Ventura County

When it comes to employment disputes, most employees feel at the mercy of their employers. Often employers have the resources to consult attorneys at the first sign of a dispute, which gives them the upper hand. If you believe you are being mistreated, it’s important to talk to a lawyer as soon as possible. Retaining representation can put you on equal footing with your employer with regard to wage and hour violations, discrimination, harassment, and retaliation. Whether you work in agriculture, biotechnology, manufacturing, tourism, or defense, if you spot trouble in your relationship with your employer and believe you may have a claim, call the experienced Ventura County employment lawyers to evaluate your case and help you pick the best course of action. We can use insights gathered over 20 years of representing clients to fight for your rights.

While there are federal, state, and local laws that prohibit workplace discrimination, in most cases, the California Fair Employment Housing Act (FEHA) provides the greatest protection against discrimination, harassment, and retaliation based on certain personal traits. FEHA applies to employees whose employers have a minimum of five employees; you are protected against sexual harassment, however, even if you are the only employee of your employer.

Actionable discrimination occurs when an employer makes an adverse employment decision against an employee based on a protected trait. Adverse employment decisions can happen in a wide range of circumstances including interviews, job applications, hirings, promotions, demotions, provision of needed training, and firing. For example, if you are in the marketing department of a biotech company, and after you transition, your employer demotes you, you likely have a gender identity discrimination claim.

Under California Labor Code section 1102.5, whistleblower retaliation is prohibited. What is a whistleblower? Whistleblowers are employees who offer information that they reasonably believe are state, federal, or local legal or regulatory violations to a law enforcement agency or to the government.

Your employer is not permitted to make, adopt, or enforce rules that might prevent you from whistleblowing. Similarly, your employer may not retaliate against you if you refuse to participate in illegal activity. If we can establish you were subject to retaliation as a whistleblower, we may be able to recover damages such as lost wages, restoration of benefits, reinstatement, and civil monetary penalties.

Your job classification makes a big difference to how protected you are in terms of such issues as minimum wage, overtime, rest and meal breaks, equipment, and uniforms. You are protected with respect to these aspects of the job if you are a nonexempt employee. However, you are not protected if you are an exempt employee, independent contractor, or gig worker. It’s important for you to know that certain employers misclassify nonexempt employees as exempt employees, independent contractors or gig workers specifically to evade their legal responsibilities. But your employer is not the last word on your job classification; you should talk to a lawyer if you believe you are a nonexempt employee who has been misclassified.

Wage and hour violations frequently result in only small amounts of damages. This can make it hard to find an attorney to represent you in wage and hour litigation. However, if you and similarly situated nonexempt employees band together, you may be able to bring a class action lawsuit to recover damages. These types of cases are complicated, and it would be wise for you to consult the Calderone Law Firm, which has the requisite experience.

Whether you’re concerned about whistleblowing, harassment, retaliation, discrimination or wage and hour violations, give the Ventura County attorneys of Calderone Law Firm a call. Our founder, Vincent Calderone, has more than 20 years of experience representing employees in Ventura County cities like Oxnard, Simi Valley, Thousand Oaks, and Ventura. Please contact us online or call us at (424) 348-8290.