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Recent
Verdicts & Settlements |
Employment Law
(July 2004): A teacher at a private middle school and high school, who taught
mathematics at the school for 23 years, was discharged, according to the
school, for alleged performance issues. Plaintiff brough suit alleging that
the real reason for his termination was age discrimination and brought
suit for age discrimination and breach of implied employment contract.
Result: $465,000 settlement in favor of plaintiff. (Case Number CIV432425)
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Employment Law
(July 2004): Plaintiff, female, sued her City employer for gender
discrimination, harassment and retaliation. Plaintiff had complained, some
years earlier, regarding sexual harassment she had experienced at work. After
her complaints, she was denied a promotion and that position was given to a
male. Additionally, Plaintiff claimed that she was the victim of retaliation
for her sexual harassment complaint, including harassing remarks.
Result: $175,000 settlement in favor of plaintiff. (Case Number 318756) |
Employment Law
(May 2004): Plaintiff, age 54, sued her former employer after she was terminated for absences caused by her medical conditions. Plaintiff sued for wrongful termination and disability discrimination in violation of state and federal laws.
Result: $19,014,000 verdict in favor of plaintiff. (Case Number CV015573) |
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California and Federal Laws provide many obligations in the manner employers may treat employees. Similarly, these laws provide various rights for employees who have been treated in contravention to these laws. Our experienced attorneys can help you navigate through these complicated laws and ensure that your rights are not violated. Additionally, in many employment cases we do not charge you any legal fees unless and until we win your case. In simple terms, if we do not succeed in obtaining a settlement or verdict in your favor, we do not charge you for our legal services!
If you have any questions, or to schedule a FREE consultation with one of our attorneys, call us at (800) 589-9901.
Below is a summary of the most relevant laws protecting employees.
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The California Fair Employment and Housing Act (commonly known as FEHA) prohibits an employer from discriminating against any employee because that employee is over forty (40) years old. Because there is rarely “smoking gun” evidence of age discrimination, circumstantial evidence will usually suffice.
An inference of age discrimination is usually raised by showing that the employee (a) belongs to a protected class (i.e., is over forty (40)), (b) was subjected to an adverse employment action (like termination, demotion, suspension), and (c) similarly situated employees from outside the protected class were treated differently and more favorably. In addition to raising an inference of discrimination in the manner set forth above, an employee may do so via statistical evidence, comparative evidence, or direct evidence. Direct evidence, such as discriminatory comments made by the decisionmaker, is often the most persuasive. However, in larger companies, it may be possible to use statistical analysis to demonstrate that the employer systematically discriminates against a particular race in hiring, promotions and terminations. Such evidence would raise an inference that the action taken against a particular employee of that race was also infected by racial animus or prejudice. Comparative evidence also raises an inference of discrimination by showing that different rules and standards were applied for persons of different races.
An employer is also prohibited from harassing an employee based on his protected age category.
For more information and a free consultation with one of our experienced attorneys call us at (800) 589-9901.
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In all aspects of employment, an employer must treat all employees without regards to race, color, national origin, ancestry, religion, sex, pregnancy and childbirth , sexual orientation, gender, marital status, age (40 or older), physical or mental disability, medical condition, genetic characteristics or veteran status. These state and federal laws impose the obligation on employers to treat employees equally in the hiring, terminating, promoting, disciplining, and all other aspects of employment, without regards to the employee's protected class mentioned above.
For more information and a free consultation with one of our experienced attorneys call us at (800) 589-9901.
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Disability Discrimination |
State and federal laws protect any individual with a physical or mental impairment that limits their major life activities—such as walking, seeing, hearing, speaking, communicating, and caring for themselves—provided the individual can perform the essential functions of the job safely and efficiently with reasonable accommodations. Depending on the particular employee's condition, this can include not only persons who traditionally have been regarded as disabled—such as those with impaired vision, hearing, or speech—but also those with “invisible” disabilities, such as AIDS or HIV positive, cancer, or learning disabilities. These protections may apply if the individual currently suffers from a disability, has a history or record of a disability, or is perceived to have a disability.
These laws require that an employer provide the employee "reasonable accommodations" provided such accommodations do not result in an undue hardship to the employer or a direct threat to health and safety, and provided the individual is able to perform the essential functions of the position.
For more information and a free consultation with one of our experienced attorneys call us at (800) 589-9901.
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Employers are required by California law to provide an unpaid thirty minute meal period to its employees during the first five hours of each work day, unless the employee works no more than six hours that day and the employee has SIGNED a voluntary written waiver of the meal period. All hourly employees who work more than ten hours on a given day are entitled to a second unpaid thirty minute meal period unless they have signed a voluntary written waiver of the second meal period. Failure by an employer to provide these meal periods entitles the employee to extra pay and may subject the employer to certain penalties.
Similarly, hourly employees are entitled to take a paid rest period of ten (10) minutes for each four hours worked or major fraction thereof. Failure by an employer to provide these rest periods entitles the employee to extra pay and may subject the employer to certain penalties.
For more information and a free consultation with one of our experienced attorneys call us at (800) 589-9901.
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Employees are often under the impression that all forms of "harassment" or generalized bad treatment at work are prohibited by law. However, to be unlawful, harassment in the workplace must be based on one of the following "protected characteristics": race, color, national origin, ancestry, religion, sex, pregnancy and childbirth, sexual orientation, gender, marital status, age (40 or older), physical or mental disability, medical condition, or veteran status. Harassment includes all forms of offensive or unwelcome physical or verbal conduct based on any of these factors that interferes with an employee's work or creates an offensive or hostile working environment.
For more information and a free consultation with one of our experienced attorneys call us at (800) 589-9901.
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California law is very strict on whom can be paid a salary and therefore be exempt from overtime wages. Indeed, many employers intentionally misclassify employees as salaried employees to avoid paying them overtime wages. In recent times, employers have paid millions of dollars to settle class action lawsuits whereby the employer had improperly classified many of its employees. If you believe you have been misclassified as a salary employee and are owed overtime wages, or if you are an hourly employee who has not been paid all the wages owed to you, Diefer Law Group, PC can help.
For more information and a free consultation with one of our experienced attorneys call us at (800) 589-9901.
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Pregnancy Discrimination or Harassment |
State and Federal laws explicitly prohibit employers from harassing, demoting, terminating, or otherwise discriminating against employees for becoming pregnant, or for requesting or taking pregnancy leave. These laws apply to all employers that regularly employed five (5) or more full-time employees in the preceding twelve month period. Female employees who return from Pregnancy Disability leave are entitled to be returned to their same position, unless that position is no longer available due to a bona fide business necessity, in which case the returning employee is entitled to be returned to a comparable position.
Employees who are discriminated against or harassed based on pregnancy or childbirth may be entitled to recover damages for emotional distress, lost wages, punitive damages and attorney's fees.
For more information and a free consultation with one of our experienced attorneys call us at (800) 589-9901.
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Sexual harassment is by far the most common form of workplace harassment. Under state and federal law, unlawful sexual harassment is defined as unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, and other verbal or physical conduct of a sexual nature, under any of the following conditions: (a) submission to such conduct is made a condition of employment, either expressly or impliedly, (b) submission to or rejection of such conduct by an individual is used as the basis for employment decisions affecting that individual, or (c) such conduct has the purpose or effect of unreasonably interfering with an individual's work performance or creating an intimidating, hostile, or offensive working environment.
Examples of sexual harassment include unwelcome sexual propositions or marriage proposals; unwelcome hugging, kissing, or other offensive physical contact of a sexual nature; unwelcome lewd gestures, remarks, or innuendoes; unwelcome discussions of sexual practices or anatomy; and unwelcome sexually offensive posters, photographs, drawings, cartoons, jokes, stories, nicknames, or comments about appearance.
An employer has the obligation to protect employees from unlawful sexual harassment by its employees, as well as by third parties such as vendors and customers.
For more information and a free consultation with one of our experienced attorneys call us at (800) 589-9901.
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