California Employee Rights Advocate : California Labor Attorney & Lawyer : Southern CA Employment Law : Los Angeles, Orange County : United Employees Law Group

California Title Assistants, Title Officers and Title Specialists may be in for a nice New Years Gift. Research and investigation has shown that many of the title related positions require little independent judgment and in many cases should be classified as non-exempt or in other words entitled to California overtime pay.

If this is the case, these employees may be entitled to overtime pay as well as other related damages under the California labor code.

California class action attorneys have recovered millions of dollars on behalf of employees in the Title industry for failure to pay overtime and other related violations.

Some of the most well know title companies in California are Fidelity National Financial , Chicago Title Company , and Lawyers Title Insurance Corporation, and Land America who recently filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.

If you are a title assistant, title officer or title specialist in California and you are classified as exempt or deprived of overtime pay, you may wish to speak to a California labor law attorney to find out if you are entitled to overtime pay.

Strategy:

1. If you have worked long hours without overtime pay, gather one pay stub, your performance evaluations and job descriptions.
2. Gather names and phone number of any other witnesses that will attest to the hours you worked and the duties you performed.
3. Contact a California labor law attorney to find out if you and other like you may be entitled to back overtime pay.
 

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If you are a computer programmer or software developer in California, you may be under the mistaken assumption that you are unable to collect overtime. The good news is, you may be entitled to overtime pay if you are salaried and work in the computer software industry. Both federal and state law require overtime pay for computer professionals who work over forty hours a week and are not considered exempt. In California, if you are determined to be non exempt you are entitled to daily overtime when working over 8 hours, at time and one half. Additionally, you are entitled to double time when working over 12 hours.

It is not unusual for computer programmers and software developers to work extremely long hours, often up to 60-70 hour a week. Companies often deny the payment of overtime under the mistaken assumption that these employees are considered exempt from overtime.

Whether or not you are able to receive overtime pay is, in part, determined by California Labor Code Section 515.5. This code section defines narrow standards where a computer software professional would be exempt from receiving overtime. If you do not fall within these standards, or another exemption does not apply, then you are in fact entitled to receive overtime. To review the section in its entirety, refer to California Labor Code Section 515.5.

The computer-related exemption contained in this section sets forth various requirements for the exemption to apply. Generally these requirements include:

•  The job title must be very specific, as set forth in the code section. Titles include computer systems analyst, computer programmer, application systems analyst, etc.
•  Employee is primarily engaged in creative or intellectual work that requires discretion and independent judgment.
•  Employee is highly skilled and proficient in theoretical and practical application of specialized information.
• Must be paid at least $37.94 per hour, and not less than $6,587.50 per month.
• Primarily engaged in duties that involve application of system analysis techniques and procedures, design, documentation, or creation of computer systems or programs, software, or hardware for operating systems.

The employer has the burden to prove that you fall into this, or possibly another overtime exemption category. Other exemptions include: executive, learned professional, creative professional, outside sales, highly compensated jobs and physicians & surgeons. All these exemptions however, are fairly specific and narrow. California employers often misinterpret these exemptions to their benefit. The savvy employer will alter job descriptions or pay levels to avoid paying overtime. Unfortunately, employers have had a lot of leeway to interpret these exemptions as they see fit. However, recent California class action lawsuits have been brought by employees on this issue and have prevailed.

How do you prevent from being short changed if you think you should be paid overtime? The key here is for employees to know their rights. Stay current on employment law standards as they apply to you and contact a California labor law attorney. Have an attorney review your specific set of circumstances. You may find that you are eligible for overtime and are even entitled to back pay (up to 4 years in California) for previous overtime earned.
 

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Have you ever had a family emergency and had difficulty getting time off work? Well, new legislation could expand the circumstances under which you are entitled to leave from work. February 19, 2010 is the deadline for state legislators to introduce new bills for the year. Because of the state’s dire economic state, the Senate President pro tem Darrell Steinberg  has limited the number of bills that each Senator may introduce. Nonetheless, there are several bills that will be proposed in favor of California workers.

Assembly member Swanson  plans to propose AB 1666 and AB 1667,  which would expand leave under the California Family Rights Act. AB 1666 pertains to sick leave for employees. Under existing law, employees who have had worked for at least one year are entitled to take up to 12 workweeks for family care and medical leave. “Family care and medical leave” is defined as leave for the birth of a child or a serious health condition of the employee or the employee’s child, parent, or spouse. This bill would expand the definition to include any illness that has been declared a national or state pandemic.  AB 1667 would further expand the circumstances for leave to include the serious health condition of a sibling.

The other piece of important legislation is the bereavement leave bill to be sponsored by the California Employment Lawyers Association.  Back in 2007, the California legislature had considered SB 549,  which would have allowed employees to take bereavement leave upon the death of a family member, but the bill was vetoed by the governor. Current California law does not provide leave for employees to grieve, make funeral arrangements, or attend funeral services. Employees who leave work for these reasons are subject to termination without legal recourse. This bill would grant employees up to 4 days of unpaid time off upon the death of a family member without reprisal or discharge. 

If you need to take leave from work, whether it is due to illness, the birth of a baby, or the death of a family member, there are some ways to make the transition easier for both you and your employer.

Strategy:

1. Ask yourself if a leave of absence is absolutely necessary. You may want to consider options such as taking vacation time, sick days, or reducing your hours. 

2. If you are leaving for an extended period of time, take time to consider your budget including everyday expenses and medical bills, if any.

3. Check to see if you qualify for workers compensation, employment insurance, disability benefits, or any other benefits, and make your claim as soon as possible.

4. Notify your boss of your situation and try to make arrangements with your co-workers to cover your duties while you are gone.

5. When you can return, be sure to consider your duties and ability. You may want to ask your employer for reduced hours or more flexible hours.
 

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There are many class action lawsuits in the news, including claims against Johnson & Johnson for contaminated children’s shampoo, American Airlines for charging curbside baggage fees, and Nintendo for injuries sustained on the Wii. While these types of lawsuits make headlines, most class actions involve employment-related claims. 

The ability to bring a class action is a great benefit to California workers. Violations of wage and hour laws and unpaid overtime rarely affect one worker. Class actions allow a single worker to bring a lawsuit against an offending employer on behalf of all similarly situated workers. This is especially beneficial to employees whose rights have been violated, but do not have the money to litigate their own case. Class actions also save time and money by allowing one judge to hear the concerns of all employees and arrive at one settlement.

During his State of the State Address, Governor Schwarzenegger announced his attention to “improve California’s legislative climate” by restricting class action lawsuits. In a position paper, he opines that “current litigation laws lead to large settlements…at the expense of California businesses.” In theory, giving big business a break will create more jobs and help curb the state’s $20 billion budget deficit. The plans include (1) allowing defendants, not only plaintiffs, to appeal class certification, (2) requiring plaintiffs, rather than defendants, to pay for notifying other potential class members, and (3) limiting the amount of punitive damages.  These changes may occur as independent legislation or as a budget rider.

Although the governor considers tort reform “a top priority,” he may hit a roadblock when it comes to getting legislation passed by the Democratic Congress. The legislature is swamped with other issues including education reforms, an $11.1 billion water bond, and a measure to privatize the state’s prisons. Moreover, the proposed legal reforms would be devastating to California employees who are out of work or working under abusive conditions. Employee advocate groups are stringently opposed to limiting damages and civil liability. 

If you are an employee in California, you can help prevent damaging changes to class action law by contacting the governor’s office or your state congressman. The most effective means of making a difference is to write a one-page letter, but a call or an email would also be helpful. You can contact the governor’s office at: http://gov.ca.gov/interact#contact

Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger
State Capitol Building
Sacramento, CA 95814
P: 916-445-2841
F: 916-558-3160
 

California also has 2 state senators and 53 representatives. Contact information can be found at http://www.legislature.ca.gov/legislators_and_districts/districts/senatedistricts.html  and http://www.contactingthecongress.org/cgi-bin/newsweek.cgi?site=ctc&state=ca.  
 

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Last year found many California workers with personal finances in the deep red. According to the U.S. Department of Labor, California had the greatest number of job losses with over 617,000 workers either laid off or terminated.  Accordingly, the number of residents regularly receiving unemployment checks and filing new claims for unemployment benefits rose. The good news for the unemployed is that an economic recovery is projected for 2010. After cutting costs and laying off workers, employers will need new employees to meet increasing production demand. Lynn Reaser, chief economist at Point Loma Nazarene University, has predicted there will be job growth in all areas of the economy especially in the tech, health care, and accounting sectors. Although unemployment rates will be slower to improve than industry growth, Reaser suspects that the national unemployment rate will level out at 9.5 percent.

The other piece of good news is that the federal government is stepping in to create more jobs through its $500 million green jobs initiative. It may be said that “money doesn’t grow on trees,” but unemployed workers may earn some much needed green by helping out the environment. Following the millions of dollars already authorized, theU.S. Department of Labor recently announced an additional $150 million in grants for workers willing to be trained in energy efficiency jobs. Authorized by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, this award is part of a round of grants that will be used in projects in areas of the country with at least a 15% poverty rate. The goal is to provide the unemployed, particularly high school drop-outs and minorities, with basic education and occupational skills so they may find work in an eco-friendly career.

 Organizations receiving grants in California include:

• The Los Angeles Community College District
• The National Council of La Raza for San Jose and San Diego
• Northern Rural Training and Employment Consortium
• The West Hills Community College District

In addition, more green grants are expected to be announced in the next couple weeks. 

Over the next month or so the program will be working closely with employer groups to determine how much demand there is for certain types of jobs and the amount of training required for each. The type of work is lkely to be varied, but probably best suited for individuals who like working outdoors, have some construction experience, or simply want a career change. If you are interested in applying for the program, you can visit the Employment Development Department (EDD)’s One-Stop Career Center in your county.  Even though applications won’t be available for several weeks, unemployed workers can still take advantage of the center to register for California labor law attorney.
 

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