California is one of several states where employers are no longer allowed to ask potential employees what they made at their last job. There is evidence that doing so could perpetuate wage inequity over the long term. Women are often paid less than men even just out of college, so they might be unable to shake the low salary as they move from job to job.
Unpaid overtime is an issue that plagues many workers in California. A lawsuit filed by Donald Trump’s personal driver has brought national attention to this problem. Before the Secret Service took over transporting the new president, the driver chauffeured Trump for over 25 years. The lawsuit from the 59-year-old man claims that his employer, the Trump Organization LLC, owes him for 3,300 hours of overtime.
The struggle for closing the pay gap between men and women is an ongoing issue. Women consistently earn less than men for the same work, and it may seem that there are not any legal routes to solve this discrepancy. In California, however, the law actually protects equal pay for men and women. The California Equal Pay Act is legislation that regulates this area of the workplace. Learn more about this particular law and how it may apply in your situation.
The California Supreme Court made a ruling in a case in which workers for Dynamex sued after they were converted from employees to independent contractors. The conversion took place in 2004, but workers say that the company exerted control over their work, what they wore at work and their pay rates. In making its decision, the court used the “ABC test” to determine if a worker is an employee or independent contractor.
People who drive for a ridesharing service such as Uber or Lyft may have concerns over their classification as an independent contractor. This has been a source of controversy and legal battles for years. Unfortunately, the problem persists. Back in 2014, there was a lawsuit against Uber for employee misclassification. Drivers are finally receiving their payouts from the settlement, but is it enough?
Employers in California and around the country are required to pay their workers overtime pay when they work more than 40 hours during a workweek, but certain employees, such as executives, managers and salespeople are not covered by the landmark federal law. However, these distinctions can become blurred when workers perform jobs that involve selling as well as other duties. Decisions about whether or not an employee is covered by the FLSA have generally been left to the courts, and a case dealing with these issues was recently argued before the Supreme Court of the United States.