Category Archives: Personal Injury Blog

Employment discrimination — what is it?

It’s helpful to first clarify what employment discrimination is and isn’t. Employment discrimination law deals with matters affecting protected categories, such as people of a particular race or religion. It seems equally important to note that discrimination based off of non-categorical factors, such as personality, have no relevance from a legal standpoint. Therefore, it is imperative that you understand the legal limits of employment discrimination.

According to find law, legal discrimination can occur due to someone’s “race, gender, ethnicity, religion, disability or age.” Discrimination can also happen at various stages of employment, including hiring, promotion and termination. It’s also important to note there are other aspects of discrimination covered under the umbrella of the law that might slip your notice, such as disability leave or even retirement plans. Other lesser known types of discrimination include hiring decisions based on an individual’s genetic history, preferred language, or the fact that their spouse is a type of person protected under the employment discrimination law that the employer has chosen to discriminate against.

Specialization is important

Employment law is incredibly broad. Discrimination law is a distinct branch of the law from, say, workers’ compensation issues. So you would want to find a lawyer whose focus is on employment discrimination, and who specializes in the type of discrimination that is relevant to your legal dispute.

Time limits and proper procedures

If you’ve been discriminated against, you should consult an attorney as soon as possible. You must file charges with the EEOC as a preliminary step to private lawsuits, and this must be completed within 180 days of the alleged event.

If you have any questions, please contact us.

Both California and federal law prohibit an employer from discriminating against an employee based on disability. The Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA) is a federal law designed in part to give individuals with disabilities equal workplace opportunities. Qualified employees with a disability have the right to request, at any time during employment, reasonable accommodations from their employers so that they can perform the essential functions of their jobs. Examples of requests for accommodation may include modifying equipment used on the job, installing accessibility ramps, providing sign language interpreters, and allowing for a modified work schedule. If the accommodation does not create undue hardship to the business in terms of difficulty or expense, the employer is required to institute it. It is unlawful for an employer to dismiss an employee for requesting an accommodation for a disability.

There is a time limit for filing a charge of unlawful termination. If you have been unlawfully dismissed based on your request for an accommodation for a disability, it is essential to file before the time limit has passed. You are not required to have an attorney file a charge of discrimination for you, but it is certainly to your advantage to contact an employment law attorney prior to filing. An attorney with expertise in the bureaucratic rules and regulations of this area of the law can help you determine if you do, in fact, have a case; will ensure that all the necessary facts and paperwork are gathered in a timely manner and are presented as legally required; and will be at your side throughout the process to safeguard your rights and to ensure the best possible outcome.

If you would like to discuss your case to determine your employment law rights, please contact us.

One of the strangest consumer rights false advertising lawsuits ever filed is taking place in Great Britain, according to the UK Independent. An irate movie fan from Scotland is suing Warner Brothers and DC Comics for false advertising because certain scenes depicted in the trailer for “Suicide Squad” didn’t make it to the final movie, according to the UK Independent. Because of the way False Advertising is defined on both sides of the Atlantic, the plaintiff is not likely to prevail.

For something to be False Advertising, a number of questions have to be answered. Was the advertising deliberately false and misleading? Were a majority of customers deceived by the advertising? Was actual harm created by the false advertising? In the latter case, the Scottish plaintiff claimed that he drove all the way from his home to London to see “Suicide Squad” only to not see the scenes of Jared Leto as the Joker that were in the trailer. When he demanded his ticket money back, the cinema staff told him to get lost.

The problem is that trailers are often made long before the final cut of the movie is created. An expectation exists that footage in the trailer may or may not make it to the film. The purpose of a movie trailer is to give a potential customer a good idea what the movie is about and entice him or her to see the film, not necessarily show what exactly is going to be in the upcoming feature.

In any case, a successful lawsuit over a movie trailer would be to open Pandora’s Box to all sorts of mischief. Most movie trailers advertise their features as the greatest drama since “Citizen Kane,” the most spectacular science fiction since “Star Wars,” or the most uproarious comedy since anything that the late Gene Wilder was in. If the actual product falls short of such claims, the trailer does not belong to the category of false advertising. When going to the movies, the principle of caveat emptor or “buyer beware” prevails.

For more information contact us.

It’s extremely common for companies to run background checks on people these days, but not all checks are equal, and not all are legal. It’s important to know your rights when it comes to background checks. The FTC and EEOC lay out some rules to keep these checks from hurting people, but some companies are lax about following them.

If a company is going to run a background check for any reason, they have to apply it evenly. They can’t run a background check on one group of potential employees, but not others. They also have to act on the information in a uniform matter. Does the company refuse to hire people with a poor credit score? Then it has to be all people with a poor credit score, not just people of acertain ethnicity with a poor credit score, that have to look for employment elsewhere.

When they run that background check on everyone they are hiring, they have to tell the interviewee upfront and get written consent. It even needs to be a stand alone document that they show you, not part of the employment application form. The most common violation companies get caught committing is failing to get this consent.

Companies are also supposed to share the results of the background checks with the applicant and give that person a chance to respond to negative results. That’s another of the more frequent violations.

Far less common is using the information they got from the background check to discriminate against protected classes. If a background check reveals that you are part of a protected class, they can’t use that against you. They are also practically never allowed to run a genetic background test on you.

California adds a few more restrictions. An employer can’t ask about prior arrests unless it led to a conviction, nor may they pry into anypre– or post-trial diversion program you might be in. They also can only run a credit check if you are applying for certain positions. When the company proposes to run a background report, they must be clear about the scope and nature of it when they get your permission.

Background checks are everywhere. Complying with the rules for running them is integral to keeping the process fair. If you think someone has violated the rules for running background checks, feel free to contact Spencer Law offices for help.

Sometimes it seems as though California apartment tenants do not have many rights.  Much of the talk out there is about the benefits of home ownership.  The fact that so many people are tenants, not homeowners, gets lost in the shuffle. Tenants often seem an afterthought.

Tenants do, though, have consumer rights.  They just might be unaware of them. Many tenants do not want to remain renters for long and may not take the time to understand their rights when it comes to deposits, payments, leases and other issues. Then when a problem arises, they do not know if or how the law protects them.

As a tenant, it is important to know what your rights are.  For example, do you know that a landlord can charge $25 for a bounced rent check and $35 for each additional bounced rent check?   As a tenant, you have a right not to pay more than what the landlord is legally allowed to charge.

What about security deposits?  Do you know that a landlord can legally charge no more than two months of rent for an unfurnished apartment and no more than three months of rent for a furnished apartment?   Or that a landlord has 21 calendar days to refund a security deposit after the tenant has vacated the property?  If a landlord demands more than what is legally allowed or takes too long to return a security deposit, then the landlord has violated the tenant’s consumer rights.

If you are a tenant and you think that a landlord has treated you unfairly or broken the law, then contact us.  We are the Spencer Law Firm, and we are here to protect your rights.

It’s never easy to lose a job. But if you feel that you may have been unlawfully terminated, you may be able to pursue a case under California employment law. Many states, including California, have “at-will” employment, which means that the employer can fire you at any time for any reason–except reasons that are prohibited by law.

Categories of Unlawful Terminations 

If you’re a member of a protected class and think you may have been discriminated against, you may have a case. It is illegal to fire anyone based on physical or mental disability, pregnancy, race, religion, gender or gender identity, age, national origin, or political affiliation, or sexual orientation.

In addition, you may not be fired in retaliation for taking maternity leave or medical leave, making safety or health complaints against your workplace, complaining about unpaid wages or overtime, or reporting Labor Code violations.

What Constitutes a Violation?

Unlawful termination is present when any of the reasons listed above was a substantial motivating factor in the decision in the decision to terminate your employment–even if it is just one of several factors.

In addition, even if you haven’t been fired, you may be eligible for a wrongful termination suit if you were forced to quit due to a hostile work environment (a category known as constructive termination).

Recoverable Damages

If the court decides you have been wrongfully terminated, you may be entitled to recover past and future lost wages and benefits, damages for emotional distress, and attorney fees or court costs.

If you believe you may have been wrongfully terminated, contact The Spencer Law Firm today for a consultation.

Whether you’re brand new to the workforce or have just recently joined your current company, you may have questions about whether you’re receiving break and meal time as required by law.

In California, most employees that work five hours or more in a single day are entitled to a 30-minute meal break, while employees that work ten or more hours in a single day are entitled to two 30-minute meal breaks. Employees do not need to be paid for this time provided they are relieved of all duties during meal breaks.

In addition to any required meal breaks, you are entitled to a paid rest period 10 consecutive minutes for each four-hour work period. For this 10-minute rest, you must have access to a designated rest area separate from both the work area and the bathroom.

While employers are required to give you breaks, you aren’t always required to take them. Employees have the right to decline a 30-minute meal break as well as rest periods if they are working less than six hours total (or less than 10 hours if they are entitled to two meal breaks).

You also have the right to take any and all meal breaks away from work premises. However, your supervisor can require you to stay on site for 10-minute rest periods.

While these rules hold true for most employees in California, there are exceptions (including designated rules for those in the baking, motion picture, broadcasting, and construction industries). If you feel you are being treated unfairly by an employer, contact Spencer Law today for a consultation.