California Employment Lawyers Blog

Our Placentia, California employment lawyers have been following the news announcement made by Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA), and Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) and Sherrod Brown (D-OH) this month about the introduction of the Payroll Fraud Prevention Act into Congress--a bill that is similar to the Employee Misclassification Prevention Act that Harkin and Brown introduced into Congress a year ago.

The Payroll Fraud Prevention Act would reportedly expand the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) and aims to reduce payroll fraud by preventing employers from misclassifying their workers to avoid paying their taxes. Under the proposed bill, employees who are often misclassified as exempt from overtime laws, would have access to FLSA employee benefits, like minimum wage, overtime, and workers' compensation among others.

As our attorneys discussed in a previous Riverside, California employment lawyers blog, Harkin has been a key fighter to support employees' rights, to prevent employers from engaging employee misclassification--as misclassifying employees allows companies to save money by avoiding tax codes--putting their workers at great risk financially and with regard to their health and safety.

Harkin claims this bill will give workers the opportunity to earn their legal right to minimum wage, overtime compensation, unemployment benefits, and other workplace benefits under the FLSA--which would alleviate taxpayer burden across the country, as taxpayers end up footing the bill when employers misclassify employees, and create a fair and level playing field for employers.

Continue reading " Senator Harkin Introduces Payroll Fraud Prevention Act in Congress" »

In recent California class action lawsuit news, a class of exotic dancers in California and other states across the country have reportedly received preliminary court approval of a $10 million employee misclassification lawsuit settlement, brought by a group of women working as strippers for the Spearmint Rhino adult night club--who claim that they were misclassified as independent contractors while employed at the strip club.

The class of around 11,000 female dancers, who perform for Spearmint Rhino, claim that their employers violated the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) and the California Labor Code, along with other state wage and hour laws, by failing to pay the workers minimum wage, and by dividing up their received tips to pay for stage fees, and to compensate other employees of the nightclub, such as doormen, DJ's and managers. The dancers even claim that they were often made to pay penalties if they weren't able to make men to buy a certain amount of drinks during their dancing shifts.

The employees claim that they were wrongly treated as "independent contractors" rather than "employees" and as dancers at the club, they should have been paid proper wages and been given access to the benefits available for employees under state and federal wage and hour laws. They are seeking back wages, tips, attorney fees and monetary damages. If the agreement is signed it would reportedly force clubs in California to stop requiring dancers to pay stage fees, and to reclassify all dancers within 18 months.

As our attorneys have discussed in a related Irvine, California employment lawyers blog, employee misclassification can happen when an employer classifies an employee erroneously as an independent contractor, who is exempt from overtime pay or other wage and hour benefits that are usually available to non-exempt employees under the FLSA. While some employers mistakenly engage in employee misclassification, many employers misclassify workers in order to avoid paying employment taxes, overtime wages and benefits. If an independent contractor has been improperly classified and chooses to file a wage and hour lawsuit, that worker may be entitled to overtime compensation, as well as penalties, interest, and the cost of legal fees.

Continue reading "Exotic Dancers Could Get $10M in California Class Action Employment Misclassification Lawsuit Settlement" »

Our Oceanside labor and employment lawyers have been watching a recent California employment lawsuit development, where San Francisco Chef Angelo Mueller, also known as Angelo Mueller Degenhardt, was accused by Dennis Herrera, San Francisco City Attorney, of being a con artist and running a fraudulent cooking school operation called "Academie de Cuisine"--where he allegedly took the tuition of students and exploited them by making them work as free labor for his catered events, with the lingering promise of future employment with the company.

The lawsuit accuses Mueller of using local nonprofits to refer culinary students to his academy, enticing the students with the promise of quickly gaining entry-level qualifications required to work in the food service and hospitality industry. Mueller reportedly charged culinary students up to $3600 in tuition for a three-month culinary program that was supposed to include additional three month externship at one of the academy venues, where students would receive fairly paid wages.

But according to Herrera's office, the students, many of who were Chinese immigrants, started complaining that they were required to manage and cater academy-related events without proper compensation, and were forced to sign agreements retroactively stating that they would not receive certificates of completion without completing the unpaid externship.

Mueller has reportedly been convicted of multiple counts of federal mail and securities fraud, and spent time in Utah prison after violating his probation terms, where he was only released last year. The lawsuit seeks injunctive relief to stop the operation of the academy, full payment of all withheld wages to the students who worked to cater the academy's events, and civil penalties for each violation.

Continue reading "Chef Accused of Fraud by Tricking Culinary Students into Working for Free" »

In recent Santa Ana, California employment news that our attorneys been following, California-based Mattel Inc., the largest toymaker in the world, has been defeated in their seven-year legal battle against MGA Entertainment--the small California company, whose line of Bratz dolls led to a Mattel lawsuit claiming that MGA stole away a prominent Mattel employee, key doll designs, and intellectual property.

Mattel reportedly filed the lawsuit in 2005, when MGA's Bratz dolls were becoming extraordinarily popular, featuring flashy dolls with outfits that were edgy and chic--creating formidable competition with Mattel's Barbie franchise.

In 2008, MGA was ordered by the federal court to pay Mattel $100 million, but the ruling was thrown out by a federal appeals court last year. MGA subsequently claimed that Mattel gained wrongful access to toy fairs with fake passes in order to steal trade secrets about the Bratz dolls, and then concealed the evidence of such actions. MGA also accused Mattel of costing the small company hundreds of millions of dollars over the past seven years of litigation.

Last week, the federal jury found Mattel guilty of misappropriating trade secrets from the small company and awarded MGA $88.5 million in monetary damages, with the possibility that more damages might still be awarded to the company. The jury found that Mattel doesn't own the idea of Bratz dolls, and that the doll sketches made by MGA were not stolen from Mattel. Mattel is expected to appeal the case.

Continue reading "Bratz Dolls vs. Barbie, Mattel Loses Last Round" »

In a recent Temecula, California employment lawyers blog, our attorneys discussed the federal government's continuing investigations on restaurant employers in low wage industries, who deny their employees their legal right to fair payment under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), leading to wage and hour violations.

Our Riverside employment attorneys have been frequently discussing a growing number of wage and hour lawsuits, and in yet another case, three pizzerias in Long Island, NY, doing business as Gino's Pizza Pasta Restaurant will pay $181,544 to 61 employees, for overtime back wages, after a DOL investigation found the restaurants to have violated the FLSA. The pizzerias are also required to pay the government $22,002 in civil money penalties for willfully violating federal employment laws.

According to the DOL Wage and Hour Division's Long Island District Office director, this case typifies many violations found in the restaurant industry that affect vulnerable workers, many of whom do not speak English as their first language, and may not be aware of their federal labor and employment rights.

The investigation reportedly found that the restaurants had violated the FLSA by paying low-wage workers straight time wages for every hour worked, instead of overtime, which is one and one-half their regular pay rates for all hours worked past 40 in a workweek. The employers were also reportedly using a system that violated the FLSA's record-keeping provisions, by falsifying time cards to claim that the workers were being paid fair and accurate wages. The employees were reportedly never paid for the overtime compensation recorded on the timecards, and were instead paid in cash for overtime hours. Under the FLSA, employers who violate the federal employment law provisions are responsible for paying their workers the full amount of unpaid wages, along with an equal amount in liquidated damages.

Continue reading "NY Pizzerias Found in Violation of the Fair Labor Standards Act" »

In recent employment news that our Orange County, California labor and employment lawyers have been following, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) announced this week that it has filed its largest human trafficking case in the commission's agriculture history--filing discrimination lawsuits against Global Horizons, Inc., a farm labor contractor based in Los Angeles, California, along with eight farms.

The EEOC reportedly filed lawsuits alleging that the contractor engaged in discrimination, harassment, and retaliation based on race and national origin, by trafficking over 200 male victims from Thailand to farms in Washington and Hawaii, where they experienced severe abuse between 2003 and 2007.

According to the lawsuit, Global Horizons enticed male workers from Thailand with the promise of high-paying agriculture jobs that would allow them to work and live in the United States legally, with temporary visas. The promises were reported false, and came with high recruitment fees that trapped the workers--creating substantial debt they were unable to pay back.

After reaching Global Horizons in the U.S. locations, the workers' passports were reportedly taken, and deportation was threatened if they complained about the reported mistreatment, harassment, intimidation, physical abuse and unequal pay. The lawsuit claims that workers lived in rat and insect infested housing with overcrowded rooms and few beds, and were forced to stay on the premises with bodyguards stationed around the farms--where they endured screaming, severe threats and physical assault, and were kept separate from other farm workers who appeared to have working conditions that were tolerable.

Continue reading "California-based Global Horizons Sued for Human Trafficking and Race Discrimination" »

Our Newport Beach employment attorneys have recently discussed the issue of wage and hour violations in the workplace, where employers violate federal wage and hour laws by failing to compensate employees for overtime and minimum wage, along with other wage and hour benefits that employees are entitled to under the Fair Labor Standards Act.

In a recent overtime lawsuit, Quicken Loans has been accused by a former secretary, Tiyanna Knight, of denying her overtime pay by requiring that Knight and other hourly workers engage in clock fixing at the end of the workweek to make it look as if they only worked a 40 hour week.

As our Carson labor and employment attorneys have reported before, under the FLSA an employer must compensate employees with at least the federal minimum wage of $7.25, for every hour worked in a regular workweek or forty hours. For any hours worked over forty in a workweek, an employer is required to compensate the worker one and one-half their regular rate of pay in overtime payment. This includes bonuses, incentive compensation and job commissions, and under federal law, employers must keep accurate records of all hours worked by employees. Under the FLSA, if employers violate federal employment law provisions they are responsible for paying workers the full amount of unpaid back wages, along with the same amount in liquidated damages.

Last week a federal judge denied the request made by Quicken Loans to dismiss Knight's overtime lawsuit, ruling that Knight could proceed with her proposed class action wage and hour lawsuit, alleging that Quicken violated the FLSA by making Knight and other employees go back and fix their time cards so they wouldn't receive overtime pay.

Continue reading "Employee's Lawsuit Moves Forward in Quicken Loans Overtime Case" »

Walmart made headlines in California employment news again last week, after the U.S. Equal Employment Commission announced the settlement of a national origin and race harassment lawsuit, filed by the commission on behalf of nine employees of Mexican descent and the spouse of a Mexican national, who worked at a Sam's Club, Walmart's wholesale chain retail store.

According to the EEOC, Walmart will pay $440,000 to settle the lawsuit claiming that Mexican immigrant employees endured derogatory remarks and ethnic slurs by a fellow co-worker who was Mexican-American. The lawsuit claims that the victims had been perpetually harassed with insults about Mexicans since 2005. One comment reportedly claimed that Mexicans were only good for cleaning the harasser's house.

The victims reportedly complained to the management about the hostile work environment in April of 2006, whereupon the complaints intensified. The EEOC discrimination charge was filed in October of 2006, at which point the harasser was discharged two months later in December 2006.

This lawsuit settlement comes at a vulnerable time for the world's largest retailer, as Walmart is currently trying to stop what has been called the largest class action gender-discrimination lawsuit in history, filed by female employees. The case, that our attorneys have recently discussed in a Carson, California employment lawyers blog, is currently being considered in the U.S. Supreme Court.

Continue reading "Walmart Will Pay $440K in National Origin Harassment Settlement" »

In a recent Riverside, California employment lawyers blog post, our attorneys discussed the frequency of wage and hour violations in the hospitality industry, and the U.S. Department of Labor's (DOL) strong initiative to target employers in these low-wage industries who violate the rights of their vulnerable employees.

In a recent DOL investigation, the department found that Sunrise Hospitality Inc., a hotel chain with hotels in Indiana, Illinois, Ohio, and Pennsylvania, violated the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) by failing to pay 96 former and current workers overtime and minimum wage compensation for all of the hours worked in 16 hotel locations.

The investigation reportedly discovered that Sunrise Hospitality violated federal law by failing to compensate workers for extra work before and after their shift, and for deducting rest breaks that were less than 20 minutes from the total hours worked. Employees were also not paid accurate minimum wage and overtime compensation, which according to the FLSA is at least $7.25 an hour for all hours worked, plus time and one-half for any hours worked beyond 40 in a workweek. The company also reportedly failed to properly maintain wage records by neglecting to document the required work before and after shifts, which should have been included in the total combined hours.

The DOL reportedly recovered $18,792 in back wages for the 96 former and current employees in 16 hotels. According to the DOL, the Wage and Hour Division continues to step up its enforcement efforts to find, target and remedy federal wage violations that deprive employees of their legally entitled right to fair compensation.

Continue reading "Hospitality Industry Continues to Violate Workers' Wage and Hour Rights" »

Our Santa Ana employment attorneys recently discussed a Los Angeles-area wage and hour lawsuit, where restaurant employees were cheated out of their hard-earned wages after their employer failed to pay them proper overtime compensation for their hours worked--a frequent problem in low wage industries, leading the federal government to crack down on such companies who aren't complying with the wage and hour laws of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).

In yet another news story about of wage theft among low-wage workers, the federal government has recently gone after a group of restaurants in Westchester and Rockland counties in the state of New York, by filing a wage and hour lawsuit, after the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) investigated the restaurants and accused the employers of violating the FLSA by failing to pay employees minimum wage and overtime compensation according to federal law. The employees also claimed that they were discriminated against after attempting to exercise their federal wage and hour rights and complain about the violations.

The three restaurants, American Beauty Diner, American Dream Diner, and American Classic Diner, were all named in the lawsuit, as well as the owners and managers of the restaurants. The employers are also being accused of failing comply with FLSA's recordkeeping regulations.

The lawsuit reportedly seeks to obtain overtime backpay for the low-wage workers who were employed at the restaurants from February 2008 until the present. As our Carson employment attorneys stated in a previous post, under federal law, all covered employees must be paid the minimum of $7.25, the federal minimum wage, for every hour worked in a 40-hour workweek. For any hours worked beyond 40, employees must be paid an overtime rate of one and one-half times their regular pay rate.

Continue reading "Feds Crack Down on Wage and Hour Violations in NY Restaurants" »

Our attorneys recently reported on the wage and hours laws under the Fair Labor Standards Act in an Anaheim, California employment lawyers blog--discussing overtime, minimum wage and record-keeping provisions of the act.

In recent news, two Los Angeles-area Indian restaurants under Jay Bharat Foods Inc. will pay $94,870 in back wages for 22 employees, after the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) found that employees of both restaurants were required to work an average of fifty-five hours per week and weren't paid overtime. According to the DOL, when the employees worked over 40 hours in a workweek, they were paid for "straight time" rather than overtime, which under the FLSA should be time and one-half of their regular rate pay. The Artesia, California company was also found to have violated federal laws by failing to keep accurate records of the employee's wages and hours worked.

Chandrakant Patel, the owner of the both stores, Jay Bharat and Standard Sweets and Snacks, has agreed to compensate the 22 workers with their back wages and has reportedly made a commitment to comply with the federal wage and hour laws and regulations in the future.

As our Riverside employment attorneys have reported before, under the FLSA an employer must pay at least $7.25, the federal minimum wage, for every hour worked in a forty-hour workweek. For any hours worked beyond forty in a workweek, an employer must pay the worker one and one-half their regular pay rates. This includes incentive compensation, bonuses and commissions.

Continue reading "Indian Restaurants in the Los Angeles Area to Pay Around $95K in Back Wages" »

In recent news that our Costa Mesa employment attorneys have following, a California farm company is reportedly paying $27,500 to settle a federal lawsuit after the company was accused of sexual harassment and retaliation by a teenage farm worker.

According to the lawsuit, filed by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, after working as vegetable packer for Adam brothers Farming Inc. from 2004 to 2005, the teenager returned for work in 2006, and abruptly experienced sexual harassment by a male supervisor. The sexual harassment reportedly included lewd gestures made with his tongue, physical harassment that included brushing up against her and grabbing her private areas, and verbal harassment where the supervisor reportedly asked to perform oral sex on the victim.

The teen complained about the sexual harassment to a farm foreman and was immediately transferred, then disciplined, and reportedly fired only two weeks after the complaint, out of retaliation. The victim's harasser also reportedly threatened other workers by declaring that workers who were friends with the victim would pay for her complaint of the sexual harassment.

As our Carson, California attorneys have stated in a previous California employment lawyers blog, Under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, sexual harassment is a form of sex discrimination that includes unwanted sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, and any other physical or verbal conduct of a sexual nature that explicitly or implicitly affects an individual's employment, or unreasonably interferes with an individual's work performance--creating a hostile, offensive, or intimidating employment environment.

Continue reading " Teenage Farm Worker's Sexual Harassment and Retaliation Lawsuit Settled for $27K" »

According to a recent U.S. Department of Labor Wage and Hour Division press release that our Newport Beach labor and employment attorneys have been following, Levi Strauss & Co. has agreed pay over $1 million in overtime backwages to around 600 employees after the department found that the denim maker neglected to record accurate hours that employees were working in the company's payroll system--resulting in employee misclassification.

Levi Strauss reportedly worked cooperatively with the department to review the data over a two-year period, after the DOL found that the company engaged in employee misclassification with groups of employees, by making them exempt from overtime compensation.

As our attorneys have discussed recently in an Irvine, California employment lawyers blog, California employees are generally classified as either exempt or non-exempt employees. Most non-exempt employees are entitled to overtime pay under the Fair Labor and Standards Act (FLSA), which is one and a half times their regular compensation rate when they work over 40-hours in a workweek.

Employers frequently miscalculate the amount of overtime that workers are actually owed, when working past 40-hours in a work week. Under the FLSA, all employers must keep accurate time records on all wages and all hours worked by employees.

Continue reading "Levi Strauss Will Pay $1M in Overtime Wages For Misclassifying Employees" »

In a recent Santa Ana employment lawyer blog, our attorneys discussed the high-profile age discrimination and wrongful termination lawsuit filed by Los Angeles Clippers former Manager, Elgin Baylor, who was an executive for the NBA team for 22 years.

Last week, Baylor's wrongful termination lawsuit was rejected unanimously by a Los Angeles County Superior Court jury, after Baylor accused the Clippers organization of age and race discrimination, as well as humiliation, after receiving a letter in 2008 asking him to retire and become a consultant.

According to the Los Angeles Times, the jury, comprised of five women and seven men, voted unanimously against Baylor's allegations that the President Andy Roeser and Clippers owner Donald Sterling provided a hostile work environment.

In the lawsuit, Baylor accused Sterling and Roeser of age discrimination, and as longtime head of player personnel and as Clippers executive vice president and general manager, he sought nearly $2 million in mental distress and economic damages in the wrongful termination and age discrimination lawsuit.

Continue reading "Los Angeles Clippers Cleared in Wrongful Termination and Age Discrimination Lawsuit" »