Pomona

Employers in Pomona must follow many different laws pertaining to compensation, employment actions, and operations. As in other places, however, some employers do not comply with legal requirements; in some cases, this is because of oversight, while in others, employers make conscious decisions not to follow the law. Whether you need to recover damages for employment discrimination, whistleblower retaliation, or wage and hour violations, you should call the seasoned Pomona employment law attorneys of Calderone Law Firm. We have years of experience and insight into these cases and can put them to work for you.

Workplace discrimination—adverse employment actions taken because of an employee’s protected trait—is prohibited under federal, state, and local laws. In many situations, state law provides ample protections. The California Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA) covers those companies that have at least 5 employees. Protected traits under FEHA include color, race, ancestry, national origin, creed, religion, marital status, sex, gender, sexual orientation, gender expression, gender identity, medical condition, physical and mental disabilities, genetic information, military or veteran status, and age (40 and over).

When it comes to sexual harassment, FEHA covers even those employers with just one employee. For example, if you are a maid in a Pomona household, you can recover damages from sexual harassment by your boss, even if your boss does not have other household employees. In contrast, federal Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) protect only those workers who are at midsize companies.

Becoming a whistleblower in a Pomona workplace takes significant courage. Whistleblowers are those who, in good faith, report their employers for breaking the law or committing misconduct or taking actions that contravene public policy. California and federal laws prohibit employers from retaliating against whistleblowers, so long as the whistleblower reasonably believed that the conduct reported was against the law, even if it was not. Retaliatory actions may include unfair write-ups, demotion, failure to promote, and termination, among others.

Under California Labor Code 1102.5, you are protected against retaliation if you reported your employer’s legal violation to a person with authority over you on the job or law enforcement agency. For example, if you reported in good faith that the medical center where you work in accounting was submitting false Medicare claims, you would be protected in the event that the medical center decided to fire you for this report, even if you turned out to be wrong about the falsity of some of the claims. If you testified about a violation before a public body, you also receive whistleblower protections.

Employers are obliged to pay certain minimum wages to nonexempt Pomona employees like restaurant servers and assistants under local, state, and federal laws. They must also comply with rules related to overtime, meal and rest breaks, and uniforms. These obligations can be rigorous, and unfortunately some Pomona employers may choose to misclassify employees as independent contractors or put in their contracts that they exempt employees in order to avoid compliance with wage and hour law. However, you should know that the law determines whether you are a nonexempt employee who receives the benefit of protection under wage and hour laws.

When an employer’s wage theft was small, it may be appropriate to band together with similarly situated employees and file a class action lawsuit for damages. These are challenging cases, and it’s crucial to retain experienced class action lawyers like those of Calderone Law Firm to obtain class certification and relief.

It can be nerve-wracking to go up against your employer in court. Often employers are considerably more powerful and in possession of significant resources. You can level the playing field by retain an experienced lawyer to protect your interests and rights. Call the seasoned Pomona employment law attorneys of Calderone Law Firm to discuss your legal options. Our founder, Vincent Calderone, has over two decades of experience litigating employment lawsuits. Please contact us online or call us at (424) 348-8290.