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California Labor Attorneys
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Labor Lawyers Harris & Kaufman
Can Help You |
Harris & Kaufman law firm is based in Sherman Oaks and
serves greater Los Angeles, Orange County, and Ventura County,
in Southern California. We are dedicated to representing employees
in disputes against their employers. Our California labor lawyers
represent employees and workers in labor and employment disputes
such as:
- Overtime pay
- Vacation pay
- Commissions and wages
- Tips and tip pooling
- Sexual harassment
- Rest and meal period cases
- Unlawful termination
- Workplace discrimination
- Disability discrimination
- Professional Exemptions Overtime Law
Call us if you need an attorney who can assist you if you believe
that your employer has broken the California Labor Laws. We are
experienced and have had numerous trials, arbitrations, and appeals
and have litigated on behalf of thousands of employees.
Harris & Kaufman has represented workers in state and federal
court and in administrative proceedings before the California
Labor Commissioner. Determined and aggressive, our cases include
individual disputes and class action lawsuits.
We can assist you with a wide variety of workplace disputes
to do with the California pay laws. We are aggressive and experienced
lawyers and can help enforce your rights under California state
law or state regulations. Based in Sherman Oaks, California we
serve greater Los Angeles, Orange County, Ventura County, and
have cases statewide.
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Overtime Pay Information
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Overtime pay is additional compensation for working over 40 hours
a week, and in California, over 8 hours in a day. Whether someone
should receive overtime pay depends on the work that they do,
but these general rules apply to all employees:
- The overtime laws are designed to protect employees,
and the courts construe them to give employees the maximum
protection. Employees are presumed to be entitled to overtime
pay, and, under California and federal law, the employer, not
the employee, has the burden of proof to show that it properly
paid the employee.
- An employee's right to overtime pay does not
depend on whether an employee is salaried. Many salaried employees
are entitled to overtime pay.
- Work activities, not job titles and responsibilities,
govern whether you are entitled to overtime pay. In California,
the law looks to what employees do over half their work time.
While employers sometimes give employees untrue job titles for
the purpose of avoiding overtime pay, this does not affect employees'
overtime rights.
An employer must pay overtime pay unless it can
prove that an employee is "exempt" from the overtime
requirements. "Exempt" employees do not get overtime
pay. The exemptions are briefly listed as follows.
The California lawyers of Harris & Kaufman
represent employees and workers in overtime pay cases in Los
Angeles, Ventura County and Orange County areas, and elsewhere
in the state of California. We represent plaintiffs in individual
and class action lawsuits regarding overtime and vacation pay.
Our law firm offers you the necessary experience and knowledge
that complex litigation requires.
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California Vacation Pay and Federal ERISA Laws
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When a worker leaves his or her employment, all vested vacation
pay must be paid out at the final rate of pay in accordance
with the employer's vacation policies. Along these same lines,
an employer cannot have a "use-it-or-lose-it" policy
under which an employee forfeits accrued vacation time if not
used by an anniversary date. On the other hand, an employer
can cap or limit the amount of vacation time accrued.
Some employers can skirt the strict California
law on vacations by establishing a funded vacation plan under
the federal ERISA laws. However, some of these employers do
not have vacation plans that comport with the requirements
of ERISA, and therefore they are in blatant violation of California
law. Obviously, an employee would need the assistance of an
attorney to determine the official ERISA status of an employer.
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Collecting Commission
Wages |
Commissions arise from the sale of a product
or service but not the making of a product or the rendering
of a service. In order to be a commission, the compensation
must be a percentage of the price of the product or service
sold. The person receiving the commission must be "principally" involved
in selling the goods or the services from which the commission
arises. Commission plans which refer to a percentage of a business,
such as the cost of the goods sold by the business, does not
constitute a commission wage.
Commissions arise out of agreements between the
employer and employee and are not required by any law. How they
are computed also is determined by the agreement, but deductions
against commissions are limited by labor law.
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Tips & Tip Pooling |
A tip is money a customer leaves for an employee over the amount
due for the goods sold or services rendered. Tips belong to
the employee, not to the employer. If a customer tips on a
credit card, the tip must be paid to the employee no later
than the next regular payday following the date the patron
authorized the credit card payment. Employers can not take
any credit card processing fees from the tips. Read more on
tip pools ...
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Sexual Harassment
Labor Lawyer in California |
Harris & Kaufman represents employees in
sexual harassment and discrimination lawsuits as well. No employee,
male or female should tolerate unwelcome offensive gestures,
remarks or undesired sexual advances on the job. Let our aggressive
sexual harassment lawyers help you fight back against these
workplace abuses. Read
more on sexual harassment in the workplace.
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Expertise in California
Labor Laws |
Harris & Kaufman's clients are employees in the service,
entertainment, retail and manufacturing industries. Our cases
involve recovering for illegal "use it or lose it" vacation
pay practices, "exempt" and "non-exempt" employee
status sexual harassment and discrimination, and independent
contractor status. Some employers try to avoid overtime payments
by paying overtime within a fixed salary, as a bonus or by
paying one lump sum for overtime no matter how many overtime
hours are worked.
Wrongful Termination,
Discrimination, Retaliation
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Harris & Kaufman labor lawyers represents
employees in wrongful termination cases. If you have
been discriminated against, been the victim of employer
retaliation when pursuing wages owed to you, or if your
employer has breached an employment contract, contact
Harris & Kaufman to discuss the nature of your claim.
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Arbitration Lawyers
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Unfortunately, in California, an employer
can require its employees to agree to arbitration as
a term of employment. There are some protections. If
an agreement has too many unfair or one sided terms,
California courts may refuse to enforce the arbitration
agreement or sever the unfair terms.
Do not ignore these agreements if you
have a dispute with your employer. Many people think
that these agreements can be ignored or that it is
some paperwork to cover a legal formality. In California,
if you ignore the arbitration agreement, at some point
a court may find you in breach of the arbitration agreement.
In that case, you will not be able to proceed with
an arbitration or in court, and you will not be able
to get any remedy for your dispute no matter how good
your case is.
Arbitration is a very tricky area because
the law is still developing. You should consult a knowledgeable
California arbitration attorney before to trying to resolve
any dispute where you have an arbitration agreement.
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Harris & Kaufman
Can Help You
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WILLIAM E. HARRIS practices
law in the areas of employment and tort litigation. He
presently practices in the areas of wrongful termination
and wage and hour disputes, both on an individual and
class action basis. In his 25 years as a practicing lawyer,
he has litigated cases in a variety of contexts, including
tort and personnel injury, including more complex cases
such as products liability and dangerous road conditions.
MATTHEW A. KAUFMAN represents
employees in the areas of wrongful termination, wage
and hour disputes, and entertainment issues. He is
admitted to practice law in all the state courts of
California and the United States District Court, Central
District of California. He has handled trials, appeals,
and labor board hearings. Through his class action
work, Matthew has received extensive experience in
pre-trial procedure.
We can assist you with a wide variety of
workplace disputes to do with the California Labor Laws.
We are aggressive and experienced lawyers and can help
enforce your rights under California state law or state
regulations. Harris & Kaufman law offices are located
in Sherman Oaks, California. We serve greater Los Angeles,
Orange County, Ventura County and have cases statewide.
Think you have a claim? Email
Here
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