Riverside Labor and Employment Lawyers
Helping Workers Throughout Southern California With Wage and Labor Issues
California has some of the strongest worker protections in the country. Still, every day California workers are discriminated against or harassed at work, or they are denied overtime or paid less than the minimum wage. You work hard for your employer and don’t deserve to be mistreated. If your rights as a worker are being violated, do something about it. Call the labor and employment lawyers at Ochoa & Calderon right away. From our offices in Riverside, we stand up for workers’ rights throughout Southern California. Our attorneys come from working-class backgrounds and truly care about helping employees and working families in need. Call now for a free consultation on your employment or labor law claim.
Discrimination, Harassment, Wrongful Termination
Unless you have a signed employment contract, are a public employee or belong to a union, your employment status is likely to be “at-will.” Being an at-will employee means that you can quit your job at any time without giving your employer a reason, and they can fire you at any time without giving you a reason. However, they can never fire you for a reason that is illegal under California state law. That’s called wrongful termination. Not only can’t you be fired for certain reasons, but any harassment or negative job actions (demotion, transfer, denial of a promotion or raise, unfavorable work assignments, etc.) based on these reasons are also illegal. If you were discriminated against or harassed at work for any of the following reasons in Southern California, call Ochoa & Calderon in Riverside for a free consultation about how we can help:
- Age
- Disability
- Marital status
- National origin / ancestry / ethnicity
- Race / color
- Religion
- Sex / gender
- Pregnancy
- Sexual orientation
- Gender Expression / Gender Identity
- Military or veteran status
- Medical condition
- Genetic information
- HIV/AIDS
- Domestic violence victim status
- Political activity
California Wage and Hour Laws
California’s overtime laws require employers to pay their employees one and a half times their regular rate for every hour worked over eight hours in a day or 40 hours in a week. Any hours worked for a seventh consecutive day must be paid at time and a half, and employees receive double time for hours worked over 12 in a single day or more than eight on a seventh consecutive day of work.
In addition to overtime pay, nearly all workers in California are entitled to be paid at least the minimum wage. The federal minimum wage is $7.25 an hour, but California requires its workers to be paid at least $12.00 an hour. In Los Angeles, the minimum wage is even higher, as much as $15.00 an hour.
California is also one of a handful of states that require employers to give their workers rest and meal breaks during their shifts. California employees are entitled to a ten-minute rest break for every four hours worked, and a 30-minute meal period if the shift lasts five hours or more.
Many workers don’t know when they are entitled to overtime in California or how much the minimum wage is in their area. Others don’t know they are entitled to meal and rest breaks or don’t know they have rights when their employer makes them work through their break or come back on duty early before their break is up. Countless others are misclassified by their employers as independent contractors rather than employees and told that the wage and hour laws don’t apply to them. Your actual job duties define whether you are an employee or an independent contractor; it doesn’t matter what your employer or your job description says.
If you were denied your proper wages, including minimum wage, overtime, or meal and rest periods, you can file a wage claim or lawsuit and recover unpaid wages going back three or four years. If you have been denied your proper wages for a long time, it might be worthwhile to pursue a claim against your employer. If others at work are also being mistreated, you might have a class action claim.
You are protected against retaliation for speaking up to your employer, a government agency or an attorney, and you can’t be fired, demoted or mistreated in any way for bringing a wage claim. Your rights as an employee are clearly protected under the law. Ochoa & Calderon can help you enforce those rights and get the compensation you are rightfully owed.
Call Ochoa & Calderon if your wage and hour rights were violated in a workplace in Riverside or Southern California. Our employment law firm handles all wage and hour complaints, including:
- You were not paid overtime when it was due
- You were not paid the applicable minimum wage
- You were required to give up a break or work off the clock
- Your tips were illegally pooled, or your wages improperly calculated based on your tips
- You were misclassified as an independent contractor
- You were not allowed to take Family or Medical Leave that you had coming to you
- You were fired or retaliated against for reporting work violations or refusing to commit an illegal act
Labor and Employment Law Attorneys Serving Riverside and Southern California
If you have been discriminated against or harassed at work or been denied your wages due, call Ochoa & Calderon for a free consultation. We take appropriate cases on a contingency fee basis, meaning we only charge a fee if we are successful on your behalf, and our fees come as a percentage of the amount we recover for you. You’ve got nothing to lose by calling now, but you can miss out on enforcing your legal rights if you wait too long. Call us at 951-901-4444 in Riverside or throughout Southern California at 844-401-0750. You deserve to be treated fairly at work. Our lawyers are ready to step up and fight for you.
