Answers Posted By Janet M. Koehn

There are many missing facts in your description.
What did you mean when you described your leave as "FMLA"?
Was it actually a pregnancy or childbirth leave?
Was it for your own health reason or a family member's?
Is yours a public employer?
Did you return before or right after your leave expired?
The answers to these and questions like it determine which law if any was violated, and especially, what your rights are on returning from leave. You should contact an attorney experienced in California employment law, like Arkady, for a consultation. You can find other attorneys in your area who are experienced in employment law at the website of the California Employment Lawyers Association, www.cela.org. You can search by city, county, or specialty.
good luck

answer to Violation of my rights under FMLA posted Aug 4, 2011 5:05 PM [EST]

Why were you "singled out"? There's something else going on.
If you were treated differently on account of protected status, such as your gender or national origin, or if you were retaliated against, such as for complaining about wage or hour issues, then you have a different kind of case.
You need to talk to an attorney experienced in employment law and litigation. You can find an attorney in your area by going to the California Employment Lawyers Association's website, www.cela.org. You can search by city, county or specialty. Any of these attorneys should be able to advise you.
Good luck.

answer to Can my employer fire me from parking on a public street posted Jun 3, 2011 3:55 PM [EST]

Anything that is said or submitted to any legal tribunal, including a court or appeal board, is covered by the "litigation privilege" exception to the usual rules of defamation. Even if you proved what was said was not true (which you obviously did not, otherwise you would have prevailed in your administrative hearing), it still would be protected conduct and you would not be able to pursue the falsehood.

However, keep an eye out for falsehoods this employer repeats to any potential employer of yours. That is a statutory claim as well as common law defamation, for which you can get treble damages.

answer to Do I have grounds for defamation law suit? posted Jun 2, 2011 05:03 AM [EST]

Your employer is required by state and federal law to pay you only for the hours you work. The fact you work an alternative schedule does not make any difference. If you have a union contract, or if there is a company policy, to pay you for time not worked, you have those remedies, but ordinary wage and hour laws would not provide you with any recourse. Good luck.

answer to is my employer required to pay overtime when I am work reduced? posted Apr 5, 2011 3:05 PM [EST]

I wholeheartedly agree with George and Elisa (who are colleagues of mine). If you are a "sales executive", you need to find an attorney experienced and well versed in executive employment agreements and the law of noncompete and pay her/him for her expert advice. You can find an attorney with such expertise on the website of the California Employment Lawyers Association, www.cela.org. />
"A lawyer's time and advice are his stock in trade." A. Lincoln

answer to Can my current employer sue my for taking business away from them? posted Mar 31, 2011 6:39 PM [EST]

Both the federal WARN Act and California law require 60 days' notice of a layoff of a given size, somewhere around 10% of the company's personnel, depending on the size of the company. This period is intended to protect workers from "sudden" loss of employment, and to allow them to plan ahead.

There is nothing that says a company's promise of severance is enforceable, unless it is in writing and signed by a person who can bind the company to a contract. Even then the severance package is enforceable only as a contract, not as wages. It can be dischargeable in bankruptcy. The plan may be enforceable if the company's severance benefits are funded as part of their "qualified plan", which funds other benefits like pension or 401k benefits. Take a look at the "summary plan description" to see if the plan includes severance benefits. That contingency, however, requires the plan administrator, not the company, to decide whether to award the benefit, and how much.

The best thing to do is to plan on other employment if possible. Don't count on the phantom promise of "severance". The company has "WARN"ed.

answer to Can a company change a severance package if no contract has been signed? posted Mar 8, 2011 2:23 PM [EST]

It is up to your employer to make certain that your time is accurately recorded, and to pay you for the hours worked. Your employer owes you for the time she did not pay you. It is not "forgery" to accurately report your time worked by another means. Your employer needs to look at the definition of "forgery" in the penal code. There are ways to accurately keep track of time for employees who are not supervised, for example computer programs that record precisely when you have logged off.

That said, your employer has the right to discipline you (though not by docking your pay) for violating a rule requiring you to "clock out" at the end of your shift. That discipline can include up to and including firing you. But she still owes you the time!

Talk to your employer and agree that you broke a company rule, but that you need to be paid for your time. Suggest that you get a computer program that will record when you have logged off your computer on weekends, so that your time is recorded automatically. If you cannot resolve the pay issue, you can get assistance from the "labor board" (California Dept. of Labor Standards Enforcement).

answer to Is it illegal to write in your hours? posted Mar 2, 2011 2:34 PM [EST]

if you can prove that the employer made a false statement about you, the statement constitutes per se defamation, and you do not have to demonstrate damage. if you lost pay as a result, that's provable damage. if you would have obtained other jobs through the placement agency, you may also have a statutory claim. all this hinges on your getting corroboration of what was said about you, which i assume was told to you by the agency. (your statement is not clear as to who told you your supervisor said you were confrontational, and who told you she said you made too many mistakes: was it someone at the client? or someone at the agency?) you are entitled to a copy of anything in your personnel file that you signed, and you are entitled under the labor code to inspect your personnel file. but i guarantee that if you insist on seeing your file, by the time you see it all records of the defamatory statements will have been removed. there are ways to deal with this, but you need to consult with an attorney experienced in employment defamation matters. you can find one in your area by going to the california employment lawyers association's website, www.cela.org. you can search by city, county, and specialty. good luck!

answer to Is there any action I am able to take for a client making a false statement about me to my employer? posted Feb 28, 2011 4:04 PM [EST]

Non-compete agreements are illegal in California. However, it is legal to prohibit solicitation of customers. Each case is unique. The facts of your situation, and the written agreement, should be reviewed by an attorney who is experienced in employment law and in particular in this area of law. It is worth your while to pay an attorney a few dollars to review the agreement and advise you; do not be penny-wise and pound-foolish, or you may find yourself involved in very expensive litigation.

You can find an attorney experienced in employment law in your area at the California Employment Lawyers Assn's website, www.cela.org.

answer to A company tutor wishing to go private posted Jan 26, 2011 03:12 AM [EST]

You're kidding, right? You want this answered on a public website?

Seriously, go to the California Employment Lawyers Assn's website, www.cela.org. Find an attorney in your community who is skilled and experienced in labor and employment matters, and in particular, wage and hour matters. Make an appointment, and pay a modest fee to that attorney to advise you. If there are several of you, the cost should be very modest, if any.

Your facts are far too complicated to hazard what could only be a guess as to what your situation is. Lawyers are paid to analyze complex facts in relation to their knowledge of the law and apply those principles of law to the facts. Yet your facts do not disclose enough information to know what type of wage and hour violations might be implicated!
An attorney will ask you the right questions to tease out what violations if any might be involved.

answer to Can a small Calif, Co. inc. operate without written policy/rules given to the worker? posted Dec 11, 2010 03:16 AM [EST]