California Labor Code section 98.6 prohibits employer from terminating, threatening to terminate, demoting, suspending, or otherwise discriminating against an employee who participates as a claimant or as a witness in proceedings before the state Labor Commissioner or otherwise exercises his or her rights under the Labor Code.
Labor Commission proceedings include claims for unpaid wages, claims for retaliation against employees for complaining about violation of wage and hour laws (such as meal/rest breaks periods, overtime, etc.), claims against en employer for preventing an employee from engaging in political activity or running for office or for requiring an employee to participate in political activity.
The employee has six months after the act of discrimination occurs to file a complaint with the Division of Labor Standards Enforcement (DLSE) as per Labor Code 98.7(a). Only employee who make actual complaint or claim are protected. Labor Code 98.6(b). Such an employee is entitled to reinstatement and reimbursement for lost wages and work benefits caused by the unlawful acts of the employer.
This protection is especially important to those employees who make a wage claim or overtime claim against their existing employer by filing a wage claim with the DLSE (Department of Labor Standards Enforcement), and who are concerned about being retaliated or fired as a result.
An issue often arises in connection with the off-duty conduct of employees of whether an employee can be disciplined or even discharged by his employer based on such off-duty conduct. This answer to this question will often depend on the facts surrounding the employee's conduct. Where the conduct is offensive and egregious, however, the courts will often rule in the employer's favor. Many employment contracts and the majority of the union collective bargaining agreements provide that the employee should not be terminated unless for good cause. It is important to understand what the "good cause" standard exactly means, as the meaning of "good cause" in this instance is quite different from the ordinary meaning of the words "good cause." Constructive discharge occurs when an employer engages in conduct that effectively forces the employee to resign or retire. Although the employee may say “I quit,” the employer relationship is actually terminated by the employer’s acts against the employee’s will. As a result, constructive discharge is legally considered the same action as a firing by the employer rather than voluntary resignation or retirement by the employee. If you are like the vast majority of workers in the United States and in California, you are an employee “at will.” This simply means that your employer may terminate your employment for any reason or no reason, as long as it’s not an illegal reason. Again, an employer can be completely arbitrary in choosing who to fire, and he can simply pull one name out of the list, and decide to terminate his/her employment. |
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