Blog

• 0 21 February 2012

  Recoverable Damages for Retaliation in California

  California and federal law protect you, the California employee, from retaliation at the hands of your employer or another person in charge of you, such as your supervisor.  If your employer is found to have retaliated against you, you could potentially recover thousands of dollars in damages.  An experienced Southern California employment lawyer will help you determine if you might have a case against your California employer. Who are you protected from? 
Under certain California and federal law, if your employer employs more than 15 or 20 people, you, the California employee, are protected from your employer retaliating against you. What [...]

• 0 16 February 2012

  Ways Your California Employer Might Retaliate Against You

  For a California employee to successfully claim employer retaliation and recover damages, your California employer must have retaliated against you in a way that would dissuade a reasonable employee from exercising a protected right. For example, if your employer does not invite you out to lunch, that might be unfriendly, but not necessarily retaliation.  However, if the lunch was part of a training program that you should not be missing, the perhaps retaliation is involved.  An experienced Southern California employment lawyer can look over the facts of your specific case. Here are a few examples of retaliation — talk to [...]

• 0 14 February 2012

  What is Employer Retaliation in California?

  As we have discussed in previous posts, retaliation occurs in many California workplaces, even though it is against federal and state law. For a California employee to have a claim for retaliation, you must have exercised a protected right (see below) and as a result, immediately or shortly thereafter suffered some adverse retaliatory action by your employer.  Talk to an experienced Southern California employment lawyerif you believe you have been the victim of employer retaliation.  Who is protected from retaliation in California? 
Under California and federal law, employees, applicants for employment, and former employees are protected from employer retaliation.   What [...]

• 0 10 February 2012

  Retaliation is Against the Law in the California Workplace

  California employees are afforded many rights. For example, if you, the California employee, report instances of sexual harassment that are occurring in your workplace, you are protected by California and federal law from employer retaliation. To have a claim for retaliation in California you must have exercised a protected right (such as reporting sexual harassment) and as a result, suffered adverse retaliatory action by your employer immediately or shortly thereafter.  An experienced Southern California employment lawyer can help you determine if you have been the victim of employer retaliation. In a recent case, an administrator at a local university claimed that [...]

• 0 9 February 2012

  Should Interns Get Paid in California?

  Both California and federal law protects all employees — paid and unpaid.  This means that if you are an intern, working for free, you still have certain rights according to the state of California and the federal government.  That being said, a young woman who was working as an unpaid intern for Harper’s Bazaar has filed suit against the company for violations of federal and state wage and hour laws. The woman claims that she is entitled to back wages and overtime compensation under the Fair Labor Standards Act.  If you are an intern and you believe your employer owes you [...]

• 0 2 February 2012

  Sexual Harassment on the Rise in California Workplaces

  Sexual harassment is a fact of life in many California workplaces.  Sexual harassment, such as inappropriate behavior, comments, or touching often creates a hostile work environment for both the victims of the harassment and those who overhear or see the harassment. Whether or not you are the direct recipient of sexual harassment in your Southern California workplace, you might still have a claim and be able to recover thousands. An experienced Southern California employment lawyer can help you determine if you have a case against your employer. California law protects employees.  The state passed a law in 2004 with the [...]

• 0 31 January 2012

  Resolving Business Disputes in Southern California

  Business disputes, such as breach of contract issues, happen more often than you might guess between California individuals and companies. Sometimes, two individuals who go into a business as friends decide to end a business over professional disagreements that turn personal.  If you are entering into a business partnership in Southern California, or are experiencing problems in your current partnership, it is important that you protect your rights by finding out what options you have for resolving partnership disputes. Here are a few of the most commonly used methods for resolving partnership disputes in California: Arbitration – when a neutral person helps to determine the outcome of the [...]

• 0 26 January 2012

  Whistleblower Protection for California Employees

  Under the Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA), the state of California protects employees from unlawful retaliation for reporting discrimination, sexual harassment, or other kind of illegal activity in the workplace.  A recent California Supreme Court ruling greatly expanded employees rights to sue for retaliation for being a “whistleblower,” or a person who tells the public or someone in authority about alleged dishonest or illegal activities occurring in a government department, a public or private organization, or a company.  If your California employer has been retaliating against you for reporting unlawful behavior, contact an experienced Southern California employment law lawyer today. In California, [...]

• 0 24 January 2012

  Construction Defect Issues in Southern California

  As many Southern Californians know firsthand, building a new home or renovating an older one can be a rewarding and exhausting experience. We have seen many issues arise when excited homeowners hire a construction team without taking the necessary steps, as outlined below.  No matter how much you trust your Southern California builder, there there are bound to be a few construction defect issues arising here and there. The Skapik Law Group team has put together a must-read list of how to avoid a bad builder or contractor: RESEARCH.  Use the internet to do a background check on your potential builder. Then, [...]

• 0 20 January 2012

  Contracts Between Two or More Parties in California

  In California, contracts between two or more parties are formed every day.  Under California law, a contract involves an offer, acceptance, and consideration.  An offer is a written or spoken statement by a party of his or her intention to be held to a commitment upon the acceptance of the offer. There are a number of factors to look at to determine whether a statement constitutes an offer, which an experienced contracts lawyer can discuss with you at length. Next, the other party must accept the offer.  In order for an acceptance of an offer to be valid, the acceptance [...]