What is Employment Law?

Employment law covers a wide range of legal mandates and statutes that regulate all things related to the workplace that outline the rights of workers and employers. These include workplace safety laws, fair wages and benefits, family and medical leave permissions, conduct in the workplace, employment protections, and anti-discrimination rules.

Both state and federal law have regulations in place to protect employees from unfair business practices and employers from suffering setbacks in operations as a result of employees who fail to meet their job responsibilities. On the federal level, employment laws are applicable to ensure fair practices across all fifty states, but on the state level, employment laws can vary from one state to the next.

If you feel that your employer has violated one or more employment laws, you may have a valid claim that can be adjudicated in a court of law. But it’s important that you know your rights and have a trusted employment law attorney on your side to protect those rights and fight for the compensation you deserve.

Employment laws in the state of California are explicit but they can also be extremely complicated and failing to understand the extent of your rights under the law can leave you unemployed and uncertain about how to pay your bills, wondering if or when you may earn another paycheck.

You have the right not to be harassed, taken advantage of, discriminated against, or cheated out of a fair day’s wages. Laws such as the California Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA), the Americans with Disabilities Act, the Equal Pay Act, and the Age Discrimination in Employment Act have all been established to set forth strict rules for preventing employers from unfairly discriminating against protected members of the workforce.

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This California state law is heavily restrictive of employers to prevent discrimination in all aspects of the workplace, before and after a disabled individual is hired by any business. From the methods of advertising a position to the application, interview, and screening processes of prospective candidates to the workplace environment, promotional opportunities, and compensation standards as well as the transferring and termination of an employee, the FEHA prohibits discrimination of any kind in these and other matters related to the employer/employee relationship for persons with mental or physical disabilities.

The FEHA is applicable to employers both public and private as well as employment agencies and labor unions and organizations.

Any employer with five or more employees is prohibited from discriminating against any person in a protected category who is applying or interviewing for a position of employment nor retaliating against those individuals for exercising their rights under the law. Harassment of any kind is strictly prohibited in any and every workplace, regardless of the number of employees who work for that employer.

Fair Wages and Employee Benefits

Employment laws are also in place to ensure that all employees are paid fair wages on an hourly basis or over an annual salary. In addition to fair pay, there are laws in place that cover other forms of compensation like health and dental benefits, retirement plans and paid time off for eligible employees. The laws that have been established to ensure fair compensation for all employees include the Fair Labor Standards Act which sets forth legal standards for minimum wage, overtime pay, providing health benefits, stock options, and the definition of work and associated compensation as it applies to the workplace.

Workplace Safety Standards

Every employee has the right to a safe workplace, free of health hazards and other potential dangers, regardless of the type of work being performed and the industry in which that business operates. There are strict laws in place that govern health and safety in the workplace including the Occupational Safety and Health Act, which sets standards for workplace safety to reduce the potential for injury, disease, and death while on the job. Employment law allows for employees to file claims for medical costs incurred due to an injury sustained while performing work duties.

Whistleblower Protections

California Labor Code Section 1102.5 provides general protections for employees who act as whistleblowers to disclose information of illegal, unethical, or unsafe activities to the proper regulatory or law enforcement agencies. When an employee chooses to report violations or noncompliance with federal, state, and local occupational safety and/or other labor code laws and regulations, that individual is protected from retaliatory measures in the form of harassment, demotion or reduction in wages, or termination of employment by an employer. There are state and federal laws in place that encourage and protect employees who act as whistleblowers to provide information and/or testify or otherwise participate in an investigation or inquiry when their employer or supervisor has committed a violation of or noncompliance with a federal or state statute or regulation.

Meal and Rest Break Compliance

Most employees in the state of California are entitled to meal breaks and rest periods that are based on the amount of time worked. Employers are mandated to provide qualifying employees with an uninterrupted, unpaid meal break of 30 minutes after working for more than five hours during one shift. An additional unpaid 30 minute break is mandatory for employees working more than twelve hours on a shift. During all meal breaks, employers have no authority over the employee’s activities and all duties or responsibilities of the employee are placed on hold for the entire duration of each meal break.

Employees are also entitled to a 10 minute rest period for every four hours worked during a shift. These are paid breaks that are to be uninterrupted and employers have no authority over the employee’s activities, with all duties or responsibilities placed on hold during such time the break is in session. Employees are not expected to remain at their workplace nor are they expected to be on-call during that time.

Employment Law Regulatory and Enforcement Agencies

The Labor Department is the federal body tasked with managing the nation’s employment laws while a handful of additional national and state-based agencies monitor and enforce employment and labor laws across the country. These include the Occupational Safety and Health and Administration, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, the National Labor Relations Board, and Fair Employment Practices Agencies.

In the state of California, the various enforcement agencies protecting employees include the California Labor and Workforce Development Agency, the California Department of Industrial Relations, the California Civil Rights Department, and the California Labor Commissioner’s Office. All of these have some level of enforcement power to protect California employees from getting exploited or having their rights trampled on by unscrupulous employers.

If you believe you have been the victim in an employment law violation of any kind, you don’t want to go it alone. Not when the future of your career is at risk and your family’s well-being is at stake. Losing your job for any reason can be frightening and intimidating, especially if you’ve lost your employment illegally. You need someone on your side who knows how to fight your rights and get the compensation you deserve if you’ve been wrongfully terminated under the law.