Everything You Need To Know About the Different Minimum Wage Laws Implemented in the Country

 

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Thinking about the many expenses that you have to cover every day? Worried about how you will be able to make both ends meet to get your family its daily needs? Well you are not alone as millions of Americans are facing the same predicament as prices of goods are soaring. As the given the limited number of jobs available, some would settle to get jobs that offer minimum wages. That is not a bad thing though as more and more states are following the minimum wage laws. Moreover there are even a growing number of states that implement give higher minimum wages than the federal standard of $7.25 per hour.

Things That You Need To Know About Minimum Wages in the Country

-    Just in case you did not know, the federal minimum wage law superseded the state-mandated minimum wage laws if the federal rate is higher than that of the state’s rate. However, for the states that offer higher minimum wages than the federal average, their state-dictated wage prevails.

-    Over all, there are just four remaining states that have minimum wage that are set lower than that of the federal implemented minimum wage. On the other hand, there are 21 states, including DC, that have minimum wages higher than the federal minimum wage. Moreover, there are 20 states that require minimum wages to be the same as that of the federal requirement. Sadly though, there are five states that up to this very day, have not established a minimum wage requirement yet.

-    The State of Washington currently has the highest implemented minimum wage pegged at $9.32 per hour. On the other hand, Georgia and Wyoming are the two states that offer the lowest minimum wage at $5.15 per hour out of the 45 states that have a minimum wage requirement.

-    There are 10 states, particularly Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Missouri, Montana, Nevada, Ohio, Oregon, Vermont, and Washington that have their minimum wage linked to a consumer price index. Because of this, there are annual movements of the minimum wages in these states that are normally set in the 1st of January every year. The state of Nevada though is the only of those 10 states that adjusts the minimum wages in the month of July every year. Recently 9 of the 10 states increased their minimum wages last January 1st. Nevada, on the other hand will be adjusting the minimum wage rate this coming July.

It is important that you are made aware of the minimum wage(read more) in your state to make sure that your employer is not taking advantage of you. In case you are receiving wages lower than that set by the state, you can ask a employment labor law attorney to help you file the necessary charges against your employer. Such is a clear violation of existing labor laws in the state. So always be in the know when it comes to minimum wages. This way you can take advantage of the adjustments that there would be when it comes to your wages, which eases the difficulty of making both ends meet for your family.

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California’s Minimum Wage Increase Met with Various Opinions

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Everyone in the State of California is waiting on the upcoming incremental increase in their state minimum wage. The passage of Administrative Bill 10 last year provided for a yearly wage increase up to 2016, wherein the current per-hour rate of $8.00 will be raised to $9.00 come July this year. On 2016, the state would raise it yet again by another dollar, which would put California’s per-hour minimum wage rate at $10.00. It was the first wage hike by the state in five years and this would potentially provide around 2.4 million Californians extra earnings.

Most labor unions and organizations in the state heavily lobbied for the bill, which was authored by Assemblyman Luis Alejo (D-Salinas) (read more) and consequently won votes on both the Assembly and the Senate after it was finally signed by California Governor Edmund “Jerry” Brown. However, not all groups are in favor of the bill, especially business organizations within the state.

In fact, the California Chamber of Commerce considered the then-bill as one of the so-called “job killers.” It argued that imposing a $2.00-increase in the minimum wage over the three-year period would cause businesses, no matter how big or small they are, to incur costs despite “other economic factors or costs that California employers are struggling with to sustain their business.” While that didn’t stop the proponents of the bill to continue its passage and the imminent $9.00-increase for this year, there are still a lot of people and groups that continue to warn of its negative implications on the California economy.

The proponents of the wage increase argue that with the additional $2.00 over the next three years, poverty can be reduced and that it would help stabilize low-skilled labor due to employers being able to save on money, especially on training and recruitment. Meanwhile, those who are against it, including the state’s Chamber of Commerce, believe that this would not only cost businesses, but also promote further unemployment. Additionally, fast food restaurants and all other similar establishments see the wage increase as having a marginal impact on the prices of the goods they’re selling.

Nevertheless, the impact of the California wage increase in both employers and workers can only be felt as the law becomes effective July this year. Meanwhile, for a Los Angeles labor lawyer, employers must still focus on providing their wage earners their minimum wage, as well as overtime and meal and rest breaks, and deal with the upcoming changes later.

Sources: http://www.nerdwallet.com/blog/investing/2013/californias-minimum-wage-increase-expert-faq/

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Things You Need to Do as a Victim of Workplace Sexual Harassment

 

Sexual harassment in the workplace is still a lingering issue not only in California, but in the whole country. It is commonly associated with unwelcome advances that are sexual in nature, which are usually done verbally or physically. However, that is not always the case, as sexual harassment may also involve remarks that discriminate a certain person on the basis of his or her sex. For example, it is considered as such if a co-worker makes an offensive comment towards a female employee about women in general.

It’s easy to suspect that an individual in the workplace—manager, supervisor, or co-worker—is sexually harassing someone. One can quickly point that out if he or she is frequently being shown pictures that are sexual in nature, or constantly being touched or groped without his or her consent. However, there are applicants and employees who know they are being subjected to such, but are not sure of what to do, much less react.

If you are one of those individuals, then it would be best if you act on it as soon as possible. Here is a list of the things you need to do if you are being sexually harassed by someone at work:

•    Employees who were subjected to sexual harassment for the first time tend to quit their jobs right away. Doing so, however, decreases their chances of bringing up claims of sexual harassment. If your employer has a company policy on it, make sure that you report it to your HR or any department. Allow your employer to address the matter.

•    With regard to reporting an incident of sexual harassment, ensure that your company has a policy for it. Check with your employee handbook and your workplace posters for it; the policy has specific instructions on how to report the incident and to whom the complaint should be submitted. If the person designated to fix such employment issues is the one who has been harassing you, submit your complaint to the next designated one.

•    Make sure that your complaint should be written. It should detail every instances of sexual harassment, as well as the dates, locations, and the circumstances that led to these incidents. It must indicate that you are being discriminated or harassed either because of your sex or you’re being subjected to sexual advances.

•    If the designated person or department tasked to do something about your complaint doesn’t do anything and the harassment still continues, you can go seek an appropriate employment agency that can help you file a lawsuit against your employer. It could be with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) or with the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing (DFEH). You may also hire an expert Los Angeles employment lawyers. Typically, case evaluations with these legal counsels are free of charge.

•    If the instances of sexual harassment are severe or frequent that it already promotes a hostile working environment, then it may be time to quit. Word of advice though: just make sure you do so if you think your health or welfare is at risk, or you already have obtained a new job.

Everyone is entitled to work in an environment that is free from any sexual advances, let alone acts of discrimination on the basis of one’s sex. As a California employee, you must know that you are protected by various employment and labor laws that prohibit sex discrimination and harassment. Exercising your rights, like doing the things enumerated above, will help you obtain the justice you deserve against the actions of the harasser.

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California Age Discrimination: Ways to Prove It and Important Steps to Take

 

It is never a good thing to discriminate an employee on account of his or her age. To begin with, it is not allowed under prevailing employment laws such as the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA) and the California Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA) to deliberately harass and/or subject a senior employee age 40 years or older to any unfavorable employment action. Although it is not an uncommon occurrence for a lot of employers to subject older employees to layoffs or demotions, there have been a lot of instances wherein they become less favored, with younger, less qualified employees landing eloquent jobs or promotions.

Proving age discrimination

• Any of situations stated above may be considered age discrimination, but the burden of proof always rests on the aggrieved senior employee. The task of proving the employer or co-worker’s discriminatory actions can be difficult, which is why it is imperative for him or her to seek the expertise of an expert Los Angeles discriminatory attorney. Meanwhile, here are some instances that can help prove age discrimination in the workplace:
• In most age discrimination and harassment cases, there is always the situation wherein the older employee is subjected to harsh comments or remarks directed toward him or her about his or her age. Those are already direct evidence of age discrimination, and must be noted through writing. The names of those involved, as well as the places, times, and dates of the incidents, should be included.
• It is age discrimination if the older employee is constantly being reprimanded or disciplined for violations that younger employees also commit without receiving any write-ups.
• Leaving behind an older worker in various instances at work, from training, important company events, to even lunch breaks can be used as evidence for one’s age discrimination claim. Also, age discrimination is evident if the bosses suddenly favor younger employees over older ones, especially when it comes to job assignments, office space, and in promotions.

Important steps to take when getting discriminated because of age

• When an older employee gets involved in any of the abovementioned instances by his or her employer or co-worker, then it is best that he or she should act immediately. Before hiring a Los Angeles employment lawyer who specializes in handling discrimination claims, here are some important steps to take right after a certain workplace incident:
• Put into writing the details of every event that is deemed discriminatory. It is important to include when and where they happened, as well as who were involved. Keeping important documents is likewise imperative, especially if they can help shed light to the situations, such as disciplinary write-ups and demotion or termination letters.
• All pieces of evidence must be kept away from the office, and must be instead kept at home. They can be retrieved once the aggrieved employee is ready to file an age discrimination or harassment lawsuit against his or her company.
• Before doing that, though, it is important for him or her to first report the incident by writing a formal complaint with the human resource department or administrative office. It would be right to give them the chance to investigate what happened.
• If nothing happened and the complaint was all for naught, then you must consult with the employment lawyer immediately. It is likewise imperative to file charges against your employer through the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) or the Calif. Department of Fair Employment and Housing (DFEH).

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Employer Training to Prevent Sexual Harassment in California Workplaces

 Employment harassment is prohibited under the California statute, the Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA). Every form of harassment is illegal, from sexual harassment, gender harassment, and all other forms of harassment based on the protected characteristics defined by the said law. Not only do covered employers have to avoid harassment at all times, but must also take all reasonable steps to prevent it.

When it comes to sexual harassment, covered employers are required to provide information to every employee “on the nature, illegality, and legal remedies that apply to” it. They can do so by posting publications of their own, which should be pursuant of the state’s Government Code section 12950. They may also obtain a brochure from the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing (DFEH) (read more).

More importantly, covered employers, especially those who employ 50 or more individuals and those in the public sector, are required to conduct training that would help prevent sexual harassment in workplaces. But why do so anyway? The answer is rather simple: it is good for the business.

Basically, sexual harassment prevention training is a requirement that would help them avoid issues that may greatly affect their business operations. This training is held every two years, and making this an important focus in California businesses would prevent them from challenging expensive lawsuits filed by their sexually-harassed employees. When there’s no single sexual harassment situation in a workplace, daily operations are not only smooth and productive; employees are more encouraged to perform their duties.

Basically, employers must make it a point to educate employees about what sexual harassment is and how to prevent it from happening in their respective workplaces. It should reflect in their existing policies, as well as in their daily correspondence with their workers. Coverage of training also includes responding to sexual harassment complaints and possible effects to the business if a situation happened that can be deemed as sexual harassment.

Meanwhile, if you are an employee for a California business entity, make sure that it has a written policy on sexual harassment, which should definitely include training. Otherwise, it is best that you report it with the DFEH. Also, if you have been harassed in any way, it is in your best interest to consult with a Los Angeles employment lawyer.

More information about Sexual Harassment Law at http://www.employmentattorneyservices.com/sexual-harassment.html

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10 Former Contestants Sue American Idol, Seeks $25M Each

“American Idol” has been sued a lot of times before, albeit the lawsuits it faced don’t considerably amount to around a million or so. However, entertainment website TMZ.com reported recently that the TV show is facing another lawsuit filed by 10 of its former contestants from various seasons, all of whom are African-Americans.

Apparently, they are claiming that they were eliminated from the singing competition due to a racist ratings scheme, in which, according to TMZ, they were “unjustly booted because of their race.” Aside from the plaintiffs seeking to force “Idol” to adopt new anti-racism regulations, all of the plaintiffs are each seeking $25 million in damages.

In the TMZ’s article dated July 24, the ten former “Idol” contestants “have accused producers of conducting a ‘cruel and inhuman’ scheme to exploit them for ratings by illegally digging up their arrest histories and using the records to humiliate them on national TV.” The legal representative of the plaintiffs, New York attorney James H. Freeman, claimed that it starts as early as the background checks wherein producers will ask “Idol” hopefuls if they had ever been arrested.

Per TMZ, the attorney even claimed that African-American contestants were the only ones to be probed about their alleged criminal past and not white people. Moreover, he emphasized that since his clients are applying for “employment” with the TV show, they are not allowed to ask about their arrest histories and other confidential details during background checks. He claimed that what “Idol” did was in violation of the California employment laws.

For many people, such lawsuits filed against the decade-long TV show are based on various individuals trying to make fast money. They also believe that the “American Idol” is hardly racist at all, since there have been African-American contestants who have been included in the competition in its 12 seasons. But then, whether or not this lawsuit against the show will go the distance remains to be seen.

Incidentally, expert lawyers, including an experienced Los Angeles discrimination attorney, assert that discrimination in employment on the basis of race is illegal under federal and California laws and statutes.

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Getting to Know Age Discrimination in the Workplace

 Workplace discrimination in the workplace, especially in Los Angeles and in the whole of California is usually on the basis of one’s race, sex, and disability. But then, not a lot of people are aware that there other instances wherein employers subject their employees and applicants to workplace bias on the basis of their ages. Cases of age discrimination in the workplace may not happen all too often, but such actions related to it are prohibited under the federal and California employment and labor laws.

What is age discrimination?

This form of workplace bias involves an action or conduct in which an employee or applicant becomes less favored in any aspect of employment because of his or her age. An employee or applicant is said to be discriminated against because of age in these following situations: 

• The employer decides not to give an older but qualified candidate a job because of the latter’s age, and not because he or she did not meet the minimum qualifications of the job.
• The supervisor, manager, or any authority in the workplace makes offensive comments towards senior employees frequently, up to the point the work environment becomes hostile. Remarks such as “old man” and “grandma,” as well as uttering biased statements that degrade senior employees, are signs of workplace discrimination.
• A sign of age discrimination is when senior employees are frequently disciplined for doing something that other younger employees do but are able to get away with it.
• An older, more qualified employee was denied a promotion for a vacant job opening in the workplace. Instead, the employer handpicked a younger, inexperience employee to take that job vacancy.
• It is also age discrimination if the employer decides to mass layoff employees, particularly the older ones, in an effort to instill a younger image within the company.

Laws that prohibit age discrimination in Los Angeles, California

Age discrimination in Los Angeles, California is prohibited under some notable federal and state employment and labor laws. One of them is the federal Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA), which prohibits age discrimination against employees who are over 40 years of age in all aspects of employment, from hiring to termination. Also, it is not illegal under ADEA for an employer or any covered entity to favor an older employee over a younger one, even if both of them are 40 years or older. This federal Act is enforced by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC).

Another law is the State of California’s Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA). This state employment law, like the ADEA, protects workers aged 40 or older from age discrimination. Not only does the FEHA provide employment protections from age-related bias in the workplace, but also from other protective characteristics, to include race, religion, gender, disability, and sexual orientation. The FEHA is enforced by the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing (DFEH).

Exercising your legal rights
If you have been discriminated in the workplace because of age, or was harassed or subjected to retaliation under the same circumstances, then you must know that you are entitled to exercise your legal rights against your erring employer. Pursuing an age discrimination case against your Los Angeles, California employer should be your top priority. In order to do so, however, you must first seek the legal services of topnotch and respected age discrimination lawyers in Los Angeles. That way, you will have an enhanced chance of not only obtaining compensation from the erring party, but also obtain the justice you truly deserve.

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