El Segundo Employment Law Blog

Common forms of workplace discrimination

On behalf of Barrera & Associates, Attorneys posted in workplace discrimination on Friday, July 12, 2019.

Going to work should not cause you to be anxious, fearful or depressed. But, for some, it can be due to the way the employer handles issues at the workplace. Every employee in the country is protected from discrimination because of various laws that are in place. However, not all employers like to follow those laws. Today, we will discuss some common forms of workplace discrimination.

The most common form of workplace discrimination is that of retaliation, with this happening more than 48 percent of the time. The next closest on the scale is discrimination based on race, which occurs at just under 34 percent of the time.

Highest court unanimously sides with older workers

On behalf of Barrera & Associates, Attorneys on Sunday, July 7, 2019.

The Supreme Court recently sided with two fire fighters who were laid off from a small mountaintop fire department. When they lost their jobs, they were the district’s oldest employees. The nation’s highest court agreed with them and their attorneys, declaring that federal law bars even that small department from discriminating against the firemen based on their ages.

Ways emails can be viewed as sexual harassment at work

On behalf of Barrera & Associates, Attorneys posted in workplace sexual harassment on Friday, June 28, 2019.

When you arrive at work each day in El Segundo, you aren't thinking that you will be the victim of sexual harassment. It's usually not at the front of our minds, but it is something that you should think about every so often. Even though there are laws in place to prevent sexual harassment in the workplace, it still happens today. Some harassment even occurs in the form of an email.

Email is the backbone of almost every single business across the country these days and California is definitely not exempt, especially with Silicon Valley. As important as email can be to running a company, it can also be its downfall. Millions of emails are sent each day for one reason or another. Many of them are inappropriate or contain inappropriate content.

Signs of retaliation in the workplace

On behalf of Barrera & Associates, Attorneys posted in employer retaliation and wrongful termination on Friday, June 14, 2019.

Employees across California and the rest of the country are protected from employer retaliation. This means that you are able to file a complaint against someone in your office with human resources or against your employer with a federal agency and not have to worry about retaliation. The sad fact of the matter is that employers still retaliate against their employees today. Here are some signs of retaliation to be on the lookout for if you file a complaint.

Have you been reassigned? If you are reassigned to a different shift or even a different job or department, you are likely the victim of retaliation if this came after filing a complaint or blowing the whistle. Being demoted, so that your pay is lower, is also retaliation.

Federal employment laws that protect employees

On behalf of Barrera & Associates, Attorneys posted in employment law on Friday, May 31, 2019.

The federal government has many laws in place that protect employees while on the job in California and the rest of the country. It's important for you to learn these laws, the protections they offer and how you can exercise your rights when an incident or violation occurs. Let's take a brief look at eight important federal employment laws in today's post.

The minimum wage law requires employers to pay employees at least $7.25 per hour since 2009. The law also limits the number of hours workers under 16 can work in a week if they are classified as non-agricultural workers.

What laws protect injured workers?

On behalf of Barrera & Associates, Attorneys on Friday, May 24, 2019.

Federal and state laws protect workers who require medical care and treatments. Simply put, employers must allow injured or ill employees to seek and receive medical treatment and cannot terminate them for doing so. However, a worker must be able to fulfill the basic work requirements and meet company performance standards.

A variety of state and federal laws protect workers, so they can receive the proper medical care. These laws include the California’s Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA), Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) and the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).

Explaining whistleblowing as it pertains to the workplace

On behalf of Barrera & Associates, Attorneys posted in workplace discrimination on Friday, May 17, 2019.

Being labeled a whistleblower is not necessarily a bad thing. It is also not necessarily a good thing. Why? If you are considered a whistleblower in an employment setting you could wind up being the victim of workplace discrimination if your employer retaliates against you. Let's take a look at whistleblowing and what it means for the workplace.

When you decide to become a whistleblower it's because you are informing the public or the authorities about wrongdoing that is happening at your place of employment. Some of the most common activities that are brought to the public eye include bullying, harassment, violations of the health and safety codes, unethical practices, fraud, embezzlement, discrimination, cover-ups and more.

How employers can track your hours worked

On behalf of Barrera & Associates, Attorneys posted in wage and hour claims on Friday, May 3, 2019.

Tracking hours worked is a task that many employees wind up having to do when it should be the employer who handles it. Why? Employers are required to track the hours worked by their employees, so they make the appropriate payments, including overtime payments to employees who are eligible. Let's take a look at how employers can track your hours.

Employers should be the ones tracking employee hours. Even though the employee might be required to clock in and out using a time clock application or another piece of software, all of the tracking on the back-end should be done by the employer. The employee should only have to worry about clocking in and out and nothing else.

Be on the lookout for these signs of workplace sexual harassment

On behalf of Barrera & Associates, Attorneys posted in workplace sexual harassment on Friday, April 19, 2019.

When you go to work in the morning you don't expect to be the victim of sexual harassment. The sad fact, however, is that even with laws and procedures in place to protect employees, it still happens.

Sometimes, people don't even realize that what they're experiencing is sexual harassment. You need to be on the lookout for the following workplace sexual harassment signs in order to protect yourself and your co-workers.