FAQ

Employment law covers the relationships between employers and their employees, as well as their potential employees and former employees. Both federal and state laws control various aspects of the employer–employee relationship, and each side's rights and obligations. Because of the complexity of the employment relationship, this area of law involves issues as diverse as discrimination claims and record–keeping, taxation and workplace safety.

There are also different types of employment relationships. Employment relationships can be based on a contract, or they can be "at–will." Under California law, if the employment relationship is based on a valid contract entered into by the employer and the employee, the terms of that contract will govern the relationship. By contrast, an at–will employment arrangement can be terminated at any time, with or without reason, by either the employer (as long as the reason does not constitute illegal discrimination) or the employee.

The Law Offices of Eli M. Kantor represents both employers and employees in all aspects of labor and employment law, including cases involving

• Wrongful termination: This occurs when an employer terminates you based on an illegal consideration;
• Discrimination: This takes a variety of forms that result in an employer favoring one individual characteristic of a person over another. The common forms of discrimination relate to race, sex, gender, national origin, religion, sexual orientation and pregnancy;
• Sexual Harassment; Unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, and other verbal or physical conduct of a sexual nature constitute sexual harassment when this conduct explicitly or implicitly affects an individual's employment, unreasonably interferes with an individual's work performance, or creates an intimidating, hostile, or offensive work environment. We also conduct sexual harassment prevention training seminars;
• Whistleblowers: The government favors employees coming forward to report illegal activity by their employer. In order to protect these whistleblowers, the law makes it illegal to terminate someone who reports an employer;
• Wage and Hour Law: Under the Fair Labor Standards Act and California law, a person must be paid a fair hourly wage or salary depending on their job classification;
• Class Action cases: Sometimes in the course of investigating an employee's claim, we find that many workers at the same company have similar stories. Whenever it appears that the violation of your workplace rights actually reflects a widespread or standard practice on the part of your employer, we'll consider filing your claim as a class action lawsuit;
• Independent contractor status; Independent contractors perform compensated work for businesses and individuals, but they are not considered to be employees. Independent contractors have a higher degree of control over the way they work, and they have the ability to contract with a range of businesses. They do not, however, receive many of the legal protections that employees enjoy;
• Employee handbooks and personnel practices; We draft and revise employee handbooks that detail guidelines, expectations and procedures of a business or company to its employees. Employee handbooks are given to employees on one of the first days of his/her job, in order to acquaint them with their new company and its policies;
• Private Attorney Generals Act "PAGA"
• Equal Pay Act.
• Construction labor law; We represent clients in all aspects of labor law, including the Construction field;
• Entertainment labor law; We represent many multinational employers as well as individuals in all aspects of entertainment law, including O–1 Visas, artist/manager disputes, artist/agent disputes, guild disputes, as well as other entertainment law matters;
• Immigration law; We specialize in business and employment immigration, representing employers that wish to obtain H–1B work visas for highly skilled foreign–born workers; L–1 visas to transfer employees to their US offices, and Alien Labor Certification (PERM) – green cards. For more information, see our website at www.beverlyhillsimmigrationlaw.com.

The Law Offices of Eli M. Kantor is different from many employment law firms in that we do not restrict our practice to representing either employers, or employees, exclusively. We believe our results prove that this wider experience enables us to approach each case with a fresher and more informed mind set as we endeavor to resolve wage and unpaid overtime disputes outside of court whenever possible. Rest assured however, that should the need arise we are fully prepared to take your case to court and vigorously argue it.

WAGE AND HOUR FAQ

What is the minimum wage in the city of Los Angeles?

For employers with 26 or more employees as of July 1, 2018, the minimum wage in the City of Los Angeles will go up to $13.25 per hour.  $12.00 per hour for employers with less than 26 employees.

What is the minimum wage in the State of California?

Currently, the minimum wage in the State of California is $11.00 per hour for employers with more than 25 employees effective January 1, 2018. However, certain cities such as Los Angeles, and others have recently gone up to $13.25 per hour for employers with more than 25 employees The Employer is obligated to pay the higher minimum wage if he is located in a city that has a higher minimum wage.

How much is the rate for overtime?

The rate for overtime is one and one-half times the minimum wage for all hours in excess of 8 hours in a day or 40 hours in a week. The rate for overtime is two times the minimum wage for all hours worked in excess of 12 hours in a day. Therefore, if you are working in Los Angeles or Santa Monica, your current overtime rate is now $16.50 per hour for all hours worked in excess of 8 hours in a day and $24.00 per hour for all hours worked in excess of 12 hours in a day for employers with more than 25 employees.

How many rest breaks is an employee entitled to per day?

An employee is entitled to two paid breaks of 10 minutes each per 8 hour shift.

What happens if the employee fails to receive his rest breaks?

The employee is entitled to receive one hours wages as a penalty for missed rest breaks.

Are employees entitled to receive meal breaks?

Employees are entitled to receive one 30 minute unpaid meal break, where they are relieved of all duty.

What happens if the employee fails to receive his meal breaks?

The employee is entitled to receive one hours wages as a penalty for each missed meal break.

When does an employer have to give you your final paycheck?

If you quit, the company has three days to pay you in full. If they fire you, they have to pay you that day.

If you have accrued but unused vacation, do you have to be paid for that in your final paycheck?

Yes. You must be paid for all accrued, but unused vacation pay at the time of your final paycheck.

What happens if your employer doesn’t give you your final paycheck when you are terminated or doesn’t pay you in full, that is they fail to include any overtime pay owed or vacation pay?

Every day that your employer delays paying you in full after you are terminated, counts as a penalty of one day’s wage up to 30 days wages, per California Labor Code Section 203.

Do you receive out of state payroll checks?

California Labor Code Section 212(a) prohibits the use of any payroll check that is not payable in cash on demand at an established bank in California.

Do you have to wear any type of  uniform, whether it be a company shirt, logo, etc?

If so the company has to maintain it for you or pay you one hour’s pay per week as a maintenance allowance.

Is your paycheck itemized?

Labor Code Section 226 requires every employer to furnish each of its employees with an itemized written statement at the time of each payment listing the wages earned; total hours worked; all deductions; net wages earned; the dates of the payroll period; the employee’s name and the last 4 digits of their social security number or employee identification number; the name and address of the employer and all applicable hourly rates in effect for the hours worked during the pay period, i.e. overtime pay rate and hours worked. An employer’s failure to provide you with an accurate itemized statement for each paycheck will result in penalties.

Contact Us

If you have any questions about employment law issues, feel free to contact this office at (310) 274-8216.