Category: employment law

I’m sorry to hear about your health issues. What steps your company has to take to accommodate you depend on the company and several factors related to the company.

The first thing to know is that under both federal and state law, companies are not allowed to discriminate against you because of your disability. Disability discrimination means treating an employee in a negative way in any aspect of employment because of his or her disability. This could mean in hiring or firing, pay, benefits, promotions or demotions, or job assignments. In addition, harassment in the workplace because of a disability is also illegal.

The law also requires employers to make reasonable accommodations for employees or job applicants with a disability. A reasonable accommodation means any change in the job description or employment conditions to help a person with a disability. Some examples of reasonable accommodations include asking an employer to make some small modifications in the job duties to assist an employee who is hard of hearing, or purchasing a special desk for someone with a disability. However, if the reasonable accommodation would cause an undue hardship to the employer, the employer does not have to provide the accommodation. Undue hardships are considered too expensive or difficult to the employer.

In your case, asking your employer to remodel the building to include an elevator would probably not be considered a reasonable accommodation that the employer would have to provide. However, if you have a job that you could do from home, or if the employer could easily transfer you to another location without the elevator issue, the employer may be legally required to do that.

If you believe you have been discriminated against in your employment situation, you should speak with an employment law attorney. If you’re in the Los Angeles area, call me, Conal Doyle, Los Angeles employment law attorney at 310-385-0567. I will provide you with a free consultation on your situation.

It’s not uncommon for people who have been laid off or fired to believe that their employer acted illegally. They may believe that they were a good employee and the employer must have a good reason to fire him or her. However, that is not correct. In California, employers can fire employees for any reason or no reason at all, unless the reason was illegal. California is called an “at-will” state.

Although California’s laws are friendly to employers, employees do have some legal rights. An employer cannot fire an employee if the termination is based on illegal discrimination – such as firing someone for being gay, pregnant, too old, a certain race or religion, or for being disabled. An employer also cannot fire an employee to get revenge on the employee for reporting some illegal action the employer was taking. There are also some employees that may have extra protections. For example, union members and government employees may have additional rights and protections that are not available to employees in other industries. Employers also cannot fire employees who refuse to break the law.

As an employee, if you have been wrongfully terminated, you employer may have also taken other illegal actions. You may not have been paid all of the wages to which you were entitled, such as overtime or minimum wage. Your employer may have refused to pay you your accrued vacation leave. Also, it’s likely that your employer will ask you to sign a severance agreement. Most severance agreements require employees to sign their claims away against the employer in exchange for severance pay or benefits. Although it can be tempting to sign that in order to be able to make ends meet, you should contact an employment attorney who can advise you of your rights.

If you have been fired and you believe it was illegal, call me, Conal Doyle, Los Angeles employment attorney at 310-385-0567.  I can help. Call today to learn more or to schedule your free consultation.

Legally, yes, you can sue a company that fails to hire you because you are pregnant. Under both state and federal law, employers must not discriminate against women because they are pregnant. That includes failing to hire them because of a pregnancy.

However, practically speaking, it can be difficult to win a case of pregnancy discrimination if you were not hired by a company. Although it is illegal to refuse to hire a woman because she is pregnant, most companies will manufacture other reasons why a woman was not hired, other than pregnancy, and it can be hard to disprove those excuses. The company may say she did not interview well, was not a good fit for the company, more qualified applicants were available, and similar excuses. If the company is a large company that routinely interviews pregnant women and refuses to hire them, and the company’s pattern can be proven, it can be easier to prove your case.

Other illegal situations involving pregnant women can be easier to prove. If an employer fires employees for becoming pregnant, that is illegal and the women can sue. Companies also cannot refuse to hire women of a certain age for fear they may become pregnant. Employers must also allow reasonable time off for doctors’ appointments. Also, employers have to offer maternity leave to their employees under certain circumstances, although it does not have to be paid maternity leave.

If you are pregnant and you believe your employer has violated your legal rights, you should speak with an attorney. If you’re in the Los Angeles area, call me, Conal Doyle, Los Angeles employment law attorney at 310-385-0567. I will provide you with a free consultation on your case. Call to learn more.

Legally speaking, “ethnicity” refers to ethnic traits, ethnic backgrounds, or associations. Ethnicity typically means a certain group of people that have racial and religious traits in common, as well as a common language. Many Americans have negative feelings about members of some ethnic groups based on stereotypes or prejudices. If a person discriminates against another person based on ethnicity in the workplace, that person has violated both state law and federal law.

Under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, discrimination on the basis of religion, national origin, or race is illegal, which typically includes ethnicity. Ethnicity discrimination is also illegal under state law. California’s Fair Employment and Housing Act prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, and more.

If you have been discriminated against in the workplace in Los Angeles because of your ethnicity, you may be able to file a federal or state lawsuit, or a federal or state claim. It can be difficult, however, to know if you have been discriminated against on the basis of ethnicity. Generally, if a person’s compensation, benefits, work assignments, or training are negatively affected by his or her ethnicity, that is considered illegal discrimination. Also, if a company refuses to hire, fires, or refuses to promote an individual because of ethnicity, that is also illegal.

Discrimination based on ethnicity can be difficult to prove, but not impossible. If you believe you have been discriminated against because of your ethnicity, call me, Conal Doyle, Los Angeles ethnicity discrimination attorney at 310-385-0567. I can help. Call today to learn more or to schedule a free consultation.

No, what you are describing is not legal, and is called workplace retaliation. Legally speaking, workplace retaliation occurs if an employer punishes an employee for engaging in a legally protected activity. Reporting your boss for violating safety codes is a legally protected activity in which you have the right to engage.

Retaliation includes not only being fired, but also any negative job action, such as salary or benefit cuts, job or shift changes, demotions, and disciplinary actions. Employers cannot legally retaliate against employees who report their employers’ violations of federal, state, or local laws.

It can be difficult to tell if an employer is retaliating against you. By law, to tell if retaliation has occurred in the workplace, you must look at all the surrounding circumstances of the situation. If an employer is rude to you because you spoke out, that alone is probably not considered retaliation. However, if an employer demotes you or fires you because of your complaints, that is considered retaliation. If an employer’s adverse actions would prevent a reasonable person in a situation from making a complaint, the action could be considered illegal retaliation.

If you believe that you have been the victim of workplace retaliation after making a complaint, there are some steps you should take. Talk to your supervisor or to the human resources manager – there may be another, legitimate reason for the actions taken against you. However, if there is no good explanation and you believe that you were retaliated against, you should speak to an attorney. If you are in the Los Angeles area, call me, Conal Doyle, Los Angeles employment law attorney at 310-385-0567. Call today to learn more or to schedule a free consultation.

Cruel or difficult bosses can make an employee’s life miserable. Bad bosses may yell, threaten, or scare employees instead of taking positive actions that keep them motivated. Other bosses may not be so overt in their actions. They may act in a less-obvious way, but can be just as terrible to work with.

Bad bosses can take a toll on both the mental and physical health of their employees. Employees can dread going into work. Time off work may be spent thinking about work. Bad bosses can cause ulcers, heart problems, headaches, other stress-related symptoms, and more. Employees may feel trapped – they may worry if they leave, they will hurt their career and may be unable to pay their bills.

Legal help is available if you are the victim of a bullying boss in Los Angeles. No one has to tolerate abusive behavior in the workplace, even if it does come from a supervisor. There may be a number of potential claims that you may have, including intentional infliction of emotional distress, defamation, and possibly even discrimination or harassment claims, depending on the type of abuse involved.

If you have a boss who is an abusive bully, you need to take detailed notes on what occurs. Document what the boss says and does and whom is around when it happens. You should document your discussions with co-workers or others about the treatment. It’s also important to determine why the harassment is occurring. If it happens because of your sex, race, religion, disability, age, sexual orientation, religion, or a similar reason, you may have a case for harassment or discrimination.

Unfortunately, it is often difficult to bring a legal case against a boss simply for being a jerk. However, if the conduct is extreme, the actions are taken intentionally, and the conduct caused severe emotional distress, you may have a good cause of action against the company. If the bullying occurred because of race, religion, sexual orientation, sex, age, etc., you may have a good case for discrimination under both federal and state law.

Call me, Conal Doyle, Los Angeles employment attorney, if you believe that your boss’s conduct is extreme and rises to the level of abuse. I can be reached at 310-385-0567. Call today to learn more or to schedule your free consultation.

Yes, you may be able to sue if you were fired for being pregnant. Under both state and federal law, pregnant women are protected from discrimination in the workplace, as well as harassment. An employer cannot harass a female employee because she is pregnant.

An employer also may not refuse to hire, demote, fire, or fail to accommodate a female employee because she is pregnant. Some examples of discrimination include refusing to hire women of a certain age for fear they may become pregnant, firing a woman who is pregnant, or refusing to allow women time off work for doctor’s appointments.

In addition, federal and state laws also require employers to offer women maternity leave. Generally, the maternity leave can be unpaid, although workers may choose to use unpaid sick leave and paid time off during maternity leave. Most employers are required to allow women to have 12 weeks of leave following the birth of a child or the placement of a foster child. During that time, employers also have to continue any employment benefits, such as health insurance, although employees must pay the premiums. After maternity leave is over, the employer must restore the employee to the original job or to an equivalent job.

If you have been discriminated against or harassed in Los Angeles at work because of your pregnancy, you should speak with an attorney. Time limits do apply in which to make a claim. Call me, Conal Doyle, 310-385-0567. Call today to learn more or to schedule a free consultation on your case.

Unfortunately, many gays and lesbians have suffered discrimination, as well as harassment, in the workplace because of their sexual orientation. Sexual orientation discrimination was much more prevalent in years past than today, but it does still occur in the workplace.

Under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, discrimination based on certain characteristics is illegal, including sex, race, religion, and more. Title VII does not forbid discrimination based on sexual orientation. However, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has ruled that job discrimination against gays and lesbians could be considered discrimination based on sex and is therefore illegal. In addition, California has a state law that forbids workplace discrimination based on sexual orientation.

Sexual orientation discrimination occurs when someone is treated differently in the workplace because of his or her sexual orientation or perceived sexual orientation, whether heterosexual or homosexual. An employee may also have a claim if he or she were harassed at work because of sexual orientation. Some examples of conduct that could be considered as illegal sexual orientation discrimination include being fired because of actual or perceived sexual orientation, not being hired or not receiving a promotion because of sexual orientation, being asked not to bring your partner to a company event, or being kept away from customers because of your sexual orientation.

If you have been the victim of sexual orientation discrimination in the workplace, or if you have been harassed in the workplace because of your sexual orientation, you should speak with an attorney. If you are in the Los Angeles area, call Conal Doyle, Los Angeles employment discrimination attorney at 310-385-0567. He can help. Call today to learn more or to schedule a free consultation on your case.

As an employee, you have certain legal rights in the workplace. You have the right not to be harassed or discriminated against at work because of your age, race, sex, religion, national origin, disability, and other factors. You also have the right to a minimum wage and overtime pay if you work over a certain number of hours. You are entitled to be paid for all hours worked. You may be entitled to certain benefits of employment, like paid or unpaid vacation time or sick leave, or insurance benefits, depending on certain factors.

If you are ever denied those rights, you may decide to contact an attorney or file a complaint with a federal or state agency. You are entitled to take those legal actions by law. However, as you may imagine, employers normally are not happy when they are investigated by federal or state agencies, or when they are contacted by an employment law attorney.

In those situations, the employer may be tempted to retaliate. Retaliation occurs when an employer punishes an employee for engaging in a legally protected activity. The employee doesn’t have to be fired in order for retaliation to occur – the employee may have had his or her salary reduced, faced disciplinary action at work, had his or her job or shifts changed, etc. Legally, employers cannot retaliate if employees make complaints about working conditions, or if they agree to participate in workplace investigations.

It may not be easy to tell if an employer is retaliating against you. In order to determine whether or not retaliation has occurred, you must look at all of the surrounding circumstances of the situation. If the employer’s actions are having an effect on your employment, or if the employer’s actions would prevent a reasonable person in that situation from making a complaint, that could be considered illegal retaliation.

If you believe that you are the victim of workplace retaliation after making a complaint against your employer, you should first talk to your supervisor or an HR manager. There may be a legitimate reason why actions have been taken against you. If you are unable to get a good explanation, it may be time to speak to an employment law attorney. Call me, Conal Doyle, Los Angeles employment law attorney, at 310-385-0567. We can help. Call today to schedule your free consultation.

One of the biggest complaints of employees is that they are not sufficiently paid. Under federal and state laws, employers must pay their employees a minimum wage. Many cities have minimum wages as well.

The federal minimum wage in the U.S. is $7.25 per hour. In Los Angeles, however, the minimum wage is higher. On July 1, the minimum wage increased to $12 an hour for larger employers. Smaller companies will also have to pay $12 an hour, but not until January. The state of California’s minimum wage is heading up, but more gradually. Currently, it’s $10.50 per hour.

Employees cannot agree to work for less than minimum wage, although there are exceptions for salespeople, family members, apprentices, “learners” who have no experience, and employees who are mentally or physically disabled.
Unfortunately, many employers simply ignore minimum wage laws. Those employers may pay their employees cash, and often do not withhold any taxes or offer any benefits. Employees in those jobs are normally blue-collar employees, and may not speak English well or be in the country legally. They may choose to keep quiet in order to keep their jobs.

If an employer fails to pay minimum wage to an employee, the employee can file a lawsuit in court against the employer, or can file a wage claim with the state. In addition, there are laws against retaliation, so if your employer chose to fire you for speaking up, you can seek additional damages as well.

If you have not been paid minimum wage in Los Angeles, call me, Conal Doyle, Los Angeles employment law attorney at 310-385-0567. I can help. Call me today to learn more or to schedule a free consultation on your case.