Los
Angeles
Employment Lawyers Harris & Kaufman
Can Help
Harris & Kaufman law
firm is based in Sherman Oaks and serves greater Los Angeles, Orange
County, and Ventura County, in Southern California. They 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. Our employment attorneys 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.
To
email William E. Harris about a claim you may
have Click
Here
Los Angeles Employment Lawyers Overtime
Pay Information
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.
California Vacation Pay and Federal ERISA Laws
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.
California 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. Read more on collecting commission wages
...
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 ...
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 ...
California Labor Lawyers - 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.
To find out about your exempt status, click here.
Wrongful Termination, Discrimination, Retaliation
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. More
on overtime laws in California ...
Los Angeles Arbitration Lawyers
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.
Los Angeles Labor Lawyers Harris & Kaufman Can Help
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.
To email William
E. Harris about a claim you may have Click
Here
