A 7-11 convenience store in Concord, California will pay ten employees $42,350 in back pay and other restitution after it was found to have violated the Fair Labor Standards Act’s (FLSA) overtime requirements. An investigation conducted by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division (WHD) found the infractions. The company that owns the 7-11 franchise, Sanjha Enterprises Inc, did not pay employees their due time and a half wages for overtime hours worked. Instead, the employees were paid their regular per hour rate in cash for the hours worked beyond a typical 40-hour week, as dicta ..read more

California’s AB5, which went into effect on January 1, 2020, redefines the differences between employees and independent contractors. Worker classification has become a significant issue in the last decade, as the rise of the gig economy created a unique type of employment. The new employment law applies across industries but is especially important to businesses like app-based rideshare and food delivery services.      Independent contractors are not subject to minimum wage, overtime, meal and rest breaks, and other benefits typically enjoyed by full-time employees, which lead ..read more

In a lawsuit filed by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC,) Medford, Oregon restaurant New China has been accused of violating federal anti-retaliation and discrimination laws. The lawsuit alleges that they failed to address ongoing sexual harassment and fired young employees who made complaints. A manager at New China, who is in his 50’s, was a known sexual harasser, targeting the young, 15- to 20-year-old female employees who worked during the night shifts he supervised. He is accused of making inappropriate comments to the girls and touching, which ran the gamut from unwanted ..read more

Yes. California has relaxed qualification guidelines so that more people who are out of work can benefit, including independent contractors, business owners and the self-employed. The Pandemic Unemployment Assistance program started taking applications at the end of April and will provide payments for these individuals. One of the biggest reasons unscrupulous employers try to misclassify workers as independent contractors is so they can pay out less in taxes and benefits. Because of this, independent contractors are not covered by the same workplace protections that employees are, including u ..read more

With so many Californians out of work due to the COVID-19 pandemic, unemployment claims are surging. More than a million applications for unemployment benefits have been filed in California since March 13, 2020. Workers who have been laid off or had their hours reduced because of the coronavirus may be eligible to apply for expanded unemployment benefits. California has relaxed qualification guidelines so that more people who are out of work can benefit. In addition, the federal Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, enacted on March 27, provides extra unemployment funds ..read more

Albertson’s will pay $210,000 to settle an Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) discrimination lawsuit brought upon the grocery store chain after a store manager allegedly harassed employees for speaking Spanish while at work. According to the suit, employees at the La Mesa Albertson’s location on Lake Murray Boulevard had a policy against speaking Spanish and Hispanic employees were specifically targeted and harassed about the rule. Employees were required to speak English at all times on the premises, even when they were on break or while interacting with Spanish-speaking customer ..read more

Several California McDonald’s restaurants in Los Angeles, Monterey Park and San Jose have been accused of dangerous working conditions and COVID-19-related safety violations by workers in complaints filed with the California Labor & Workforce Development Agency and CAL/OSHA in May. The workers also allege that complaints about the safety issues were mishandled or ignored by management. Bartolome Perez, a worker at the Los Angeles McDonald’s located on Crenshaw Boulevard, alleges that management failed to notify staff members that a coworker was positive for COVID-19 and allowed them to wo ..read more

Two new ordinances concerning employee right-of-rehire and worker retention went into effect on June 14, 2020 in Los Angeles. These protections are important for workers in certain industries who were laid off due to shutdowns and cutbacks caused by the COVID-19 pandemic as many employers reopen and begin to resume more regular operations. Both ordinances apply specifically to airport, commercial property, event center, and hotel employers. Furthermore, only janitorial, maintenance, and security service employees at commercial properties are covered by the ordinances. Right of Recall Ordinanc ..read more

A former attorney for the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Southern California has accused the nonprofit organization of racial discrimination and wrongful termination in a new lawsuit filed in Los Angeles in June. The black woman was fired from her position as a staff attorney at the ACLU in February 2020 after she spoke out about the racial discrimination and unfair treatment she experienced while working for the nonprofit organization. Attorney Sarah O. Clifton claims that after she was hired by the ACLU in September 2018 her supervisor appeared to exhibit an irrational fear of her ..read more

A message to our valued clients, business associates, supporters and friends: At Strong Advocates, the health, safety and overall well being of our clients, business associates and the Los Angeles community as a whole is of utmost importance.  Given the increasing concern surrounding the recent pandemic of COVID-19, otherwise known as the novel Coronavirus, these are uncertain times. At Strong Advocates, we wanted to take a moment to provide you with an update as to what we are doing to help stop the spread of the COVID-19 virus and how we’re continuing to serve our clients. We understand our ..read more