California Employment Lawyer Blog

Two police officers claim they were wrongly transferred after being falsely accused of sexual harassment in Los Angeles.

The Los Angeles Independent reports the LAPD sergeant and officer worked for the bomb squad at the Los Angeles International Airport. They are claiming gender discrimination and retaliation.

A Los Angeles employment attorney can assist an employee in protecting their rights in the workplace on either side of a sexual harassment claim. This case illustrates sexual harassment v. sexual discrimination in Los Angeles employment situations. The male officers are claiming they have been subjected to sexual discrimination after being transferred out of the unit following a sexual harassment claim.

The officers claim the incident has ended their careers and each are seeking in excess of $2 million. The accuser received $2.25 million in a settlement with the city over the alleged conduct of the officers.

The female bomb squad officer contended that the sexual harassment included the posting of photographs of half-naked officers, sexually explicit cartoons, men using the women's shower, taking items from her locker and blowing cigar smoke in her face. She claims the harassment happened between 2000 and 2005.

She retired last year after receiving the settlement from the city. The male officers claim the allegations are false and that they were inappropriately transferred and received a reduction in pay.

Continue reading " Sexual harassment lawsuit in Los Angeles leads to sexual discrimination allegations " »

The California Attorney General's Office has filed an employment lawsuit in Los Angeles against eight car washed owned by the family that runs the trendy Koi restaurants popular with celebrities around the world.

Businessweek reports that the lawsuit accuses owners of the car washes of not paying the minimum wage, refusing rest and meal breaks to employees and forcing them to show up early or otherwise work without pay. It also says that employees who quit or were fired were not paid and others received bad checks.

Our Santa Ana employment lawyers handle cases against employers who refuse to pay employees money owed for time worked. Wage and hour disputes in Los Angeles are common and often result form an employee not being paid upon termination of the working relationship.

Employers must also abide by state and federal laws that require adequate time for meal and rest breaks. Additionally, an employer may not permit (let alone demand) that an employee work without pay. In some cases, the classification of an employee as a salary worker is done in an effort to avoid overtime. Frequently this is against the law and an experienced employment attorney in Los Angeles can assist you in seeking back wages.

The California Attorney General's Office is seeking $6.6 million in the lawsuit against the 8 car washes after an investigation revealed a "widespread pattern of worker exploitation."

"The owners routinely denied wages, breaks and overtime pay to workers at their unlicensed car washes," the Attorney General said. "This lawsuit seeks to end this widespread pattern of worker exploitation."

The car washes are in Fair Oaks, Folsom, Irvine, Laguna Hills, Laguna Niguel, Santa Monica, San Ramon and Venice. The five-month investigation interviewed more than 80 workers and found they were routinely denied minimum wage and overtime. False record keeping was used to cover up the violations.

The business also required employees to arrive hours early and be available unpaid until business picked up.

Here is the complaint, which was filed in Los Angeles Superior Court.

Continue reading " Car washes face Los Angeles employment lawsuit alleging unfair labor practices, wage violations " »