Category: Employment Law

Injured at work? An interesting, informative site will give you a good start.  All 50 States’ and D.C.’s Home Pages and Workers’ Compensation Agencies.  This site has Workers’ Compensation Sites for every state in the union as well as related state specific links. Additionally, there is a great website for the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (powered by the CDC) which provides a wealth of information for the prevention of illness and injuries at work.  Literally a ton of very valuable and potentially life saving information.

Wow, that’s a lotta pasta! Yep, how many plates of his world famous delectable delights will Mario Batali have to sell to pay the $5.25 Million settlement? (read entire settlement agreement here – courtesy of Huffington Post). Plenty. What’s It All About? Well, the lawsuit alleges that Batali, and his partner Joseph Bastianich, violated the U.S. Fair Labor Standards Act by (1) pocketing tips owed to the staff that were equal to as much as 5 percent of nightly wine sales, (2) not paying the federal minimum wage, and (3) failing to pay overtime. Did Mario Break The Rules? If the allegations are true, then, yes. Employers… Read More

You have to follow rules at work, right?  Well your boss has to follow rules, too. This post is all about the itemized statement that you are legally entitled to get with your payroll check (or cash payment) and the penalties that your boss may have to pay to you for failure to follow these rules. California Law Code Section 226 requires your boss (and by “boss” I mean an individual employer or a huge company) to give you an itemized written statement every two months or at the time of each wage payment.  This applies whether you’re being paid by check OR… Read More

Through California’s Worker’s Compensation Laws injured employees are able to recover from the limited benefits of their employer’s insurance. But what happens in cases where an employee has sustained an on-the-job injury caused by someone other than the employer? Simply put, in addition to filing a workers’ compensation claim, the injured employee may sue this third party (i.e., other person or entity) in tort law. Third party cases may fall into categories such as traffic accidents, slip & fall incidents, defective products, defective equipment or the exposure to toxic substances and any number of other situations. If a worker suffers a significant injury,… Read More

Great news everyone! The Department of Labor is aggressively assisting employees in their quest for justice — i.e. not getting ripped off by their employers who brazenly cheat them out of their earned wages and overtime. See the press release below which, in sum, describes the new iPhone App created by the Department of Labor for YOU! Click the App Store Button on your iPhone or iPad and search “Department of Labor”and the “DOL – Timesheet” will appear. Download it and call or e-mail me if you’ve got questions, concerns or are finding that you’re a victim of Wage & Hour… Read More

BAKERSFIELD – Attorney General Edmund G. Brown Jr. today announced that his office has secured back pay for more than 200 workers who were “routinely denied” fair wages and overtime pay by Charles Evleth Construction, Inc., a Bakersfield-based drywall company. “To boost its profits and underbid competitors, Charles Evleth Construction routinely denied its hardworking employees a fair wage and overtime pay,” Brown said. “Today’s judgment secures back pay for more than 200 employees and prohibits this company from violating workers’ rights.” In addition to providing back wages for more than 200 construction workers, today’s settlement prohibits Charles Eleventh Construction from:… Read More

Answers to Questions About Your Wage & Hour Rights Do you wonder if you have a claim against your employer for failure to pay you proper wages? The Law Offices of Lowell Steiger and the Law Offices of Steven Waisbren would like to provide answers to some of the more common questions, and we are happy to discuss your particular situation at your convenience. Question – What is the general rule about payment of overtime wages? Answer – Under California law, a “nonexempt” employee 18 years of age or older shall not be employed more than eight hours in any workday, or more than 40… Read More

Denial of Proper Pay for Employees is Rampant THE PROBLEM –  With the economy on a persistent downturn, and the business community feeling the impact, employees are increasingly being denied proper compensation for the work they perform. This either arises because employers mistakenly believe that their employees are not entitled to compensation guaranteed by the California Labor Code or mislead their employees with respect to such entitlement. Unfortunately, most employees are unaware that they were, or are, entitled to additional compensation under California law until either well into their employment, or until after their employment has ended. California law provides employees with considerable… Read More

Time Off to Vote Must your employer give you time off to vote?  See the chart below for a state by state analysis! State Time Allowed to Vote Paid or Unpaid Applicable Statute Alabama The necessary time off shall not exceed one hour and if the hours of work of the employee commence at least two hours after the opening of the polls or end at least one hour prior to the closing of the polls, then the time off for voting as provided in this section shall not be available. Unspecified 2006 Alabama Laws Act 2006-545 (H.B. 141) Alaska… Read More

Answers to Questions About Your Wage & Hour Rights Do you wonder if you have a claim against your employer for failure to pay you proper wages? The Law Offices of Lowell Steiger and the Law Offices of Steven Waisbren would like to provide answers to some of the more common questions, and we are happy to discuss your particular situation at your convenience. Question – What is the general rule about payment of overtime wages? Answer – Under California law, a “nonexempt” employee 18 years of age or older shall not be employed more than eight hours in any workday, or more than 40… Read More