attorneys won’t take the case. There is strength in numbers. It may be possible to pursue a class action wage and hour lawsuit if your coworkers are similarly situated. For example, if you and your fellow servers had tips taken out of your minimum wage earnings, you would have grounds to band together and sue your employer for wage theft; in California employers, managers, and supervisors may not take anything out of your tips for themselves. Our attorneys have experience handling these potentially challenging lawsuits.

It’s important to have an attorney by your side in a dispute with your employer about overtime, minimum wage, whistleblowing, discrimination, harassment, or retaliation. Consult the trustworthy Orange County lawyers of Calderone Law Firm to learn about your legal options. Our years of experience representing workers allows us to develop strong strategies and seek best outcomes in these lawsuits. Complete our online form or call us at (424) 348-8290 for a free initial consultation.