If you ask your California employer if you can breastfeed at work and they tell you no, you need to understand whether they are within their rights or breaking the law. Here are some things to understand: First, you need to differentiate between breastfeeding, with...
Employment Law
Can you get fired if you don’t return to work after maternity leave?
If you are planning to have a child, one of the things you may be wondering about is how long you can take for maternity leave. Your employer provides you with some paid maternity leave, but you want to stay out of work for longer than that. You’ve saved, so you want...
How your employer pushes taxes onto you with a simple form
Regardless of what you receive as your base salary or hourly wage, a significant portion of your income will go straight to the government as taxes. Most employees can count on their employers to withhold taxes from their income, but some workers aren't technically...
A company may try to hide age discrimination in hiring
Worried that a company won’t hire you because of your age? If they discriminated against you and you’re over 40, that’s illegal. You aren’t guaranteed to get the job, of course, but you cannot be denied on account of your age alone. Companies know this. There are very...
Can you be kept on-call during your rest break?
Workers in California generally work extremely hard for their employers. As a result, employers are expected to offer adequate rest times and meal breaks. In fact, the law in California requires employees to be given a 10-minute paid break for each hour they work....
Conditions for severance pay in California
There are two approaches to negotiating a severance package: You can do it before accepting a work agreement and upon leaving a job. Most people are aware that severance packages can be negotiated before accepting a job, but many are surprised to hear that there is an...
Can an out-of-state employer enforce a non-compete agreement in California?
California is home to numerous nationally-renowned businesses and small companies, but many out-of-state businesses also have branches or franchises in California. Those who work for a company started or run out of another state could face complications when it comes...
Can your employer require English in the workplace?
If English is your second language, it may be difficult to complete your workday with only English terminology and speech. People who speak two languages don’t always have a full vocabulary in both, and that’s okay. In most workplaces, it is reasonable to speak both...
Why you probably should counter the initial severance package offer
The more skilled and educated you are, the more traumatic a sudden job loss can be. That’s true whether the company terminates just you or engages in large-scale layoffs and terminations due to restructuring. You will have to immediately adjust your daily life and...
You caught your California employer doing something illegal. Now what?
You were already suspicious that your employer was committing some kind of fraud. Now, you’re sure of it -- and you’re ready to blow the whistle. Before you take another step, however, there are three things you need to know: Whistleblower rights are not universal....







