Category: Blog Post

Q: My new supervisor recently told me that I need to wear my hair in a “more conventional” way because it is distracting other people.  My hairstyle is appropriate to my ethnicity and is part of my cultural identity. More importantly, my hair does not interfere with my work. When I said...

Q: After I came back from a two-month medical leave, my employer told me that my position was eliminated. However, I heard from a former coworker that the employer hired a person to replace me. Was I wrongfully fired? Can I still file a claim, considering that the firing occurred 11 months...

Darren Stemple worked as a “Business Development Representative” for RingCentral, Inc., a company which sells cloud-based telecommunications systems such as video and audio conferencing, and business app integration software. Its clients include healthcare, finance, real estate, retail stores, and enterprises all over the country and the world. Stemple's main...

Nichelle Duffey worked as an in-home caregiver for Tender Heart Home Care Agency, LLC, a placement agency for caregivers. Duffey signed an agreement with Tender Heart stating that she is an “independent contractor” and “is in the business of providing care giving services in dwellings..." Rate sheets attached to the contract between...

Q: I am a full-time hourly employee. While we were told that we have a 30-minute unpaid lunch break every day, we usually cannot take breaks due to the heavy workload. But the employer still deducts 30 minutes for lunch from our work hours. Is this legal?  A: No. If you...

Kimberlee Gutierrez worked as a patient registration clerk for Dignity Health for 9 years. Kimberlee had a history of mental disability, which worsened when she was violently attacked by an ex-boyfriend. She took a medical leave of absence for her disability. When she returned to work, she claimed that she faced discrimination....

Uber, Lyft, and DoorDash are companies that use the latest communications technology to create new business models which do away with traditional employer-employee relationship. These companies tap into the practice of “outsourcing” or “crowdsourcing” and obtain services directly from the general public, rather than from traditional employees. They are some of the...

Chastity Jones is a 42-year-old single mother, who worked as a sales accountant at Hologram USA and FilmOn.TV, companies owned by billionaire Alkiviades David. FilmOn.TV Networks is an online television service and Hologram USA operates a hologram theater in Hollywood that has produced holographic images of entertainers Billie Holiday, Jackie Wilson and...

Lara May was a dedicated and long-time employee for ABC Equipment Co. (names are changed to protect confidentiality). She was injured at work and had to take an extended medical leave of absence.  Prior to her injury, Lara May was a valued employee at ABC Equipment, and was praised for her work...

Filipino registered nurse, Nancy Ortiz, worked for Dameron Hospital in Stockton, CA for 10 years. Born in the Philippines, English is her second language, and she speaks with a thick accent. Ortiz is over 40 years old. Towards the ninth year of her employment at the hospital, and at...

COLE H worked as a truck driver for Beverly Fabrics for eight years. During the last 5 years of his employment, he experienced bullying and harassment by a coworker, Dan Rangle. Rangle referred to himself as “Big Swingin' Dan.” Rangle's inappropriate comments escalated when he spread gossip among other workers that Cole...