California Law

02 Mar Different Employment Classifications

Posted at 10:24h in California Labor Code, Employment Categories, Exempt, Non-Exempt

There are three different employment classifications. Two of them fall within the employee classification. The other one falls into the independent contractor classification. Different employment classifications: Two types of employees The first are a exempt employees. An exempt employee is an employee that the labor code exempts from minimum wage and overtime requirements. The labor code sets out certain requirements to be exempt. Employees that meet those requirements are exempt. The second are non-exempt employees. Under the labor code, minimum wage and overtime pay requirements apply to non-exempt employees. This is the default classification for employees. Therefore, courts presume an employee is non-exempt unless the employer can affirmatively show they fit into one of the exempt categories. Non-employee classification: Independent contractors Lastly, there are independent contractors. Independent contractors are not employees. Any person an employer pays for work who is not an employee, is an independent contractor. Much of state and federal labor and employment law does not apply to independent contractors. For example, there is no minimum wage for independent contractors. Furthermore, employers need not provide benefits to independent contractors. But California law presumes employee status, so employers must prove someone is eligible to be an independent contractor if it comes before a court. These are the different employment classifications. If you have a job, you fall into one of these three categories. Unfortunately, employers regularly misclassify workers to save money. For example, your employer may classify you as exempt to avoid paying you overtime. But the law is independent of your employment agreement. As such, the law may still consider you non-exempt, even if your employer treats you as exempt. Instead, it simply means that your employer has misclassified you. Fortunately, the law provides remedies to victims of misclassification. Therefore, you should not assume that you are stuck with your classification even if you believe it is wrong. If you have question about how your employer has classified you, contact the Khadder Law Firm today for a free initial consultation. For more, follow us on Twitter and Instagram. And like us on Facebook....

28 Feb Mandatory Arbitration Clauses

Posted at 10:07h in Arbitration Agreement, California Law, Mandatory Arbitration, PAGA - Private Attorney's General Act

Mandatory arbitration clauses are contractual provisions that require you to submit any claims to arbitration instead of going to court. There are some exceptions to what can be forced into arbitration. One exception for now is representative actions under the Private Attorney’s General Act or PAGA. PAGA is a California law that basically deputizes individuals to seek penalties against employers that violate the California labor code. There are a few other minor exceptions, all within the State context. It is a little more complicated in the Federal context due to certain executive actions by the President. But, in the context of the state of California, it depends on what the arbitration agreement says. Most arbitration agreements are so broad that they include almost any kind of claim that can be forced into arbitration, and it doesn’t matter how egregious the conduct of the employer is; if there is an agreement between the employer and employee to arbitrate that type of claim, and there almost always is, then it can still be forced into arbitration. In that scenario, there is no way to get out of the arbitration agreement unless there is actually something unconscionable with the arbitration agreement itself. In terms of the types of claims or how egregious the claims are, it doesn’t really have an impact upon whether or not an employee will be forced to enter arbitration. If you have questions about a mandatory arbitration clause, contact the Khadder Law Firm today. For more, follow us on Twitter and Instagram. And like us on Facebook....

18 Feb Disability Discrimination and Continuing Employment – Is Mediation the Answer?

Posted at 09:54h in Accomodations, Calculating Damages, California Law, Damages, Disability, Disability Discrimination, Employment Discrimination, Failure to Accommodate, FEHA, FMLA, Hiring Preference, Long Term Disability, Mediation, Protected Categories, Remedies, Settlement, Short Term Disability, Trial, Wrongful Termination

Most likely, if somebody is still employed but they experience disability discrimination other than termination; for instance, their job duties or responsibilities are reduced, they get demoted or their pay is reduced simply because they have a disability, then you may still have a disability discrimination case that is worth pursuing. It is awkward to say the least, however, to sue an employer when you are still working for the employer. That’s not to say it doesn’t happen, but in those cases, often the best course of action for all parties involved, especially the employee with the disability, is to try and resolve the case short of going to court or having a trial. Mediation is a voluntary process. The parties don’t have to accept a settlement. But, there is a lot more room for creativity if a case is settled in mediation or other negotiations as opposed to having to take a claim to trial and get a judgment. If you have been discriminated on the basis of your disability by your current employer, contact an employment lawyer today at the Khadder Law Firm for a free initial consultation. ...

14 Feb If someone were denied employment and more qualified for the job than the applicant who was successful in getting the job, how does one prove that case?

Posted at 09:51h in Accomodations, ADA, Calculating Damages, California Law, California Supreme Court, CFRA, Damages, Disability, Disability Discrimination, Emotional Distress, Employment Classifications, Employment Discrimination, Failure to Accommodate, FEHA, FMLA, Hiring Preference, Long Term Disability, Loss of Employment, Loss of Income, Medical Condition, Mental Disability, Protected Categories, Undue Burden, Undue Hardship, Work-Life Expectancy

Let’s first look at a situation where an applicant with a disability objectively is not as qualified as a person without a disability. Let’s assume that their qualifications are not less than a person without a disability because of their disability, but it’s because of some other factor such as education or skill. The employer doesn’t have to give preference to the person with a disability if that person with a disability is objectively less qualified than the person without a disability. If the employer hires the person without a disability over someone with a disability who is more qualified, that, in and of itself, can be evidence of discrimination. Rarely is there direct evidence of discrimination in disability cases or other cases. It is extremely rare where you would have evidence of an employer writing an e-mail or sending a message to the effect of, “I don’t want to hire that person because of their disability,” because employers are a lot savvier than that. You have to show through circumstantial evidence that it is more likely than not that you, as a person with a disability, did not get a job because of your disability. There could be stray comments to prove discrimination on the part of an employer to hire you, you may have evidence of comments that were made by an employer or supervisor where they made fun of people with disabilities, where they treated other people with disabilities poorly, or other things to show that the person had a discriminatory animus toward people with disabilities. There is very rarely any direct evidence of discrimination, but with enough circumstantial evidence you may be able to overcome the burden of proof to prevail on a disability discrimination claim. In California law, and more recently in the California Supreme Court, it was held that the disability has to be a substantial motivating factor for the employer’s decision not to hire or to fire, or do some other adverse employment action. Therefore, you have to show that the employer was substantially motivated by your disability. That raises the bar a little bit. It used to just be simple motivation: Your prospective employer could have ten reasons why they didn’t hire you, and one of the reasons of those ten was your disability, and the other nine were non-protected reasons. Now, the bar is a little bit higher. In the past, that was enough to win on a disability discrimination case. Now, it’s got to be a little bit more than that; it has to be a substantial motivating factor. If you have been refused a job because of a disability or a need for a disability accommodation, contact an employment lawyer today at the Khadder Law Firm for a free initial consultation. ...

12 Feb Calculating Work-Life Expectancy Damages

Posted at 09:46h in Accomodations, ADA, Calculating Damages, California Law, CFRA, Damages, Disability, Disability Discrimination, Economists, Emotional Distress, Employment Discrimination, Essential Functions, Failure to Accommodate, FEHA, FMLA, Leave of Absence, Life Expectancy, Loss of Employment, Loss of Income, Major Life Activity, Medical Condition, Work-Life Expectancy, Wrongful Termination

Economists can prove to be indispensable in the calculation of future lost income damages for someone in a disability case, and we will bring them in if necessary. Part of the valuation of future lost damages is a plaintiff’s work-life expectancy. Unfortunately, if a person has a medical condition reduces his or her work-life expectancy, future lost income may be affected by that. This unfortunate part of the calculation cruelly ironic since it is because of that medical condition that they lost their job in the first place. Ultimately, these are decisions that will be made by a jury and would have to hold up in court, but the court will take into consideration a number of factors including the ability to secure another job, when determining damages. If you have been wrongfully terminated because of a disability or a need for a disability accommodation, contact an employment lawyer today at the Khadder Law Firm for a free initial consultation....