Kevin Schwin obtained a $242,500 settlement for a client who had been falsely accused of theft and wrongfully terminated from a previous employer.  The employer tried to cover up its actions but Kevin Schwin uncovered substantial evidence corroborating the client’s testimony.  A large settlement followed.

Employers in California who do not pay their workers lawfully are exposed to even greater liability than they may think.  In Phillips v. Gemini Moving Specialists, the employee filled a company truck with the wrong type of gasoline, and the employer had to pay $70 to tow the vehicle and, presumably, an additional amount to have the vehicle drained of gasoline and refueled.  The employee agreed verbally to pay for half the towing expense ($35), but requested that the money not be deducted from his next paycheck, as his rent was coming due.  The employer nevertheless deducted $93.75 from the employee’s next paycheck.  The employee never gave the employer written authorization for the deduction.  California law requires that the employer obtain written authorization to make such a deduction.  The employee complained about the deduction and was terminated shortly thereafter.

If your employer provides an internal mechanism for reporting sexual harassment, you must take reasonable steps to report the harassment to your employer. Follow the following steps:

Review Your Employee Handbook and/or Collective Bargaining Agreement

Employers generally set forth procedures for internally reporting incidents of sexual harassment in the employee handbook and/or collective bargaining agreement. These procedures generally establish an "open door policy" whereby employees can report the harassment to a supervisor, a Human Resources Manager, or a neutral person such as an Ombudsman. Review these procedures carefully.

In a hotly litigated case, Kevin Schwin recently defended an individual who was sued for defamation and successfully obtained dismissal of the lawsuit under California’s Anti-SLAPP law.  The Anti-SLAPP law, Cal. Code Civ. Proc. § 425.16, is designed to protect first amendment rights of free speech and petition.  The law requires the defendant to show that s/he is being sued for conduct that comes within the protection of the first amendment.  If this is shown, the burden shifts onto the plaintiff (the person bringing the suit) to show that there is a probability that the plaintiff will prevail on the merits of the suit.  If a probability of prevailing on the merits is shown, then the case will proceed.  Thus, a SLAPP suit, by definition, is one that lacks merit.

By Kevin Schwin

Employment discrimination cases generally differ from other kinds of cases.  The reason for this is because employers, especially large employers, such as United Airlines, have nearly unlimited resources, while employees generally have very limited resources to pay for expensive litigation.  In addition, employers do not take allegations of discrimination lightly; thus, it may be desirable for an employer to pay hundreds of thousands of dollars in costs and attorney’s fees to fight a discrimination case in order to be “vindicated” and absolved of liability.  Employees who feel they have been discriminated against often desire vindication as well.

By Kevin Schwin

It would be impossible to list all the reasons employers get sued for wage and hours violations in a few short paragraphs.  My intention is to summarize the main reasons employers get sued for wage and hours violations and provide general advice to employers on how to avoid costly suits.  In my experience, there are three main reasons employers fail to follow the wage and hours laws: 1) lack of knowledge of the law; 2) lack of understanding of the law; and 3) financial motives.