Law Office of Lowell Steiger

Category: Employment Law


Attorney General Brown Cracks Down on Worker Abuses at Long Beach and Los Angeles Ports

Author: Lowell Steiger

Published On: September 18, 2008

California Attorney General Brown is clearly a friend of the wage & hour worker. When people fear for their jobs, especially in our ever-declining economy, shark like employers step up their unreasonable demands and cheat employees out of their fair compensation by misclassifying them as “independent contractors” or “exempt employees.” These are terms that must meet certain legal criteria in order to be binding as to the worker. Just because your boss says you’re an “independent contractor” or are “exempt from overtime” doesn’t make it so. Read the press release below and e-mail me at lowell@steigerlaw.com if you have any questions OR… Read More

Boss Can’t Make You Lie About Your Hours!

Author: Lowell Steiger

Published On: September 7, 2008

Is your boss a Leona Helmsley type? Hopefully not BUT, as hard as it may be to believe, some employers take advantage of, and abuse, their employees in a myriad of ways. One way is by making them sign a release that states that they have been paid all of their owed wages and/or taken all of the breaks to which they are entitled before they will agree to pay them!!! How angry does this make you? Well, apparently it got Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger’s attention and he has attempted to right this egregious wrong by signing AB 2075 (details below). The bill was… Read More

Wage & Hour Litigation Alert! $1.4 Million for Drywall Workers

Author: Lowell Steiger

Published On: September 4, 2008

Wage & Hour Violations are intolerable. Employees, often at the mercy of their employers are afraid to stand up for their rights because they fear the ultimate retribution: Being Fired. However, you as employees have rights. As discussed in a previous post, Attorney Steve Waisbren and I are aggressively pursuing claims for employees who have been cheated out of overtime pay, meal breaks and other compensation by their employers. If you, or someone you know, have been a victim (or suspect you have been a victim) of Wage & Hour Abuse, please call me immediately at or send an e-mail to me… Read More

Denial of Proper Overtime Pay: A Real Problem With a Real Solution

Author: Lowell Steiger

Published On: September 2, 2008

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 remedies, and… Read More

Work Injuries Resulting From Negligent Third Party (Someone Other Than Your Employer)

Author: Lowell Steiger

Published On: April 20, 2008

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

Workplace Fairness

Author: Lowell Steiger

Published On: October 9, 2007

From their site: Workplace Fairness is a non-profit organization helping to preserve and promote employee rights. This website provides information about job rights and employment issues around the country and in all 50 states. It is for workers, employers, advocates, policymakers, journalists, and anyone else who wants to understand, protect, and strengthen workers’ rights. Explore our site and help make the American Dream a reality for all working people. This is a very comprehensive site, spanning the entire country and all 50 states. Below is just a smattering of the links to topic areas: Main Areas Your Rights Job Survival The Issues… Read More

FLSA Overtime Calculator Advisor

Author: Lowell Steiger

Published On: April 5, 2007

The U.S. Department of Labor has a great website advising both employers and employees in the area of overtime pay. The FLSA Overtime Calculator Advisor provides information and links to guide you. Here’s a snip-it from their introduction page: The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) requires that covered, nonexempt employees in the United States be paid at least the federal minimum wage for each hour worked and receive overtime pay at one and one-half times the employee’s regular rate of pay for all hours worked over 40 in a workweek. FLSA overtime pay is due on the regular pay day for the period in which the overtime… Read More

Injured at Work? Worker’s Compensation Sites for All 50 States!

Author: Lowell Steiger

Published On: February 26, 2007

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.

Career-Expert Tabakaman on Employment Law

Author: Lowell Steiger

Published On: November 19, 2006

Fair Labor Standards Act is the sixty-year old federal law. This video touches on employment categories and whether an employee is exempt from being paid overtime. Call or e-mail me if you have any questions about how this might impact your rights. lowell@steigerlaw.com www.steigerlaw.com

Birth of Workers’ Rights

Author: Lowell Steiger

Published On: November 17, 2006

Factual Factory- Stock Footage, (black & white) Washington D.C. March 4th, 1913. President Taft- his last day in office, decides to carry out the will of congress concerning worker’s rights. A new branch of government is formed to take care of these issues, The Department of Labor. “Challenge of Change”- immigrants are the first clients of the new department. They are the cheapest labor and are therefore treated horribly. Workers that try to make things better for themselves are met with hostility and violence. Within a year- the U.S. declares war against Europe. Employment services are created to man the… Read More

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