July 2004
WIN AT WORK MONTHLY
A Community Service of
SESSIONS & KIMBALL LLP, Employee Rights Attorneys
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Win at Work |
Employee Rights Update |
LAYOFF NOTICE |
CALIFORNIA’S PRIVATE ATTORNEYS GENERAL ACT OF 2004 |
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So your blue slip literally arrives out of the blue? You may have a right to advance notice of a layoff. The notice must be in writing, specify the layoff date, and state whether bumping rights exist and other information. The federal Workers Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act requires employers of 100 or more employees to give workers 60 day notice of a plant closing (50 or more workers at a site “reasonably expect” to lose their jobs in any 30-day period) or mass layoff (50 or more full time employees lose their jobs during a 30 day period). An employment loss is a termination (not voluntary or for cause), a layoff of more than six months, or a cutback in hours of more than 50%. Eligible employees who don’t receive the notice can sue their employees for up to three years’ back pay and benefits. Some blue slips may be better than a winning lottery ticket. Sexual harassment stops only when employers take steps to prevent it. |
California’s Private Attorneys General Act, codified in California Labor Code § 2699, allows employees greater options when exercising their employment rights. Under the Labor Code, many of the rights afforded to employees could only be enforced by the Labor Commissioner. Given the current budget cut backs, there were simply too many complaints and not enough enforcement officers to handle the workload. This new law allows private individuals to impose penalties that have always existed, but in the past could only be exercised by the Labor Commissioner. There are, however, some drawbacks. Most notably, 50% of any recovery secured by the employee must go to the State’s general fund, and another 25% must go to the Department of Industrial Relations. Therefore, while the employer is penalized the full amount, the employee himself or herself ultimately only recovers 25%. Labor Code § 2699 will prove most useful in areas where there are industry wide violations, where penalties taken in the aggregate may be quite substantial. For more information, individuals should contact the California Department of Industrial Relations or a qualified attorney. Michael S. Ahmad, Attorney |
Update on our attorneys: Don Sessions was featured in a front-page article in the Orange County Register as well as in local ABC Evening News broadcasts. He supported his teenage daughter who opposed an annual fundraiser for a charitable youth organization at the Playboy Mansion.
Look for our answers to employees’ questions in the "Life and Work Q & A" column of the Orange County Register’s "Business Monday" magazine. 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. © 2005 by Sessions & Kimball LLP.
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