RSS FeedI moved to California from Wisconsin six months ago to take a job with a company here. I quit a good job back home, my wife sacrificed a job she loved, and our kids had to leave all of their friends behind, and we moved our family to California. I was stunned last week when I was suddenly laid off by my new company… Continue reading
Posts Tagged ‘California Employment Law’
Q&A: Employee Terminated After Moving to Take Job May Have A Claim
January 15th, 2007 
James Peters
Posted in Discrimination, Fraud, Q&A, Wrongful Termination 
Tags: California Employment Law, Discrimination, Fraud, Q&A, Wrongful Termination 
5 Comments »Mandatory Arbitration "Trick" Risky for All and Good for None
January 14th, 2007 James PetersJay Shepherd over at the Gruntled Employees blawg has an interesting post from the employer’s attorney perspective about why he believes mandatory arbitration clauses are a stupid employer trick” and actually “not good for employers”.
I never understood why many employers force their employees to sign mandatory arbitration clauses, so this is refreshing to hear from a management-side employment law attorney… Continue reading
Claims Adjusters and Others Likely Non-Exempt in California
January 14th, 2007 James PetersDefense attorneys for large corporations in California have been trumpeting the case of In re Farmers Ins. Exch., 466 F.3d 853 (9th Cir. 2006) for the proposition that insurance claims adjusters are now exempt employees who are not entitled to overtime pay. However, this is not true when it comes to employees in California.
Although the case is a 9th Circuit opinion, the case was brought in… Continue reading
Posted in Wages : Overtime Tags: California Employment Law, Cases, Wages : Overtime, Wages and Hours 3 Comments »Q&A: Employee Witnesses Protected from Retaliation
January 14th, 2007 James PetersOne of my co-workers has asked me to testify for in her discrimination case against our employer. I want to help, but I am afraid that my employer will retaliate against me if I help her.
A: Both state and federal discrimination laws prohibit retaliation by employers against employees for participating in an investigation or prosecution of an employment discrimination or harassment… Continue reading
Q&A: Electronic Surveillance at Work Often Illegal
January 12th, 2007 James PetersThere are rumors circulating at work that our boss is spying on employees with video surveillance. Is that legal?
A: The answer to your question is: it depends. Whether or not video surveillance at work is illegal depends largely upon the facts in a given situation. The main question is whether or not you have a “reasonable expectation of privacy”… Continue reading
"Side Effects" of California's Increased Minimum Wage
January 11th, 2007 James PetersOn January 1, 2007, California increased its minimum wage from $6.75 to $7.50 per hour.
Putting aside the fact that an extra 75 cents for each hour worked really has no effect on people’s lives (just $1,560 per year before taxes), there are some “side effects” of this increase employees should be aware of.
Background
Under California law, the presumption is that all employees must receive overtime pay at 1.5 times their hourly Continue reading
Q&A: Employer Must Reimburse Home Office Expenses
January 7th, 2007 James PetersI work from a home office in California, but my employer is based in Illinois. I have many business expenses I pay out of my own pocket but my employer refuses to reimburse me for them. Is this legal in California?
A: In California, Labor Code § 2802 requires all employers to reimburse employees for any business expenses they incur… Continue reading
Posted in Q&A, Wages : Expenses Tags: California Employment Law, Expense Reimbursement, Q&A, Wages and Hours No Comments »Q&A: Retaliation by Jerk Boss is Illegal
January 5th, 2007 James PetersMy boss is a real jerk. She harasses me for no good reason, calls me names and belittles me in front of other employees. Today I finally told her not to treat me like that anymore, because it interferes with my work and it is unprofessional. She fired me on the spot for complaining. Please tell me this is not legal in California!… Continue reading
Q&A: Lost Vacation Pay Is Recoverable
January 4th, 2007 James PetersI have worked for a company over 20 years and now I am retiring. I never took a vacation the last ten years I worked there. Each year I lost all of the vacation time I did not use. My son told me that is illegal in California. Is that true?
–Need a Vacation (CA)
A: Your son is correct. In California, so-called Continue reading
Posted in Q&A, Wages : Other Tags: California Employment Law, Q&A, Vacation Pay, Wages and Hours 24 Comments »Ask A Question
January 4th, 2007 James PetersWe try to answer all inquiries from California employees about California employment law. Our preliminary advice is free… Continue reading
Q&A: Termination for Getting Pregnant is Illegal
January 3rd, 2007 James PetersLast week I found out I was pregnant. The next day, I went into work and told my boss. He said that he does not allow pregnant women to work there because they disrupt scheduling when they take time off to have the baby. He terminated me and said I could re-apply for my position after I have… Continue reading
Q&A: Annual Bonus Not Necessarily Lost When Terminated
December 31st, 2006 James PetersMy employer terminated me today (December 31, 2006). I was supposed to receive a $10,000 performance bonus for 2006, but one of the terms of my bonus agreement says that I have to be employed on January 1, 2007 to get my bonus. The company is not doing very well and I think I was actually terminated so that they did not have to pay me… Continue reading
Welcome to our Blog!
December 31st, 2006 James PetersThank you for visiting the Peters Law Group California Employee Rights Blog.
This blog will be a bit different than most other legal blogs (“blawgs”) you have seen on the internet because we hope to make it more of a conversation than a “breaking legal news” site.
We will bring you all of the current happenings in California employment law legislation and legal developments. However, our main focus will be to Continue reading
Fees
December 30th, 2006 James PetersOne question our California employment law clients always have on their mind is how they will be able to afford paying an attorney to represent them in pursuing a case against their employers. After all, many of our clients recently lost their job and are either still unemployed or are trying to get back on their feet after unemployment.
We take many of our case on a “contingency-fee” basis, which generally means… Continue reading
Consultations
December 29th, 2006 James PetersMany attorneys charge for the initial consultation with clients. However, we believe that prospective clients should not have to pay to speak with an attorney just to ask a few general questions.
After all, many of our clients have just lost their jobs and are wondering how they will pay their rent or mortgage and other crucial expenses. Someone in that situation should not have to worry about paying Continue reading
Contact Us
December 29th, 2006 James PetersAlthough we are based in Southern California, we are able to serve clients throughout the state.
If the case warrants it, we are certainly willing to travel to you. However, we can accomplish much of our representation by phone and through e-mail and other electronic communication.
You can contact us in any of the ways outlined below, but please realize that contacting us does not create an attorney-client relationship. Unless we Continue reading
Our Attorneys
December 29th, 2006 James PetersMr. Peters has spent his entire legal career practicing exclusively employment law, representing only employees, not employers.
While Mr. Peters practices in virtually all areas of employment law, some of Mr. Peters’ areas of emphasis include wage and hour law, wrongful termination, illegal retaliation, disability discrimination, and breaches of employment contracts… Continue reading
Our Firm
December 29th, 2006 James PetersWe practice only California employment law and represent only employees (not employers) in disputes.
Most employers are defended by very large, powerful firms, so employees must choose wisely when selecting a lawyer to go up against them. Many other employee rights firms… Continue reading
Contingency Fee Employment Law Cases
August 1st, 2006 James PetersOne question our California employment law clients always have on their mind is how they will be able to afford paying an attorney to represent them in pursuing a case against their employers. After all, many of our clients recently lost their job and are either still unemployed or are trying to get back on their feet after unemployment.
We take many of our case on a “contingency-fee” basis, which generally means… Continue reading
About Our California Employee Rights Firm
August 1st, 2006 James PetersMost employers are defended by very large, powerful firms, so employees must choose wisely when selecting a lawyer to go up against them. Our firm practices only employment law and only represents employees (NOT employers) throughout California… Continue reading
California Wrongful Termination Law
August 1st, 2006 James PetersOur employment law firm spends most of our time representing clients throughout California who have been wrongfully terminated.
The term “Wrongful Termination” encompasses many things with regard to California Employment law. At its narrowest, this means any termination that is illegal under state or federal law. At its broadest… Continue reading