Monthly Archives: November 2012

by Administrator | November 30, 2012 · 10:04 pm

New Pregnancy Regulations on California’s Fair Employment & Housing Website

The Fair Employment & Housing Commission’s new pregnancy regulations have been approved. The regulations become effective on December 30, 2012. Read the regulations here. The California Employment Lawyers Association issued a press release detailing the regulations. It also posted this blurb on its Facebook page:

Specifically, these regulations:
* clarify that employers must provide reasonable accommodations to pregnant women;
* explain that employers must continue health benefits during pregnancy leave;

* clarify that it is unlawful for an employer to require a pregnant woman to take a leave of absence when she has not requested leave;
* explain that employers must provide lactation accommodations to nursing mothers;
* list examples of conditions that entitle a woman to take up to four months of job-protected pregnancy disability leave, including gestational diabetes, loss or end of pregnancy, and post-partum depression; and
* describe an employer’s obligation to grant extended leave beyond 4 months if an employee has a qualifying disability under the FEHA.

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Branigan Robertson is a California employment lawyer who exclusively represents employees in workplace disputes. He focuses his practice on sexual harassment, wage & hour, wrongful termination, and retaliation. Visit his website at BRobertsonLaw.com or call his office at 949.667.3025.

Quick Overview of the Employment Litigation Process

Employment litigation consists of four basic stages: (1) information gathering & demand, (2) pleading, (3) discovery and motions, and (4) trial and post-trial proceedings. This summary is a gross simplification of all four stages, but it should provide you with some context as to where your case may be going. Moreover, each case varies, and your lawyer will tell you how he or she thinks each stage should be approached. However, this section gives you a brief overview of the four stages and a sample path for a typical employment case.

If you are initiating the lawsuit you are the plaintiff. The person being sued is the defendant.

Information Gathering & Demand

Prior to the filing of any lawsuit, you and your attorney will spend time gathering information and obtaining the facts necessary to support your client’s case. This is the first stage of litigation. Sometimes the defendant is aware that a lawsuit may be filed against him, and has begun factual investigation as well.

This can be a long and cumbersome process as factual gathering is much harder than most people think. Your lawyer will be gathering specific facts to fit within elements of laws. This can sometimes be frustrating for non-lawyers. Be patient, your lawyer is trying to do a thorough job.

If your lawyer thinks it is appropriate he or she may decide to send a “demand letter” to the employer-defendant. This letter demands a settlement in exchange for not filing the lawsuit with the courts. Sometimes this results in a quick resolution to the case. Sometimes the defendant simply ignores this letter and your lawyer is forced to file a complaint with the court.

Continue reading →

My Boss Doesn’t Let Me Take A Rest!

If your boss does not let you take a rest break, or forces you to work during your rest breaks, what can you do? What is owed to you? According to California Labor Code Section 226.7:

(a) No employer shall require any employee to work during any meal or rest period mandated by an applicable order of the Industrial Welfare Commission.

(b) If an employer fails to provide an employee a meal period or rest period in accordance with an applicable order of the Industrial Welfare Commission, the employer shall pay the employee one additional hour of pay at the employee’s regular rate of compensation for each work day that the meal or rest period is not provided.

Moreover, the applicable wage order to your industry likely includes language similar or identical to this (section 12):

Every employer shall authorize and permit all employees to take rest periods, which insofar as practicable shall be in the middle of each work period. The authorized rest period time shall be based on the total hours worked daily at the rate of ten (10) minutes net rest time per four (4) hours or major fraction thereof.

If you’ve been denied rest breaks, or forced to be ‘on-call’ during your rest breaks, you might have a legal claim. If you want to know more, check out my earlier post on a recent rest break case. The case, commonly known as “Brinker,” was big news because the California Supreme Court weighed in and attempted to resolve lingering questions for wage and hour lawyers all across the state. I’ve also written an entire post exclusively on rest breaks. Check out both to learn more information.

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Filed under FLSA – Fair Labor & Standards Act, Rest Breaks, Wages and Hours

Tagged as california, employment law, rest breaks, wages & hours

by Administrator | November 3, 2012 · 9:46 am