California Labor Law: "I was Wrongfully Terminated"

Gilroy, CA Three days ago, Colleen's boss phoned, ostensibly to drop by her clinic for a site visit. "Instead she came over to fire me," says Colleen, who is still in shock. "I talked with my brother??" he is the head of labor law for the state of California and said I have a California Labor Law case if I want to pursue it."

And Colleen intends to pursue it. Not only was she wrongfully terminated; she was also humiliated. Her boss called her into the HR office and said, "The hospital and our company are in agreement that a change in leadership has to happen so we are terminating you."

"I was numb," says Colleen. "My ears were ringing; it was so surreal that I couldn't even think. Then my boss handed me my final paycheck and told me to clear out my desk. They had security come into my office along with the VP of HR; they stood there in front of me while I packed my belongings??"while the staff and doctors looked on."

Colleen was the director of a wound care program. She explains that her position involved a triad where 2 other managers help and collaborate with her: one is the medical director and the other is the clinical manager, but Colleen has overall responsibility for the outcome of the clinic, above and beyond the two managers.

But they didn't help her; instead Colleen found herself working 60-hour weeks, 7 days a week. To make matters worse, both managers were living together: nepotism is usually a recipe for disaster. "I found this out on my first day of work," says Colleen," and my boss confirmed it was true. This is a small hospital; if an employee has a problem with one manager, how do you go to the other one with a complaint?

"The medical director let me know early on that he didn't want this position; he proved that by doing nothing except collect a paycheck; meanwhile the VP of nursing called me into her office and said, 'You need to know the clinical manager has some problems with this hospital'. And I was trying to get this new clinic going??"not having either of them doing their work caused me a lot of grief, to say the least.

Anyway, I got the clinic going by myself, without their help. But I told my boss that we would likely have problems when we go operational. She told me to start a disciplinary documentation process, which I did. The clinical manager had never been disciplined in the past so it might look like my inability to work with them, but the VP of HR and the VP of nursing told me to document everything meticulously, which I did, with witnesses present.

After 6 months of dragging this elephant up the hill, the VPs suggested the clinical manager take another position in the hospital, which she did, but she also told the VP of HR that I had created a hostile work environment. They investigated but it didn't bear out her claims.

The VP of nursing moved to another hospital and I reported to a new boss who didn't know about these issues-- that I never had any help or support. But because we had personnel issues, they terminated me. I have a stellar performance record, despite all the obstacles. And I was exhausted, mentally and physically because they refused to give me time off, they knew I was the only game in town, I was the only one getting the job done.

The only reason they gave to terminate me was that they wanted new leadership. I believe it was because my new boss panicked: if we didn't get the staff under control we would lose the contract with the hospital. So she blamed me??"it was easier. This hospital is union and in my opinion, it cultivates an environment of poor work ethic. I expected people to show up and work for 8 hours, not sit around and read magazines and gossip.

My termination is beyond comprehension. The other directors I worked with are in shock??"they couldn't believe it. I had great relationships in that hospital and I exceeded the national standards of my company. But my new boss thought she might loose the contract; I believe she was overwhelmed with her new job and rather than deal with everyone else's bad behavior, I was fired.

In the past two days I've been busy getting my resume together. I am going to the labor board this week to file a grievance and my next step is to seek legal help."

California Labor Law: Pause for Pregnancy

San Mateo, CA Federal laws regarding pregnancy discrimination have changed since 1992, thus making it easier to bring cases to trial, but pregnancy bias claims are growing: in 2006, almost 5,000 pregnancy discrimination complaints were filed with the US Equal Opportunity Commission (EEOC). Pregnancy discrimination is a violation of the California Labor Law, and "strikes its victims at a time when they are quite vulnerable," said Joan Ehrlich, EEOC's San Francisco district director.

"Since I told my boss I am pregnant, he has threatened to fire me," says Clarety S. "I bartend at a private restaurant and everything was great up until now. He says I am not performing and if I get another write-up I will be fired." Clarety says the boss's wife has harassed her, "being rude and talking about me behind my back." Further into her pregnancy, Clarety became a bit limited in what she could do and the boss got madder. "I would try to sit with the servers and help fold napkins during my free time, just to help out and stay working but he would tell me to get up and go clean the bar. He got upset when we were setting up for a private party because I couldn't do heavy lifting." Clarety has numerous incidents documented such as this one…

Clarety was written up for not doing her duty. When she refused to do any heavy lifting, her boss said she was on "thin ice" and all she needed was three more write-ups then she would get her pink slip "and I would be out the door," she adds. "Then he told me he didn't care that I'm pregnant because if I have four write-ups I can get fired without having to worry about California labor laws. I feel like they are just trying to get me out the door so they don't have to worry about my maternity leave and hiring me back after I have the baby."

"The Christian school that I work for is terminating me because I am pregnant and unmarried," says Felicia G. "They claim that my pregnancy goes against my commitment as a Christian. "I have always received great reviews each year for my work performance at the school but now, the school official is requesting I sign a letter of mutual agreement of my termination. It offers me a $2,000 severance payment and payment of my health benefits (COBRA) until the end of my pregnancy. Due to this situation, I am under a lot of stress." Felicia wants to know if this termination is legal and whether she has to sign the termination letter even though she does not agree with their decision.

"The rise in pregnancy-related cases is part of a rise in motherhood cases," said law professor Joan Williams, director of the Hastings Center on WorkLife Law at the University of California. "Motherhood is a key trigger for gender discrimination," she said. And a reason for an increase in lawsuits is because times have changed: just a few decades ago, women felt privileged to be in the workforce, whereas today, women believe it is their entitlement, just as they are entitled to be good mothers. "When employers penalize them for getting pregnant or having children, young women tend to say, 'Hey, that's sex discrimination' and they are more likely to sue," says Williams.

A few examples:

In August 2007 the Fresno Bee reported that Radio personality Athena Matsikas filed a lawsuit against KHGE, FM 102.1, the local radio station where she served as a morning on-air personality since March 2006. The station fired Matsikas when she was eight months pregnant. Matsikas' lawsuit, filed July 27 in Superior Court in Fresno, alleges sex harassment; pregnancy discrimination; failure to maintain an environment free from harassment; negligent supervision, hiring and retention; wrongful termination in violation of public policy; sexual battery; intentional infliction of emotional distress; negligent infliction of emotional distress; and retaliation. The Bee reported that, "according to Matsikas, the station offered her a three-month severance package and an extension of her insurance if she signed an agreement not to take legal action against the station. Matsikas says she didn't sign it."

A few months later, a separate lawsuit was filed against the news and financial services company Bloomberg, alleging the company demoted and reduced the pay of female employees after they announced their pregnancies and after they took maternity leaves. The EEOC said some women were replaced by more junior male employees. The lawsuit also alleges that the same pregnant women and new mothers were excluded from management meetings.

And In November 2007, Kaiser Foundation Health Plan agreed to pay $180,000 to a labor and delivery nurse to settle a lawsuit that claimed the woman's promotion was rescinded after she disclosed her pregnancy. The EEOC said two weeks before starting her new job??"a transfer from California to Maui--Margaret McIlroy disclosed her pregnancy and in less than 24 hours, she was told the offer had been withdrawn. McIlroy, who was 44 at the time, eventually lost her job. She and Kaiser also entered into a separate confidential agreement to settle her non-civil rights claims.

If you believe your employer has violated the California Labor law due to pregnancy discrimination, you must file a complaint with the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing (DFEH) within one year of the violation, in order to be able to file a lawsuit under the California Family Rights Act (in addition to the federal Family and Medical Leave Act). Or you can retain a lawyer and file a lawsuit yourself.

It is very important that you find out about California's state filing deadline so you may want to call a lawyer to find out what you need to do and when.

California Labor Law: A Double Dose of Discrimination

Calimesa, CA: "It's been a hard blow on my self-esteem to be discriminated against on two separate occasions, first one job and then another," says Patricia. The California Labor Law does not tolerate discrimination; Patricia believes she was fired because she is short and overweight and over 50 years old.

In June 2007 Patricia was hired as a receptionist for a large office building. She had to start on a Tuesday because she replaced Anne, the receptionist who was fired on Monday.

"I worked for this company until January 11," says Patricia. "I helped plan their opening grand ceremony in July and planned the entire Christmas party for 200 staff by myself." In other words, Patricia was a hard and loyal worker and there was no reason to fire her based on performance.

"In November, Anne was hired back as a sales manager but she didn't have any sales experience," Patricia adds. "Then on January 11, the owner of the building walked up to me with check in hand??"he paid me until the end of January but told me to pack up my desk and leave. The reason he gave was 'financial constraints on the company'.

Stay with me here: This owner also owned a storage company in the same building and Anne was helping the storage office manager out because he had fired an employee. Why wasn't she working as a sales manager? I soon found out…

I was fired on Friday and I found out on Monday that Anne's sister was hired for the storage office and they put Anne at my desk. The part that annoys me is that I am short and overweight. Anne is tall, young and thin. I am 52 and Anne is about 28. And the storage office manager is Anne's brother so now they have hired three family members. But my complaint is that they lied to me and I have been discriminated against. They can pay Anne my receptionist job so why couldn't they pay me?

Until the first part of April, 2008 I was unemployed and it was a financial blow. Unemployment benefits only paid about half of my regular wages. I was filing applications online on countless sites, looking for a receptionist position but couldn't find anything. Then in early April I got a call from American Income Life (AIL) insurance company to come in for an interview. When I got a call for this position, to sell life insurance, I was a bit dubious because I don't consider myself a good salesperson??"I am not a pushy person and to me that is what sales is all about. But I needed a job.

I had an initial outlay of $400 for the test, book materials and school and then it took about six weeks until I got my insurance license. Since the end of May of this year until now I have made less than $4,000. I didn't qualify for the unemployment extension so I was cut off. I still have a chance to appeal but now I had this job, however miniscule the pay. I only made one sale last week.

My manager at AIL told me I was dragging her numbers down and I had to make a minimum amount of sales for the week. I couldn't make that target and she said I had to turn in a minimum of $1,000 annual life premiums or hand in my resignation--nice environment to work in. I wasn't told that I had to make these targets when I was hired, before I shelled out $400. She is the kind of manager who focuses on those salespeople making money and treats others like dirt.

It's been a hard blow on my self-esteem, this double discrimination whammy. Physically it has taken its toll--I have gained weight due to stress eating. And I am exhausted. When I worked for AIL I was putting in an average of eight hours a day, seven days a week, plus I had to drive everywhere. I would call people and set up appointments and pay for my own gas??"about $150 per week in gas money??"that was supposed to be deducted at the end of the year. I kept the receipts for tax purposes but don't know if I will get paid from AIL. Of course I was let go…

The job I have now is strictly at a desk but I have insomnia, I think it is because of dealing with discrimination. I tried to contact the California labor board but I can't get hold of a real person. Its website states there is a six-month statute of limitations on being fired for discriminatory reasons. I filed outside that limit??"so now my next step is to seek legal help."

California Labor Law: No Promotion Spells Discrimination

Los Angeles, CA Alice, an African-American, says she was overlooked for promotion on six occasions and believes she was discriminated against??"a California Labor Law violation. "Each time I was up for promotion my employer hired young, white males," she says, "and they were much less qualified than me."

Being promised a promotion and then overlooked six times has taken its toll on Alice. Not only has she suffered from anxiety and depression, she has also suffered physically. "I've been living with chronic stomach pains and debilitating fatigue," she says, all of which were documented by her physician. And no wonder: for the past two years, Alice has also been harassed and humiliated by co-workers and her manager. When she complained to the HR manager, Alice was told that she might want to consider "finding someplace else to work."

In 2006 Alice was hired as a sales representative for a start up Internet company. "I was the fourth sales rep hired and we had this great, diverse team," says Alice. "It was exciting and I learned a lot; it was a very progressive company."

Fast forward one year. "My boss, who was phenomenal, finally quit. She had so much pressure because she was a lesbian: someone at work Googled her name and pulled up some background information. They found out that she was involved in a lawsuit years ago??"she was suing the company for wrongful dismissal and now she was being forced to quit. She was the best boss I ever had and interestingly, the only female in a managerial position??"there are about 200 or 250 employees in this company and I think that really says something…

They treated her so badly; she wasn't involved in any decisions and was given more than the cold shoulder. And they brought in a younger white male to replace her??"seems like a pattern here because I was treated the same way.

Her quotas were exceeded every month; she did above and beyond what she was asked to do. At this time I was an account manager and ready to be promoted to a higher sales position. When I pursued it, the VP said I should stay in my role for a few months until the new director was acclimated.

So I waited.

The new guy promoted two younger white males ahead of me. Then a third white male was hired: all three had less experience than me and poor performance records. I excelled in my job and there was no reason not to get promoted. In retrospect I am a little naïve because I kept thinking that my turn was coming. Meanwhile, the new director and I were not getting along. I had to change my work hours to suit his schedule and he treated me like his assistant.

I guess it all came to a head when we had a meeting one day and the new director referred to me as 'Mmmhmmm girlfriend,' and snapped his fingers. He was treating me like I was from the ghetto, like a second-class citizen. He doesn't say that to white girls. I went to HR about it and filed a complaint.

A few days later the HR manager called me into his office and said if I was unhappy I should work somewhere else. 'You have a new boss now and I think you are giving him a hard time because you miss J (who quit).' I was so stressed out that I ran to the bathroom and threw up. Plus I was having anxiety attacks. My doctor advised me to leave my job but I thought my doctor didn't understand--the guys on the team still needed me and I wanted to be there for them.

Next morning at 8am, the new director made us chant, 'I am a believer.' It was humiliating, like some tacky evangelist. I'd break out in a sweat; I would freak out having to do this. Everybody else felt like me, nobody wanted to do it.

I couldn't take it anymore. I went to the CRO (corporate revenue officer) and he promised to make some changes but three months go by and no change. Instead, I was ostracized.

A position was posted on the website looking for a sales person. I told the VP I was going to apply but he told me not to??"they weren't hiring for another 90 days. I applied anyway. One week later a new rep was hired: wait for it??"a young, white male.

Two more males were hired ahead of me. It was a repetitive pattern??"the same treatment as J. I filed a complaint with the equal opportunity commission (EOC) which is tied to the civil rights act and I told the VP that I was being overlooked for promotion. I sent the VP an email saying: ' I know you aren't hiring based on experience, Is it because I am a woman?

'We aren't passing you over because you are black,' she replied. I had never even mentioned the color of my skin. She wanted me to rescind the complaint.

And here is another slap in the face: I made the largest monetary deal in the company, ever. They decide to have an award ceremony every month. The guy who brought in $30,000 got a trophy and my deal was $1.7 million. I didn't even get a Timex watch.

It was time for me to go. Since leaving my health has improved, no more nightmares, no night sweats. Even though I haven't found another position yet, my self-esteem is back.
I want them to admit they were wrong. I was the only African-American female not in a subordinate position: this is LA, it's a melting pot. Obviously they had a preference for young white males."

California Labor Law: Taking a Bite Out of Apple

San Diego, CA The California computer giant has long been accused of working their employees to the bone??"but this time Apple allegedly has a new worm. The mother of the iPod and the iPhone has been accused of violating California labor laws by mis-classifying employees in a bid to evade the payment of overtime.

Given that the State serves as the defacto home base to the computer industry (Silicon Valley, et al) California has a number of unique laws and statues over and above the federal employment regulations that are designed to protect California workers from being taken to the cleaners by their employers.

Such employers have a limited window of opportunity to legally avoid having to pay overtime. Those allowances include certain managerial positions, and employees who earn income above a certain threshold. That threshold, it should be noted, was recently lowered in favor of the employer. Not only is the employer freed from paying overtime to a larger collection of employees, the threshold change means that the overtime rate in real dollars paid, is lower as well.

That doesn't appear to be enough for some employers, who feel like they have to circumvent California State labor law by incorrectly classifying employees in a bid to avoid paying them their due.

That's the accusation against Apple in a 40-page class action lawsuit filed last Thursday in San Diego court by former Apple network engineer David Walsh, who claims that Apple knowingly violated California Labor Law overtime and Industrial Welfare Commission requirements by "systematically" misclassifying Walsh, and his fellow technicians as management.

Apple is alleged to have created hundreds of seemingly unique positions that, in reality, were subtle variants of the same role. As an example, the simple placement of the word 'Senior' in front of 'Network Engineer' created an instant managerial position that would allow the employer to require long hours without any hope for overtime pay??"even though the Senior Network Engineer was doing the same work as the larger pool of network engineers.

According to the complaint, the number of work hours required by the company was appalling. Walsh claims that even though he was scheduled for an eight-hour day, the reality was anything but, as his employer would allegedly direct him to maintain the network "well into the night." Walsh also claims that he was on call at all times of the day, and that many calls would come in after 11pm, or on weekends.

Not only did Walsh have to defer leisure activities, but he also found himself deferring more important tasks, such as going to the doctor or even taking a meal break.

It has been reported that Apple bestowed the management title on Walsh even though his work did not change??"that of installing, and maintaining computer networks. He was, as a result, found to be working alongside other technicians, performing the same tasks, who had no title.

And even though he was classified as management, Walsh claims that he had no authority over where he could go (in the workplace) and required permission from the true executives and site staff.

Even though he was classified as management.

Walsh, who is seeking class action status for his California State labor lawsuit,
wants to force Apple to properly classify employees according to the work they do. He also wants Apple to compensate employees who missed out on overtime pay, and advance any employee the equivalent of two hours of pay for each full day of work where a technician wasn't allowed a meal break.

The suit was filed August 8, 2008

California Labor Law: Caution: Pregnant Women at Work

Paradise, CA The following accounts are about two pregnant women: Nancy refused to work around toxic chemicals and after much bickering and paperwork back and forth, she is still at working at the pizza parlor, on her terms. Tiffany wasn't so fortunate and believes she was fired because her employer didn't want her to take maternity leave and rehire her. She was unfairly discriminated against, which is contrary to the California labor law.

"Nancy was a few months pregnant and didn't want to be around all those fumes every night, plus she has asthma," says her husband Jorge. "She talked to her employers about it but they threw a fit so she brought them a doctor's note. They got even madder, saying it wasn't a real note and they were going to phone her doctor. Then they started telling other employees not to get pregnant like Nancy, just to try to get out of work."

Nancy was a shift manager and had never missed work, neither had she taken any sick leave. Her immediate boss treated her like a five-year-old and used tactics that a grade-school teacher in the past century might resort to. "On Sunday night he wrote in the log book that everything went well and nobody was harmed by fumes, just to ridicule Nancy," says Jorge. "He was definitely out to get her. He started telling people that he had 'a firing list and Nancy is on top.' As soon as Nancy told them she was pregnant, they were jerks to her."

"So we told the manager if this keeps up we would find a way to resolve the problem. Nancy wrote them a letter saying she was being discriminated against but they didn't do anything about it. Then she wrote an official letter to the main manager and he had to show it to the district manager. We don't know what happened behind the scenes but they sure changed their tune within a few days of receiving the letter." Nancy will soon be taking maternity leave and has been promised her job when she returns.

Tiffany was a certified trainer for El Torrito's and had worked there for just over a year when a new manager came on board. "As soon as the new manager found out I was pregnant, she became very nasty to me," says Tiffany," and fired me two weeks later."

The excuse the new manager used to get rid of Tiffany was an altercation that occurred between Tiffany and Odie, another server. "Odie started yelling at me so I told him to stop acting like an asshole," says Tiffany. Three co-workers witnessed the argument and heard everything Tiffany said. "I continued working in my section then when I got an order, I overheard Odie tell another manager that I called him a 'faggot'. I never said that.

Two supervisors told me just to ignore him and I worked for the next few days; I just brushed it off. I took Sunday off and I was scheduled to work Monday, but the new manager phoned and told me I was under investigation because I called Odie a 'faggot'. I told her my side of the story and that I had witnesses. That word has never come out of my mouth; I have many gay friends and I would never use this derogatory term.

So I decided to be sneaky. I called the hostess and asked if Odie was working. He was. A few days went by and I called work and asked what was going on. Nothing. Then I phoned corporate office. But Odie had also called corporate office and told his side of the story. They didn't believe me.

On Wednesday the manager told me to come in and bring my uniform. 'I am sorry, we have to let you go, here is your last pay check in cash,' she said. I started crying--I have never been fired from a job in my life. I couldn't believe it. My co-workers, the witnesses, are willing to vouch for me, but they were never asked to come forward, they were never questioned.

Right after I was fired, one of the witnesses told them she was pregnant??"she was fired as well.

I am petite and I was showing at almost five months. There was no way I could find another job. I applied to several places but who is going to hire a pregnant woman? I was on unemployment for about three months and after it ran out they wanted me to get on disability. My husband has a good job so I didn't apply.

I should have been given six weeks maternity leave from El Torrito's. I can't think of any reason to be fired other than the fact that they didn't want me to take time off. You would think they would have investigated. Instead they lied and didn't conduct any investigation. I went to the labor board and they said that since I worked for an at-will employer, I could be fired at any time. But I was wrongfully discriminated against so I believe I have a case??"my employer violated the California labor law."

Generally, if the plaintiff can establish she was discriminated against for being pregnant, the settlement value of the case is there. Who is going to say no to a pregnant woman? A pregnant woman should have a lot of leniency.

However, if you are pregnant and employed by a small business, you need to be careful regarding how you request limitations. Too often, when a pregnant woman begins to show, she is either terminated when she announces her limitations as prescribed by her doctor or expressed by her (as in Nancy's case when she didn't want to be around toxic fumes).

Larger companies have large HR departments and attorneys, and generally they are more sophisticated about pregnancies.

The California Fair Employment and Housing Act states that:

It explicitly prohibits employers from harassing, demoting, terminating, or otherwise discriminating against any employee for becoming pregnant, or for requesting or taking pregnancy leave. The Act applies to all employers that regularly employed five or more full-time employees in the preceding year.

The California Pregnancy Disability Leave Law ("PDLL") is part of the California Fair Employment and Housing Act, and requires employers who employ 5 or more employees to provide employees who are disabled by their pregnancy a reasonable period of leave, not to exceed four months. An employee who is disabled by her pregnancy and entitled to PDLL leave may take the leave all at once, or in increments. An employer is not required to pay wages to an employee taking PDLL leave, unless it has a policy of continuing the payment of wages for other types of temporary disability leaves.

However, the employer may require the pregnant employee to use, or the employee may elect to use, any accrued sick leave during the period of leave. For most purposes, employees who are on pregnancy disability leave must be treated the same as employees on other types of disability leave in terms of pay, benefits and other terms and conditions of employment. There is no length of service requirement, so even recently hired employees are eligible for this leave.

In addition, in California, once the employee has given birth she may be entitled to an additional 12-weeks of leave "for the reason of the birth of a child" under the California Family Rights Act ("CFRA"), which is California's version of the FMLA. Entitlement to CFRA leave for birth of a child depends on, 1) whether the employer employs more than 50 employees within a seventy five mile radius; and 2) Whether the employee worked more than 1250 hours in the 12 months preceding the first day of the requested CFRA leave or any pregnancy disability leave; and 3) Whether the employee has more than one year of service with the employer.

If you have been discriminated against on the basis of pregnancy, you may be entitled to recover damages for emotional distress, lost wages, and more.

Worker Denied Tips Contrary to California Labor Law

San Diego, CA: All the service staff at the restaurant where Tuyen worked pooled their tips in the 'tip box' and the money was divided equally amongst all employees, including the hostesses and busboys, and the manager, at the end of the week. But when Tuyen gave her notice and asked for her share, her employer denied her any tip money??"two violations against the California labor law.

"My employer said the tips belong to the restaurant and they can split them however they please," says Tuyen, "even though when I was hired I was told that the tips would be spilt between all employees based on the numbers of hours they work and not the managers." Tuyen was fired after she gave notice (not surprisingly) and one of her co-workers said the tips were split equally amongst the rest of the staff a few days later. And Tuyen's tips were split equally too.

"After I kindly tried to explain to my employer that he didn't have the right to do that he was very rude to me and acted as if he and the restaurant are above the law," she says.

It would likely benefit Tuyen's employer to acquaint himself with the California labor law because it isn't just about protecting employee's wages and preventing discrimination, etc. One law protects employees who earn tips during their employment.

A customer tips an employee as a thank you for services given or goods sold. Tip pooling is common, particularly in restaurants and is usually at the request of the employer. All employees are required to combine all their tips and split the money among their co-workers. Under California law, tip pools are allowed when the tips are shared with employees who provide direct services that result in a tip. In a restaurant this would include hosts, servers, busboys and anyone else who provides direct table service. Chefs are only included in tip pooling in restaurants where the chef prepares the meals at the customer's table.

Tuyen is right when she told her employer that tips belong to the employees and not the restaurant. In fact, supervisors cannot share in tip pools because tips can only be shared with workers who do not perform any managerial duties such as hiring and firing or supervising the direct actions of their co-workers. And employers cannot deduct money from wages because of earned tips, nor can tips be used to compensate business owners.

Any tips that are made on a credit card must be paid to the employee by the next regular payday that follows the date the credit card payment was authorized. Employers must give their employees the full amount of a tip given on a credit card and may not deduct any credit card processing fees from the tip.

Tips are currently not considered part of a regular pay rate in California. In this way, California law differs from federal law in how tips are viewed. Under California law, "an employer cannot use an employee's tips as a credit towards its obligation to pay the minimum wage." Therefore, tips that are collected are over and above the required minimum wage pay.

Workers whose employers violate California labor law can file a lawsuit against their employers. In March 2008 Starbucks baristas did just that and a US Superior Court judge ordered Starbucks to pay its baristas more than $100 million in back tips that were paid out to their shift supervisors, saying that the practice of sharing tips with managers and supervisors was a violation of the state law.

The lawsuit was filed in October 2004 by a former Starbucks barista in La Jolla, California who complained that shift supervisors were sharing employee tips. In 2006, about 100,000 former and current baristas in the giant coffee chain's California stores joined the lawsuit that was granted class action status. Why did Starbucks think it was above the California labor law? Tuyen's employer might learn a lesson from the Starbucks lawsuit and settle sooner than later.

California Labor Law: Heat Stress Regulation Designed to Prevent Death

Santa Clara, CA Although many employees consider labor law violations stressful, they do not consider that some violations put people's lives at risk. However, a lawsuit filed recently in California argues that a company's failure to obey the law cost a young, pregnant woman her life. California has enacted a heat stress regulation designed to prevent exactly this situation.

The wrongful death lawsuit was filed by the family of the 17 year old girl who died in May. According to KSEE News, the victim had worked in a vineyard for more than nine hours that day and did not have access to shade or sufficient water breaks. A lack of access to sufficient water breaks and to shade violates California labor law.

The company that the victim worked for was shut down by officials after they learned that company continued violating heat stress prevention rules following the victim's death. The same company was fined in 2006 because of a failure to have a written heat stress prevention plan.

California adopted a heat stress regulation, the first state to do so, after 13 people died heat-related deaths in 2005. Under the regulation, employers are required to:

• Develop and implement written procedures on heat illness prevention;
  
• Provide heat illness training to all employees;
  
• Make readily available and encourage each employee to drink four eight-ounce cups of fresh water per hour; and
  
• Provide immediate access to shade or any cool area out of the sun for recovery periods for at least five minutes at a time.

Judges are taking California's heat stress regulation very seriously. Recently, a judge issued a temporary injunction against a labor contractor for failure to comply with heat stress laws. The company faces a lawsuit by farm workers who said they were not provided with proper water breaks or with shade while working in hot weather. The lawsuit seeks more than $25,000 in lost wages and benefits, as well as physical suffering and anguish.

Hot weather can be deadly to work in. That is why California has enacted the heat stress regulation. Many people endure desert-like heat while working outside in the summer in California, and they are at risk of serious illness and death. Unfortunately, some labor contractors are more interested in saving money than in keeping their workers safe and healthy.

Maybe they simply do not believe that workers' lives are at risk in the hot sun. Maybe they do not believe that they will be caught violating the regulation. Either way, when proper shade and water are not provided for outdoor workers, the workers are the ones who suffer.

If you or someone you love has been a victim of violations of California's heat stress regulation, or any other California labor violation, you may be eligible to file a lawsuit. Contact a lawyer to discuss your options.

Overtime in California: Employees Expected to Work During Vacations

San Diego, CA Troy D (not his real name) has been working for a wireless internet service provider for a few years and says that the company has a habit of failing to pay employees for overtime work. Many angry employees are investigating lawsuits against their employers, alleging that they, too, are not being paid properly for overtime work.

"I started with the company in 2003 and have been with them for about five years," Troy says. "I was hired on as a broadband engineer. I did the normal routine, worked hard and was a team player. The company was pretty successful and paid overtime back then. Then, management changed. After that, it went downhill. The company emailed us that it wanted the installation department to do comp time [where time off is provided in lieu of overtime pay].

"We started acquiring comp hours and tried to use them, but the company told us it was poor timing for us to use our comp hours," Troy says. "But, they wouldn't give us overtime pay unless there was an extraordinary situation. We had no contract regarding comp time and the company had no rules for using comp time. We all have a lot of accrued comp hours that we can't use."

As if not being paid for overtime was not enough of a problem, the company also expects employees to be on call 24 hours a day, without compensation. "If you do not answer a phone call on the weekend you are reprimanded verbally," Troy says. "They accuse you of not supporting the company and they give a lot of guilt.

"Overtime work depends on each situation and scenario??"technology is in a flux. Sometimes, you only work eight hours a day for months at a time, other times something happens and you're scrambling and constantly working. I took some of my vacation time last week and was called to work four times. It was easier to call me in from vacation than have someone from a different region take care of our towers.

"It is a typical mentality of this company. The do not care about their workers on the front lines and employees are taking the brunt of it. We are often told that if we don't like it, we should find another job."

Making the situation even worse, Troy's company says it has not been accurately calculating vacation time and is not allowing employees to use their sick time. "I had four weeks of vacation accrued and when I went to use it, the company informed me not to read the vacation time listed on my pay stub because those hours are inaccurate. They also have nothing actually documented to tell us what is accrued for comp time."

Troy says he is actively looking for another job, tired of dealing with employers who will not properly compensate employees for the hours worked. Unfortunately, this is a situation that occurs all too frequently in California??"employees are expected to work overtime without proper compensation.

If you worked overtime hours without proper pay, contact a lawyer to discuss your legal options.

California Labor Law: Contractors Who Don't Play By the Rules

Los Angeles, CA So you're a construction worker in California. And you've been following the news reports about the construction crane accidents in Manhattan, and even though you're not working on, or anywhere near a crane you wonder if everything is on the up-and-up with your employer. Well you have California Labor Law on your side.

You would be happy to know that there are various California labor laws and statutes that protect you from an abusive employer. You should also be happy to know that the Labor Standards Enforcement arm of the Labor Commissioner's Office keeps a close eye on things.

Witness a recent sweep involving 120 companies in all five counties over two days last month. Officials conducted random inspections May 14 and 15, and at the end of the two-day blitz issued 54 citations and levied more than $279,500 in fines against construction firms in Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino and San Diego counties.

One of those companies may be an employer you work for, or may have at one time. You'll want to pay attention here, to what some of those citations were, given the realization that construction is an exact science requiring skill and expertise. It is also, at times, extremely dangerous. Workers have been injured, and killed.

So what were the citations?

Failure to provide itemized deduction statements to employees: This is an assault on your wallet. Without itemized deduction statements, you have no idea what items are deducted from your pay, and what they represent. What's to prevent an unscrupulous contractor from telling you one figure, paying out another and pocketing the rest?

Failure to provide workers' compensation insurance: The contractor might be saving himself some hassles, and some money, but what does this mean to you? What if you were injured on the job? There are all kinds of site risks and hazards inherent with the work, even with low-rise construction projects. You could step on a nail, or get beaned in the head. You could twist your back. Little did you know that your employer, the seemingly nice fellow who brings the coffee in the morning, has not bothered to provide workers' compensation insurance.

Failure to obtain a California contractor's license: This is a no-brainer. If you're a contractor, you must be licensed. Period. Sure, there is a cost for this??"but just imagine the potential costs, and the fallout that's possible without one? If a contractor isn't licensed, what impact does that have on the job at hand? The site? The ability to collect compensation, if you are injured on the job while working with, or for an unlicensed contractor?

"The construction industry, like all others in California, must purchase workers' compensation insurance and properly pay their employees," says California Labor Commissioner Angela Bradstreet. "Contractors are also required to be licensed, and those who operate outside the law have an unfair advantage over their competitors. It's our job to protect workers and level the playing field for those in the construction industry who do follow the law."

You don't have to have a construction crane fall on top of you at a major construction site, to be injured on the job. There is a myriad of hazards at every site??"and you need to protect yourself from an unscrupulous contractor who fails to play by the rules.

Especially if your life, and livelihood could be at stake.