November 2006

WIN AT WORK MONTHLY

A Community Service of

SESSIONS & KIMBALL LLP, Employee Rights Attorneys

Win at Work

Employee Rights Update

WAGE LAWS FOR EMPLOYEES

            The employee wins on conflicts between wage laws!

            There are often many different wage laws protecting employees.

            The federal Fair Labor Standards Act applies to employees throughout the country.  It regulates minimum wage, overtime and other laws.

            Most of the states likewise have laws protecting employees.

            Sometimes federal and state laws conflict.  An employee may be exempt from overtime pay under one law but not the other.

            Yet some states, such as California, follow whichever law is more favorable to the employee.  Thus, an employer would have to prove an employee is exempt from favorable overtime laws on both the state and federal levels to make the employee legally exempt.

            Unfortunately, employers often base their policies on whichever law is more favorable to them.  Just calling employees exempt does not necessarily mean they are.  This is one of those rare situations in which a conflict between state and federal law can actually spell victory for the employee.

VIOLENCE IN THE WORKPLACE

            Employers can be liable for negligent retention claims when they continue to employ an employee who has demonstrated violent behavior towards coworkers.  Violent behavior can be in the form of threats and physical acts. 

            A Los Angeles Superior Court case resulted in a million dollar verdict when an employee complained to management about threats made by a coworker.  The coworker engaged in frequent threatening behavior that resulted in both employees being sent home by a supervisor during their graveyard shift.  The coworker followed the complaining employee to his home and then beat him up.  The plaintiff employee was able to recover substantial damages against his employer because the employer was aware of the coworker’s violent tendencies and the employer did not take the proper disciplinary action to safeguard the plaintiff employee.

            The jury considered the employer’s action of sending both men home at the same time without an escort to be negligent.  The plaintiff employee experienced permanent injury and his requests for personal safety in the workplace were ignored.

Peter W. Taylor, Attorney

 Look for our answers to employees’ questions in the “Life and Work Q & A” column of the Orange County Register’s "Business Monday" magazine.  E-mail us at info@job-law.com to have your address added or removed from our monthly mailing list.  For more employee rights information or for past issues of Win at Work Monthly, click here for our website, job-law.com; here to order our book, Employee Rights in California; or contact our office directly at 23456 Madero, Suite 170, Mission Viejo, CA 92691, (949) 380-0900, (800) 774-7494, info@job-law.com.  The Win at Work portion of Win at Work Monthly is from our ongoing syndicated column, which appears in the Los Angeles Times’ “Career Builder Magazine” and elsewhere.  Win at Work Monthly is intended for general information and should not be construed as legal advice or opinion.  Readers in need of legal advice should promptly retain the services of an attorney.  ©2006 by Sessions & Kimball LLP