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List Five Types of Common Legal Issues Relevant to the Workplace

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Minimum wage disputes are among the most common labor law issues in the state of California. Our minimum wage is much higher than the federal minimum wage, and if a state law provides more protection for workers than a federal law, employers must adhere to those standards. Your employer is required to pay you at least the state minimum wage, and they cannot deduct operating costs from your salary (such as the cost of uniforms, cash register bottlenecks, or spills and breakages). Your employer also can`t force you to work for tips without paying you other wages. An employer`s nightmare is an assault lawsuit against him. The truth is that in most cases they are completely preventable. An employer may be liable for injuries sustained by an employee in the course of work that are due at least in part to the negligence of an employer if the employer acts reasonably within the scope of his or her employment. This may seem obvious and easy to prevent, but consider that there were 2,976,400 reportable workplace injuries in 2012 alone. Workplace accidents can and do happen. If you have any of these employment law issues, we may be able to help.

Call us at 818-230-8380 or fill out the form below. We will ask you a few questions, answer your questions, and let you know about legal actions you may be able to take. If you are an employer seeking information about the lawful termination of an employee, you should contact both the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) and your state employment office to ensure that you are not violating federal or state labor laws. You may want to contact a licensed attorney. You must submit documents in support of your discrimination claim, such as emails, records, and/or letters. Your employer may hire lawyers to defend the claim, so you may want to consider legal advice or representation from an employment lawyer to protect your rights. There are two main types of harassment that occur in American workplaces: hostile harassment in the work environment, which includes harassment so severe or pervasive that it creates hostile working conditions, and reciprocal sexual harassment, which usually involves the exchange of sexual or romantic favors in exchange for favorable working conditions. In Australia, a casual worker is paid by the hour and there are no full-time joint benefits such as sick leave. You will be contacted if the regular workforce needs to be reconstituted, but a casual worker may refuse the opportunity to work. To ensure that the company is committed to occupational safety and health, it is necessary for the employer to develop a health and safety policy that clearly sets out the company`s responsibilities and procedures for preventing injury and illness.

Discrimination, harassment and unfair treatment in the workplace by anyone on the following grounds: Another common legal issue is discrimination in the workplace. Employers can often be biased and hire unfairly based on political views, gender, race, religion, etc. This opens the door to increased liability and even potential prosecution. In addition, discrimination can come from employees themselves against their employees. Typically, especially if left unattended, discrimination can turn into harassment, and a company is held responsible for failing to prevent it. If the intern is really doing the work of a permanent employee, he or she cannot legally be considered an intern, but a regular employee who should be paid as such. During conversations with business partners, contractors, or potential employees, you can share confidential information about how you run your business. If you need to sign a confidentiality agreement (or NDA), you can protect your trade secrets.

A confidentiality agreement is a legally binding contract that ensures that the parties signing it keep certain information contained in the contract confidential. Provide resources to answer your questions about occupational safety or health Sometimes a company makes the mistake of hiring an intern to replace a regular employee and do the same job. It is obviously illegal if this intern is not paid equally for the same work. Refusing reasonable precautions in the workplace because of disability or religious beliefs One of the common scenarios is increased consumer demand, where companies sacrifice product quality to meet quantity. When products or services lose quality, they can become defective or even cause injury to customers. Companies can offer guarantees to customers with the promise to solve certain problems within a certain time frame that must be properly met. Companies must ensure that their employees can legally work in the United States and perform the necessary background or identity checks. There may be illegal immigrants who have signed with false documents, and surprise immigration checks can cause big problems for ignorant companies. Child labour may also be prosecuted.

Examples of discrimination include paying men more than women for the same work, refusing to hire a particular race, favouring one of the protected classes, or creating an environment that is not conducive to an employee with a disability. Typically, an employee who has been discriminated against will file a complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission within a certain period of time after the incident, depending on their field. From there, a court case can determine whether the alleged discriminant is guilty. One of the most common legal pitfalls that can arise in the workplace is intellectual property and copyright. Tech startups and small businesses can easily run into this legal problem simply because they didn`t know about it. What classifies you as an employee? Some employers hire contractors, interns, and others they may not consider “employees” and therefore not covered by state and federal labor laws. However, if a “contractor” performs his or her role as an employee and a separate contract does not explicitly provide otherwise, he or she may still be covered by labour law. Similarly, if an intern is doing the work of a permanent employee, he or she can legally be considered a regular employee and should be paid as such. If the work requires heavy physical work and the use of special equipment, the employer must ensure that the work environment complies with health and safety rules and guidelines. Workplace accidents are common, and if they do occur, the employees involved in the accident may decide to sue the company for damages. Employers with FMLA-eligible employees have specific rights and obligations under the law.

Find out how different types of employers can be covered by the FMLA. The national minimum wage is the lowest legal hourly wage for many employees. Tips may have a different salary. In addition to employing adults who can legally work, it`s also important for employers to comply with U.S. child labor laws or eventually file legal action. Since 1. As of January 2017, some employers are required to submit injury or illness data electronically. In this way, OSHA can improve the enforcement of workplace safety requirements and provide valuable online information to workers, job seekers, customers, and the general public. The new rule also prohibits employers from preventing their employees from reporting an injury or illness. The FLSA provides for a minimum wage and hourly standards, but states can provide more standards of protection.

Companies need to be aware of current definitions and legal requirements for fair compensation of employees. Intellectual property litigation can last for years, and small businesses run the risk of losing if they are sued by larger companies with a larger budget and legal team. One of the most common legal issues concerns workplace safety rules. While security risks in offices may be minimal, there are still basic safety standards that employers must follow. Trip and fall accidents are among the most common causes of injury. Safety becomes even more important in potentially hazardous factory environments or when items such as hazardous chemicals are handled. Employers are required to provide appropriate protective equipment and procedures that minimize the risk of injury, otherwise they may be held liable for negligence. The high cost of legal services is one of the main reasons why small business owners avoid hiring a legal representative until it`s almost too late.

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