Our Anaheim-based employment lawyers at Howard Nassiri, PC are currently representing an individual contractor in a case against her former employer, Synergistic Resources, LLC, and Medical Marijuana Evaluation Centers (MMEC). The firm has filed a complaint for employee misclassification, wage and hour violations, wrongful termination, retaliation, unfair business practices, and other violations of California labor codes.
According to the complaint, in June of 2009, a California physician was hired as a "professional consultant" to work as an independent contractor for MMEC, a business that specializes in providing medical marijuana to patients, under the Compassionate Use Act of 1996, (Proposition 215)--the act that allows California residents to legally use and possess medical marijuana, as deemed appropriate by a physician who has determined that the patient's health would benefit from the prescription.
The physician claims that she was incorrectly hired as an "independent contractor" by MMEC to lower labor costs and maintain an unfair competitive advantage over its competitors, creating unlawful and fraudulent business practices. Our lawyers discussed the distinction between an "employee' and a "independent contractor" in a recent blog.
In the lawsuit, MMEC is being accused of creating a "sham" independent contractor relationship with the doctors they hire, by placing the operating expenses and risk responsibility on the doctors, while still exerting employer control by managing all aspects of the employment relationship--without offering the doctors any legal protection that employees have rights to under California law.
MMEC allegedly denied the physician these legal rights and protections provided by California law, and concealed the true nature of the legal working relationship by misclassifying her as an independent contractor, instead of an employee.
In the State of California, employers are required to provide employees with workers' compensation coverage, reimburse employees for all expenses incurred that were necessary for their employment, provide legal meal and rest breaks, submit itemized wage statements to all employees, and dutifully and promptly pay all wages due to an employee upon termination. MMEC is being accused of violating all of these labor laws.
The complaint also accuses MMEC of wrongful termination and retaliation after a November 2009 incident where the doctor was reportedly asked to perform an illegal act and supply a patient with 12 months of medical marijuana without the documented evidence necessary for her to legally prescribe the drug for treatment. The lawsuit claims that the physician did not want to risk losing her medical license, and after refusing to perform the illegal act, her employment was effectively terminated out of retaliation.
The California physician seeks compensatory damages under state law, liquidated damages, restitution, as well as other statutory and civil penalties that were owed to her when she was employed by MMEC. She also filed a complaint with the Department of Fair Employment and Housing (DFEH) in accordance to the California Fair Employment Act.
Our attorneys at HOWARD | NASSIRI, PC are committed to representing individuals who have experienced employee misclassification and other violations of California Labor Codes in Los Angeles County, Orange County and throughout Southern California. Contact our Anaheim-based Labor and Employment Attorneys today, for a free consultation about your rights.
Independent Contractor Versus Employee, California Department of Industrial Relations (DIR)
Related Web Resources:
