California, a beacon of workforce innovation, suffers a glaring disparity in its booming science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) sector: a gender wage gap. Women make as many significant contributions to STEM fields as their male counterparts, but their...
Wage and Hour Violations
Can your employer lower your pay rate?
If your employer lowers your pay rate, it can feel very frustrating and unfair. You took the job because you thought you’d be earning a certain hourly wage or a specific salary. Now that is being changed, but you are likely expected to do the same duties that you...
Is time clock rounding still legal in California?
Rounding an employee’s time clock hours to the next set increment has been a long-standing practice that made bookkeeping and accounting easier on the employer. It was also reflective of the fact that time clocks were once more primitive in nature, so the practice was...
Can your employer stop you from talking about your pay?
Some employers believe that they can prohibit their employees from talking about how much they’re paid. They may try to prohibit them from asking their coworkers about their pay rates or bringing it up themselves. They simply want to put an end to all of these...
4 common violations in the workplace
All workplaces should be safe and enjoyable for everyone. Alas, some workplaces fail to provide safe and fair environments for people, especially employees. One of the reasons why many employees feel stressed and short-changed at work is due to labor violations. Here...
What to do if you are experiencing wage theft
You are legally entitled to full wages when you work. Unfortunately, this doesn’t always happen. Some employers steal from their employees in different ways, including paying less than the minimum wage per hour, misclassifying employees, taking tips and so on. But...
Workers paid a daily rate may have the right to overtime protections
Every business that operates in California features slightly different practices regarding the compensation and motivation of employees. The pay and benefits offered by a company, as well as the culture of the organization, can play a major role in what kind of talent...
Is your employer violating your wage and hour rights?
Your employer needs to treat you fairly. According to the Labor Commissioner’s Office, employees in California should not exceed 8 hours per workday and 40 hours per workweek. These are the legal numbers in most industries. Working more than the required hours...
Wage theft outranks all other American theft
When most people think about common types of theft, they think of bank robberies or home invasions. They assume that physical assets or financial assets are simply being stolen by individuals in one-time events. But the truth is that some studies have labeled wage...
Understanding California’s prevailing wage law
For close to 100 years, California has had a prevailing wage law that sets the minimum wage that workers must be paid if they are working on a construction project that’s paid for, at least in part, with federal, state and/or local government funding. These projects...