Heit Law Group

New Workplace Laws Start in California Sweeping new laws ramping up in 2021 will force California businesses to offer employees more help to cope with the COVID-19 pandemic, including measures on disclosure of workplace infections, on healthcare and wage replacement, and on job-protected leave to care for sick family members. For state lawmakers, 2020 "was a year that started out with lots of aspirational plans," said Ken Jacobs, chair of the UC Berkeley Labor Center. "But ...it became a year about saving lives." What with legislators' personal COVID-19 scares and Capitol shutdowns, "leadership basically asked us to kill any bill that wasn't COVID-related," said Heath Flora, (R-Ripon, CA), vice chair of the Assembly's Labor and Employment Committee. Worker advocates and businesses clashed over safety measures to protect against the virus, which has so far infected more than 2.2 million Californians and killed more than 25,000. Neither side got the bulk of what it wanted, and the truncated session forced last-minute compromises. https://www.cpapracticeadvisor.com//new-workplace-laws-sta

If you’re a food service worker being harassed and your employer is not stopping it then call our office today. https://m.metrotimes.com//the-worst-people-imaginable-are-

FedEx will pay $2.4M to settle drivers' misclassification suit FedEx Ground Package Systems has agreed to pay $2.4 million to resolve a lawsuit alleging it misclassified drivers in New Jersey as independent contractors. The drivers argued that they were employees under New Jersey case law and that deductions FedEx made from their pay ran afoul of state law.... The plaintiffs' attorneys estimated that the class of 192 drivers will receive about $8,400 each under the proposed settlement. FedEx denied the allegations. https://www.hrdive.com//fedex-will-pay-24m-to-sett/592746/

When it comes to terminating employees, it should be clear that you can not be fired for discriminatory reasons, including age, race, religion, sex, disability and genetic information. Discrimination remains illegal under various federal and state laws, regardless of your state’s at-will employment status. Yet there’s another area that can get employers in trouble and open the door to a wrongful termination case: retaliation. What is retaliatory firing and how can you preve...nt the legal complications associated with it? The legal definitions and standards vary, but employees are generally safeguarded from retaliatory termination for the following types of legally protected activity: * Reporting illegal conduct An employee who believes an employer has done something illegal has the right to report the situation internally or to authorities. Often called whistleblowing, some prime examples of this are: * Reporting discrimination or harassment * Revealing safety, health and environmental hazards * Reporting USERRA violations (military discrimination, or refusal to grant leave or reinstatement) * Complaining about wage and hour violations (overtime, minimum wage and child labor) * Exercising employee rights An employer can’t retaliate against an employee for practicing his or her employment rights, such as: * Requesting reasonable accommodations for a disability or religious practice * Pursuing sick or medical leave rights, or taking time off to vote or serve on a jury * Filing a workers’ compensation claim * Refusing to obey an order reasonably believed to be discriminatory * Participating in an official investigation Employees are entitled to participate in an investigation, hearing or lawsuit involving the employer. Whether providing information to federal investigators or being subpoenaed to testify against the company, employees must not be penalized for this involvement. An adverse employment action is any negative treatment impacting an individual’s employment or working conditions. Firing is the most common, and severe, action. Other examples include: * Refusing to hire, rehire or promote * Demotion * Suspension * Refusing to give deserved pay raise or bonus * Transfer to less-desirable position or schedule * Unwarranted disciplinary action, counseling or reprimands * Unfavorable job evaluations or performance reviews * Subjecting the employee to stricter rules or standards than those applied to other employees * Providing a negative employment reference Heit Law Group can help California and Florida employees take a stand against employers who retaliate against employees for protected activity.. We are selective with the cases we take, so our clients can benefit from one-on-one attention from an attorney. Trust us, Heit Law Group, with your wrongful-termination case for your best chance of success. Contact us today for a legal consultation. 310 744 5227 www.HeitLawGroup.com

Teachers and school staff in California increasingly likely to get vaccine in next round After frontline medical workers and residents of long-term care facilities receive vaccines, a consensus is emerging among health experts advising officials in California and nationally that teachers and other school staff be high on the priority list to be vaccinated next. In an emergency meeting Sunday, an influential advisory panel to the Centers for Disease Control recommended that ...teachers, school staff and child care workers be among the next group of essential workers to be vaccinated due to the positive impact reopening schools will have on students and their families, and to minimize the health risks to the communities they serve. The next step is for CDC director Dr. Robert Redfield to approve the recommendations, which he is expected to do shortly. California is expected to follow suit on Wednesday when the state’s 60-member Community Vaccine Advisory Committee meets to discuss who should get the vaccinations after the first priority group. The committee is chaired by California Surgeon General Dr. Nadine Burke Harris and is made up of representatives from health associations, unions, civil rights organizations and nonprofits. https://edsource.org//teachers-and-school-staff-in-/645515

"Returning to work and worried about safety? Here’s what to know" As California emerges in stages from its coronavirus-induced lockdown, many people who have been working from their dining room tables and home offices are being called back to their places of employment. As of May 27, offices in Los Angeles are allowed to reopen as long as they implement safety protocols laid out by the county Department of Public Health. https://www.latimes.com//202/covid-19-work-safety-business

https://www.heitlawgroup.com/discrimination-against-lgbt-em Prior to June 15, 2020, employers and employees around the country were uncertain whether discrimination against members of the LGBT community was illegal. Federal law did not specifically state if this type of discrimination was unlawful and so, courts in different states were left to make these decisions. It was this past summer, however, that the United States Supreme Courts ruled in the landmark case, Bostock v.... Clayton County, stating that under federal law, LGBT discrimination is against the law. If you have been fired, demoted, or denied a job and you feel it is due to discriminatory reasons based on the fact that you are a member of the LGTBQ community, our Westlake Village employment lawyers can help. At Heit Law Group, we know how to pursue employment discrimination lawsuits successfully so you can recover the damages you deserve. While receiving compensation is important, it is just as essential that you hold your employer accountable so the same type of discrimination does not occur in the future. Call us today at (310) 744-5227 to learn more about how we can help you make things right. www.HeitLawGroup.com

"New California law will require employers to notify workers of COVID-19 cases" If you got sick due to the negligence of your employer, not keeping proper protocol for safety, not enforcing rules, or not disclosing known cases and exposing you to the virus... WE CAN HELP. You have rights and are entitled to damages. ... www.HeitLawGroup.com Attorney Advertisement As we head into what looks like a third wave of COVID-19, many workplaces are still struggling to figure out how to best handle the virus should workers stay home? When should they come back? Should employers administer tests? And who gets told the results? The lack of a strong set of binding national rules for much of this has left many states to fill in the gaps. In California, a new law will go into effect in January that sets up specific requirements for employers when someone in the workplace gets COVID-19.

It is against federal and California state law for an employer to refuse to pay overtime wages. The U.S. government has statutes that guarantee overtime pay or one and a half times the regular rate for employees who work more than 40 hours in one week, and in California, more than 8 hours in one day. Unpaid overtime often comes in the form of employers asking employees to clock out but to continue working. In other cases, employers don’t pay workers for training or forc...e them to come in early to prepare for work without paying for this time. Forcing an employee to work through lunch or work without breaks is also an example of unpaid overtime, as is requiring an employee to work more than 40 hours to make up for missed hours from another week. If your employer is failing to pay you overtime when you qualify for it, you have the right to act. Heit Law Group can help California and Florida employees take a stand against employers who refuse to obey overtime laws. We are selective with the cases we take, so our clients can benefit from one-on-one attention from an attorney. As our past clients can attest, we take cases other firms reject. Trust us, Heit Law Group, with your unpaid overtime cases for your best chance of success. Contact us today for a legal consultation. 310 744 5227 www.HeitLawGroup.com

"FILE A CLAIM FOR UNPAID WAGES" HLG NEWS BLOG https://www.heitlawgroup.com/how-to-file-a-claim-for-unpaid... All employees in California are entitled to receive proper wages for the work they perform, as outlined by the state’s labor laws. Unfortunately, that does not always happen. Payroll is one of the biggest expenses employers incur and so, they sometimes try to save costs by not paying employees proper wages. When this is the case, employees who have lost wages can file a claim against their employer to receive back pay, interest, reasonable attorney’s fees and court costs. Lawsuits involving unpaid wages are not as straightforward as they may first seem, though. If you feel as though your employer has not paid you proper wages, on our blog are the most common reasons for these claims, and how to file yours.

OFFICIAL COURT RULING BRING BIG WIN FOR DRIVERS! "Uber And Lyft Must Make Drivers Employees, California Court Rules" https://www.npr.org//uber-and-lyft-must-make-drivers-emplo... A California appeals court says Uber and Lyft must classify their drivers as employees rather than independent contractors, siding with a lower court that found the ride-hailing companies were likely violating state labor law. The ruling is a blow to Uber and Lyft, which argue that the law does not apply to them. Both companies previously threatened to leave the state if forced to make their drivers employees. But there's time, because the California law remains effectively on hold for Lyft and Uber. The appeals court on Thursday ordered the ride-sharing companies to reclassify drivers, but not for at least 30 days after the case is sent back to the trial court. Before then, the companies can appeal to the California Supreme Court. Uber, Lyft and allies spend nearly $200 million on ballot measure In the meantime, California voters may decide on the law's future because it's on the November ballot. A measure backed by the companies, Proposition 22, would allow ride-hailing and food delivery apps to keep their drivers as independent contractors while giving them limited benefits but not the full protections of employment status. Together with other app companies, Uber and Lyft have poured nearly $200 million into promoting the measure, blitzing drivers and voters with messages and making it the most expensive ballot campaign in state history. A University of California, Berkeley poll released in late September found 39% of likely voters supported the measure, 36% opposed it, and a quarter were undecided. "This ruling makes it more urgent than ever for voters to stand with drivers and vote yes on Prop. 22," Lyft spokesperson Julie Wood said Thursday

HLG BLOG UPDATE: "PROVE AGE DISCRIMINATION IN THE WORKPLACE" https://www.heitlawgroup.com/prove-age-discrimination-in-th... The Age Discrimination Act of 1975 prohibits employers from firing, demoting, or refusing to hire employment candidates based on their age. Employees who want to file a lawsuit due to alleged age discrimination must present evidence to support their case. Much of the evidence in age discrimination lawsuits is found in documents an employee receives upon termination or demotion. Sometimes, these documents contain language that show the company is trying to gain younger employees and distance itself from older employees. Severance packages and policies regarding retirement and termination can help prove these cases. Some age discrimination cases are known as ‘prima facie.’ A prima facie case is one in which the evidence is quite clear based solely on the facts of the case. The four elements necessary for these types of cases include: The employee involved in the case was over the age of 40 The employee was wrongfully terminated, denied promotion, or demoted The employee has proper qualifications but was not hired The position remained open after the older employee was rejected, or given to someone that was younger than the employee in the case Although the above is the bare minimum of evidence required, other evidence can also help, including spoken statements of the employer, and a pattern of treating younger employees better than older individuals.

What Is Unfair Treatment and Retaliation in the Workplace? At some point in your employment history, you’ve likely experienced unfair treatment at your workplace. Maybe you didn’t get the promotion you deserved because of office politics or your boss played favorites. Nepotismprivileging family membersis another common occurrence in some workplaces. Unfair treatment can also include supervisors and managers who verbally abuse employees by yelling or screaming or falsely... accusing employees of violating company policies. All retaliation is unfair treatment in the workplace, but not all unfair treatment is retaliation. The primary difference between retaliation and unfair treatment in the California workplace is the presence of unlawful conduct. Unfair treatment, although often morally reprehensible, is not always illegal. On the other hand, retaliation against an employee always has legal consequences for an employer. On a broad level, retaliation refers to the notion of taking revenge against someone for actions that have harmed you or actions of which you don’t approve. In legal terms, retaliation specifically refers to the unlawful and unfair treatment of employees as a response to a protected action. Yet, even in employment-at-will states, like California, employers cannot take adverse action against an employee for illegal reasons. In these cases, unfair treatment becomes unlawful conduct. Heit Law Group has a clear understanding of the difference between unfair treatment and retaliation, so you can protect your rights in the workplace and know when you have recourse against your employer for unlawful conduct. Employment law, unlike some areas, has a uniquely human quality to it: it looks at the dynamics between how employees interact with each other and their supervisors. Call (310) 744-5227 to get your case started with Heit Law Group. CONFIDENTIAL ADVICE: All communications with our employment attorneys and labor law lawyers are strictly confidential and California labor laws prohibit employer retaliation. www.HeitLawGroup.com

The Uber Battle on California’s Ballot If you are wrongly classified as an independent contractor, you are missing out on benefits and protections employees have. Call us to set up a consultation to see how we can get you properly classified. 310 744 5227 ... www.HeitLawGroup.com Attorney Advertisement Thursday: Proposition 22 is just the latest part of a bitter fight between the state and ride-sharing companies. Also: A guide to meditation. Some of California’s ballot propositions are expensive campaigns driven largely by deep-pocketed special interests. Some ballot propositions ask voters complex questions with potentially broad national implications. Proposition 22 whose supporters and opponents have collectively raised a staggering $204 million, according to the California Secretary of State’s office is both. Most of that has come from three companies: Uber, Lyft and DoorDash, whose leaders have spent months locked in a bitter battle with the state over a law passed last year meant to give gig workers more benefits and protections by requiring that they be classified as employees rather than contractors. https://www.nytimes.com/2020//22/us/california-prop-22.html

Do you have cases of Covid-19 at work? REQUIREMENTS FOR REPORTING COVID-19 IN THE WORKPLACE https://www.heitlawgroup.com/reporting-covid-19-in-the-work... The COVID-19 pandemic has forced employers to change the way they do business. In addition to collecting stockpiles of personal protection equipment, erecting safeguards such as plastic dividers, and more, employers are also required to report certain instances of COVID-19 in their workplace. Although this may seem fairly straightforward, there are many federal and state agencies that employers must contact when the virus shows up in their place of business. It is essential that all business owners are aware of these requirements, so they can ensure they are in compliance with the law.

There may be nothing more fundamental to the American way of life than this adage: A hard day's work for a fair wage. Yet some employers will short-change reduced hourly wage employees that work for tips by forcing them to perform unfair amounts of non-tipped work. Heit Law Group has experienced attorneys to fight for the wages you have earned and deserve. ... Employers know that they have a legal obligation to have fair pay practices. The pay offered should not be discriminatory and should strive to equally pay employees who do the same work. There will always be allowances for differences in performance and other permissible factors, but pay differences should never be based on discriminatory reasonsnot even inadvertently. This means employers should be taking proactive measures to assess whether their pay practices are fair, reviewing everything from the hiring process all the way through a given employee’s entire tenure with the organization. If it comes to your attention that you and your colleagues are not receiving the same pay for the same job with the same success and experience, you do have a right to address the issue. Discussions about salary aren’t always comfortable or easy, but if you handle them carefully and tactfully you’ll be able to get paid what you’re worth. Employment law, unlike some areas, has a uniquely human quality to it: it looks at the dynamics between how employees interact with each other and their supervisors. Call (310) 774-5227 to get your case started! CONFIDENTIAL ADVICE: All communications with our employment attorneys and labor law lawyers are strictly confidential and California labor laws prohibit employer retaliation. www.HeitLawGroup.com

ARE YOU WORKING FROM HOME? DO YOU HAVE UNPAID WAGES or OVERTIME? With a non-exempt worker who typically clocks in and out at the worksite, it may be difficult to track time worked from home and get required meal and rest breaks with the current work from home culture during the pandemic. ... Non-exempt employees must record all time worked and take all meal and rest breaks just as though they were at an office or other physical workspace. Just because you are working from home, you still have rights as an employee and deserve all compensation for your efforts. We fight hard for our clients and are absolutely passionate for justice. CALL US FOR A NO-CONTACT NO-OBLIGATION CONSULTATION: (310) 744-5227 www.HeitLawGroup.com