Los Angeles Employment Law Blog

According to federal data, workplace retaliation is alarmingly common in California and across the United States. For instance, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission reported that it received 39,469 charges of retaliation in 2018, which accounted for over 50% of all complaints filed that year.

Workplace retaliation occurs when employers take adverse action against employees who report discrimination, harassment, or safety violations. Some examples of adverse action include wrongful termination, demotion, denying a promotion, verbal harassment or threats, and reducing pay or benefits. While these actions are prohibited under federal and California law, some employers still try to get away with it.

Veterans in California are protected against job discrimination based on their military service in the same way that people are protected from discrimination based on race, national origin and other protected characteristics. There is also a law in place that allows them preferential treatment when it comes to federal employment.

The Uniformed Employment and Reemployment Rights Act of 1994 mandates that veterans must be given their jobs back that they had prior to being deployed, and employers cannot discriminate against them because of their military service. This applies to all employers of all sizes. Employers must offer accommodations to veterans who have disabilities as a result of their service or whose existing disabilities were exacerbated. In some cases, discrimination against veterans may be subtle. For example, an employer might ask whether the veteran has had counseling or treatment for PTSD. For people who are still in the reserves, an employer might question whether they expect to be deployed soon. This question may be illegal in the same way that employers are not supposed to ask employees or potential employees whether they plan to get pregnant.

A federal judge in California chose to reject a $7.5 million proposed settlement due to the employer's failure to plan any reforms to its payroll practices. The case involved technicians who installed cable television, telephones, internet and security services for Comcast. Their legal complaint detailed multiple violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act.

The plaintiffs said that they were routinely denied overtime pay although they usually worked 10-hour shifts five or six days a week. Court filings also described management that forced workers to under-report their hours and include meal breaks that they were not allowed to take. Payroll records were non-compliant as well. The lawsuit asserted that the employer intentionally hid pay rates and refused to reimburse workers for expenses.

The workers in Amazon's facilities throughout North America are largely invisible to online shoppers in California. A new complaint received by the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission reveals that some workers allegedly face a hostile atmosphere on the job. The workers' rights group Muslim Advocates filed the complaint on behalf of three Muslim Somali women who claim to have suffered religious discrimination and retaliation.

According to the complaint, Amazon management at the facility disapproved of the three women taking time for prayers. The women said that praying would result in write-ups that could eventually lead to their termination. The women also alleged that management favored white workers with promotions and easier work duties while discriminating against Somali employees. When the women approached human resources with their complaints about unfair disciplinary write-ups, the company's investigation allegedly failed to identify any evidence to support their claims. One woman said that management retaliated against her for complaining with an additional write-up.