Roseville Employment Lawyer

Roseville Employment Law Attorney

At Peterson Watts Law Group, LLP, our approach to employment law is preventative. By placing an emphasis on risk management, we are able to help our clients avoid costly disputes. Where avoidance is not possible, we successfully protect our clients in litigation. When litigation arises, we defend employers in court with knowledge and experience. If you need assistance with any type of employment law, you should get in touch with our office today so that a Roseville employment lawyer can review your case.

We have close to seven decades of collective legal experience helping employers all over California, and we are proud to represent businesses in Roseville.

What Is Employment Law?

If you run a workplace, whether it is an office or another type of place that employs workers, you will find yourself bound to a great deal of contracts and subject to a wide range of regulations. If you are accused of not fulfilling your duties as an employer or violating a contract with one of your employees, you might find yourself in a tough legal situation.

You can avoid such a fate by relying on an employer rights attorney to manage your risk as you develop your workplace and to help address conflicts with litigation as they arise. For example, common issues that arise pertaining to employer rights include:

• Issues with Unpaid Work: If you have employees who are working unpaid overtime, they might file a complaint about the work. You will need to prove that they are either exempt from overtime or that there was a miscommunication at hand in order to defend yourself in such a situation.
• Accusations of Wrongful Termination: If an employee claims that they were fired for unjust reasons, then you could face a complex legal situation. For instance, you are not allowed to fire people based on a long list of actions, such as complaining about the workplace, becoming pregnant or ill, or because of characteristics about their identity.
  You will need to prove that you had a just reason to fire them, which your attorney can help you prove.
• Employee Discrimination: If you have an employee who claims to be experiencing discrimination in the workplace, you need to have a knowledgeable employment lawyer working on your case to help you address the issue. Your attorney can look over agreements with the employee, help you understand both your rights and theirs, and also review the facts of the situation to determine your legal options.
• Sexual Harassment: If one or more of your employees file a complaint about sexual harassment, this is not an issue to be taken lightly. This can have long-lasting implications for the reputation of your workplace. It is important that you have an attorney review the situation to determine if the alleged action qualifies as harassment and to determine how you can proceed with handling the situation.
• Retaliation Claims: If you have an employee who claims that you retaliated against them for certain actions, like submitting a wage or hour claim, then you will need an experienced employer defense attorney to advocate for you in this case.
• Violation of Workplace Safety: All employees are entitled to a safe workplace. If one or more of your employees raise concerns about the safety dynamic in your workplace, you could see an investigation in your workplace down the line. You should get in touch with an employer rights attorney who can get you advice tailored to your workplace and the accusations that you are facing.

Roseville Employer Rights Attorneys

We help employers to prevent and resolve disputes by offering a broad spectrum of services in Roseville, including:

• Litigation
• Alternative dispute resolution such as mediation and arbitration
• Ensuring wage and hour compliance
• Ensuring the proper classification of employees
• Drafting of employment agreements
• Drafting employment manuals
• Investigating claims of harassment or discrimination in the workplace
• Representing employers in administrative proceedings brought by the labor commissioner or other government agencies such as OSHA or the state attorney general

A common mistake that employers make is utilizing employee manuals that are not tailored to their needs. Our lawyers work closely with clients to craft employee manuals that address issues unique to their workplaces. Drafting handcrafted employee manuals is just one component of our preventative approach to employment law.

By ensuring that our clients’ company policies are pursuant to the law, we prevent fines and disputes. We also prevent harassment suits by making sure complaints are investigated and handled and according to an appropriate policy. We provide our clients with risk management, and risk mitigation from start to finish.

FAQs

Q: What Are an Employee’s Rights in California?

A: If you are an employee in California, you have a long list of rights. For instance, you have the right to work in a safe workplace free from discrimination, harassment, and toxicity. In most cases, you are entitled to workers’ compensation so that you receive financial compensation if you are injured at work.

You are also required to make the minimum wage and have a set amount of rest breaks and meal breaks in the state labor code. In the event that you file a complaint against your employer, you are protected from retaliation and wrongful termination.

Q: What Is the New Labor Law in California?

A: In 2024, California increased the minimum wage throughout the state to $16 for all employers, no matter how many employees work at your company. If you are not paying the minimum wage to your employees in California, then you might see legal action taken against you.

An experienced employment lawyer can aid in reviewing your employment policies and your employment manual to make sure you are up to date on the latest labor laws in the state of California.

Q: What Is Unfair Treatment at Work?

A: A common issue that you might encounter in the field of employer law is an accusation of unfair or discriminatory treatment in the workplace. You might find yourself faced with charges of wage discrimination, gender discrimination, harassment in the workplace, or favoritism. If this happens in your workplace, it is important to review the facts of the case and to determine what your employees are entitled to and what your workplace policies are.

Your employment attorney can help review the situation you are in and determine what your rights and your legal options are.

Q: Are Raises Mandatory In California?

A: You are not legally required to give your employees raises in California, but you are legally required to stay consistent with the law pertaining to minimum wage. In January 2024, the minimum wage in California was raised to $16 an hour. If you do not make an adjustment to your employees’ salaries and pay them this amount, then you could find yourself in a legal dispute and face serious penalties.

Q: Can You Be Fired Without Warning in California?

A: Yes, employers are within their rights to fire their employees at any time for no reason at all because the state of California is an at-will state when it comes to employment. There are, of course, some exceptions to this, such as when an employee is working in a tenured position, but for most employers, it is allowed.

It is also against the law to fire someone for unlawful reasons such as their ethnicity, whether they are a whistleblower, whether they become pregnant, or because they report an instance of sexual harassment or workplace discrimination.

Contact Peterson Watts Law Group, LLP

Invest in the future of your business by ensuring that your company policies will shield you from disputes and other unforeseen costs. Contact our office in Sacramento, California, at (916-749-1431).