Orange County Employment Law Blog

Earlier this week, we began a discussion about how the labor laws in some states seem unnecessarily restrictive to employees; especially in light of the very progressive labor laws that Californians enjoy. We are one of only eight states requiring employers to give their workers paid rest periods when working a certain number of hours.

Workers in other states don’t always have access to what seem like common-sense “benefits.” In some cases, strict enforcement of work time vs. rest time puts certain companies in danger of pregnancy discrimination and other illegal acts.

As the United States Supreme Court considers whether or not to extend marriage protection rights to same-sex couples in California and nationwide, the United States Congress will be considering the rights of LGBT workers to be employed free of discrimination. Just yesterday, the United States Senate reintroduced legislation aimed at protecting American workers from sexual orientation discrimination.

The Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA) has been introduced in multiple congressional sessions over the past 15 years or so. However, it has never stood a greater chance of being passed than it does now. Public approval ratings related to protection of civil liberties for homosexuals have never been higher.

California is known for having progressive employment laws to protect the rights of workers. But a retired firefighter who says he was the victim of workplace discrimination is actively working to make the state's laws even stronger.

The 53-year-old man, who retired from the Bakersfield Fire Department in 2009, claims that he was passed over for a deserved promotion because of his responsibilities as a single father. He is working with legislators to pass a law that would bar employers from discriminating against employees who have caregiving responsibilities to either young children or aging parents.

Sexual harassment is unfortunately pervasive in workplaces all across Southern California. As one recent example, a former administrative assistant at a company that delivers Medi-Cal services to low-income households alleges that the former CEO of the company engaged in aggressive sexual harassment.

The Ventura County woman has filed a lawsuit against her former employer the Gold Coast Health Plan as well as its former CEO. She alleges that management did nothing to stop the sexual harassment she suffered and that she was eventually laid off for reporting it.