Simi Valley

The Calderone Law Firm has more than twenty years of experience handling employment discrimination, whistleblower retaliation, and wage and hour violations, and can put insights gained from this experience to work for you. Employment lawsuits can be challenging, and the playing field between a powerful employer and a worker with far fewer resources can be very uneven. To give yourself the best chances of seeing a just outcome, you should call the seasoned Simi Valley employment law attorneys of Calderone Law Firm.

Employers must follow strict wage and hour laws in connection with their nonexempt employees. These laws have to do with minimum wage, uniforms, and meal and rest breaks. Overtime is paid at time and a half for all hours worked in excess of eight and up to 12 hours in a workday or in excess of 40 hours in any workweek. Simi Valley employers must pay nonexempt employees double their regular rate of pay for all hours that are worked beyond 12 hours in a workday and all hours worked beyond eight on the seventh day in a row in a workweek.

If you are a nonexempt employee, you are entitled to compensation if your employer violates any wage and hour rules. In some cases, it is appropriate to bring a wage and hour lawsuit in court. Damages in wage and hour lawsuits can be small and not worth the expense and trouble of a lawsuit, but it’s important to be aware that if you and your coworkers are facing similar violations, you may be able to come together in a wage and hour class action suit to recover compensation from your employer.

You can file a discrimination lawsuit against your employer if you are mistreated on the job because of a protected characteristic like race, color, sex, national origin, or religion. Under the California Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA), as well as federal and local laws, it is illegal for your employer to discriminate against you based on certain protected traits like TKTK. Victims of workplace discrimination may be able to recover lost wages and emotional distress damages, and, in some cases, job reinstatement or punitive damages may also be appropriate.

To help your lawyer with your case, you should keep a contemporaneous record of any discrimination actions taken against you that you believe were taken due to a protected trait like disability. For example, if you are a Chicano assistant in the Simi Valley school district and your supervisor makes derogatory comments about Mexicans’ work ethic, this is something you should privately document in a dated diary entry close to the date on which it happens. It is unlawful for your employer to take a retaliatory action against you for complaining to HR or filing a charge in preparation for bringing a lawsuit.

It’s normal to feel anxious when deciding whether to blow the whistle on your employer’s illegal actions or misconduct. You may be worried that your employer will retaliate against you, which is a legitimate fear. Or you may worry that you’re not a lawyer and aren’t sure whether your employer is actually violating the law. However, federal and California laws do provide protection to whistleblowers, even those who report conduct that turns out not to be illegal, so long as they reported it in good faith, believing that it was. Prohibited retaliatory actions that your employer may not take against you for blowing the whistle on illegal actions include unfair performance reviews, failure to promote, demotion, layoffs, and firing.

California Labor Code 1102.5 protects you from retaliation if you reported your employer’s legal violation to a supervisor or HR or a law enforcement agency. For example, if you work for a Simi Valley school and report workplace safety violations to Cal/OSHA, your employer is not allowed to retaliate by firing you.

Retaining an experienced and knowledgeable attorney to protect your interests and rights in employment discrimination, wage and hour, and whistleblower retaliation lawsuits can make a considerable difference as to whether there will be justice in your case. Call the tenacious Simi Valley employment law attorneys of Calderone Law Firm to discuss your legal options. Vincent Calderone, our founder, has over two decades of experience representing clients in employment lawsuits. Contact us online or call us at (424) 348-8290 for a free consultation.