Employers, if you have been using a forced arbitration clause as a condition of employment, you have some decisions to make. As of January 2020, California Assembly Bill 51 (AB 51) takes the teeth out of most of those old employment provisions.
What makes an independent contractor different from an employee?
How do you know you're an independent contractor and not an employee? (If your answer is, "Because my boss told me so," you may want to keep reading.)
Don't tolerate a bully that's violating your rights as a worker
It's nice to think that all the kids who start out as bullies on the playground grow up and become decent people. However, the reality is that some people are just bullies all their lives. If your boss happens to be one of them, you may have trouble standing up for your rights as an employee.
Uber, Lyft fight worker rights bill in California
Ride-hailing companies like Uber and Lyft provide an excellent source of supplemental income for people who are looking to make a few bucks on the side. For others, the driving gig is their sole source of income either by choice or because they're unable to find more lucrative work.
New threshold for exempt employees is coming
Are you an "exempt employee" who isn't entitled to overtime no matter how many hours you put in behind the desk?
Don't let your employer get away with violating your rights
Most people only have a vague idea of what rights they have as employees. Young people, especially, often lack the experience to know when they're being cheated or abused by an employer. However, even older workers can be taken advantage of -- especially if they're from poor socio-economic classes, immigrants who don't speak much English or they're afraid of losing their job and not finding another one.
Don't fall for these tricks that can cheat you out of overtime
Most employers are perfectly aware that they need to pay their employees overtime when those employees work more than 40 hours in a week -- but some still try to skirt the law to save a few bucks.
The customer's not always right -- and an employer may be liable
If the customer is always right, does that mean anything goes? Do you, as an employee of whatever enterprise that puts you in the public's path, simply have to suffer whatever bad and boorish behavior a customer wants to dish your way?
Know you right to refuse unsafe work
Every job has risks of some sort -- but some are far more dangerous than others. For those occupations, certain protective measures have to be taken to ensure that workers can operate with at least some sense of personal safety.
Is your employer just awful or acting illegally?
There's a big difference between a bad boss and one that is acting illegally. It's important to know the difference before you decide that you're going to quit and sue.
