California Employment Legal Questions

You should talk to a local attorney about your situation. There are too many details missing from your description. Were you an employee or an independent contractor? Was your contract with the individual who died or with his corporation or LLC? Have his heirs filed for probate? Did you perform your obligations under the contract? If not, why not? Is performance impossible, now that he has died? What else did you testify about? You need to discuss these and other details with an attorney before he or she can determine whether you can sue and whom you can sue.... Read More

YOu can file your claim with the Labor Board.    If there is a significant amount of money involved, an attorney might take your case.     Robert J. SpitzLaw Offices204 N. San Antonio Ave.Ontario, CA 91762(909) 395-0909fax (909) 395-9535email: tplaw@aol.comWebsite: robertspitzlaw.com... Read More

Your friend is only liable if he did something negligence that caused the injury.  No matter, he needs to find an attorney to represent him in the case.   The homeowner's insurance is not going to help him.  In fact they will do everything they can to blame it all on your friend. If your friend is not a contractor and does not have his own insurance, he must hire an attorney.  That can get expensive and there are not many attorneys who handle the defense on a personal injury case.   Robert J. SpitzLaw Offices204 N. San Antonio Ave.Ontario, CA 91762(909) 395-0909fax (909) 395-9535email: tplaw@aol.comWebsite: robertspitzlaw.com... Read More

It is against the law in California for an employer to change your hourly rate on the basis of the number of hours you work.  Obviously your employer is attempting to cheat you out of your wages.  If your employer is trying to avoid paying your overtime pay at time and a half, it is even more serious. You can file an action with the Labor Dept yourself, if it is a small amount.   If it is several thousand dollars, you can obtain the services of an attorney to assist you.    Robert J. SpitzLaw Offices204 N. San Antonio Ave.Ontario, CA 91762(909) 395-0909fax (909) 395-9535email: tplaw@aol.comWebsite: robertspitzlaw.com... Read More

California law strongly supports employees getting paid their overtime.   There are two ways to obtain your overtime pay. 1.   Go to your local labor board and file a complaint.   They will assist you and you can do this yourself. 2.  Obtain the services of an attorney who can file a civil action in Superior Court.   If your unpaid overtime pay is more than about $2,500, you might prefer to use the services of an attorney. Employers are prohibited by law from retaliating against an employee who is seeking his overtime pay.     Robert J. SpitzLaw Offices204 N. San Antonio Ave.Ontario, CA 91762(909) 395-0909fax (909) 395-9535email: tplaw@aol.comWebsite: robertspitzlaw.com... Read More

The amount of taxes withheld are a function of the input to the computer program used by your employer to write the check.   Your employer should be able to override the defaults in this program and correct the problem.  It sound to me like there may be a bit of retaliation going on here by the accounting people.   Your attorney should handle this for you.   If you don't have one, you may want to get one or wait until you get a nice refund in 2016.           Robert J. SpitzLaw Offices204 N. San Antonio Ave.Ontario, CA 91762(909) 395-0909fax (909) 395-9535email: tplaw@aol.comWebsite: robertspitzlaw.com... Read More

If the prospective employer calls and asks why you are no longer working there, your employer can answer honestly that it is because you were suspected of stealing so were fired. Is it possible to work something out with your former employer, including some type of hearing where you could be found innocent?... Read More

Sounds like you may certainly have a claim based on a promissory estoppel theory and potentially based on breach of a written contract as well. I would have to hear more and see the documents, but assuming that there was some communication between you and the new company and that they had not given you a deadline that you missed, I think you likely have a claim. Thanks, Jon... Read More

Your husband is entitled to half the retirement money presuming it's earnings during marriage... if he elects not to sign to give you all of his 1/2 of that money, your only course is to negotiate an agreement with him where if he receives some he agrees to release it to you, or file for a Dissolution of Marriage (divorce) and get a judge's order in the dissolution that the husband must sign the release of his interests in your retirement funds.... Read More

At this point, no, you cannot appeal to the Supreme Court. You can only appeal after trial court is finished (and even then, you probably would go to an intermediate court, not the Supreme Court). Your first step is to do your best to win at trial. The best way to do that is to hire a lawyer who specializes in employment law. By the way, it's very likely that your lawyer made the right decision by not suing the union. In most cases, courts will not hold the union liable for harassment that happened at work. The harassment is usually the fault of the harasser and the company, not the union. Therefore, it is not surprising that the complaint is only against the company and the head manager. However, you may still be able to add claims to your complaint because less than a year has gone by since the harassment and termination. Keep looking for an employment lawyer in your state who can help you.... Read More

Generally, an employer must pay whatever they owe an employee (1) immediately if it fires the employee or (2) within 72 hours after the employee quits working for the employer.  (Labor Code Section 201(a).)  Failure to do so will potentially subject the employer to waiting time penalties pursuant to Labor Code Section 203.  However, there is authority in the Wage Orders promulgated by the Industrial Welfare Commission that allows an employer to deduct from your wages any amounts attributable to conduct ranging from gross negligence to theft.  The burden of proof is on the employer to prove that, and, if can't sustain that burden, it will probably be liable for waiting time penalties.  Having said that, if the amount that's in dispute is less than your paycheck, your employer should've paid you the difference.  If you want to contest this, you can file a claim with the Labor Commissioner or file a civil suit for your wages.  (Because the amount at issue seems to be small, filing a claim with the Labor Commisioner would probably be best.)  Of course, if you do decide to institute legal proceedings of any kind with respect to your wage claim, you may have to testify and therefore waive any an opportunity to invoke the Fifth Amendment privilege in any later matter (e.g., a criminal trial).  Before you decide to do anything, you might want to figure out the criminal angle first.  It's one thing to get stiffed on wages,  but it's quite another thing to face criminal charges. ... Read More

The court would only order compensation for the plaintiff. It would not order that the employee be fired. However, if the plaintiff also asks for a restraining order, the court could order the employee to stay away from the plaintiff. Depending on the circumstances, the restraining order might make it impossible for the employee to do their job.... Read More