Employment Attorneys Serving Santa Ana, California
Stephen Danz and Associates is a statewide California law firm focusing on representing employees in and outside of Santa Ana. The firm prides itself on standing up for plaintiffs in cities within Northern California and Southern California since the State’s courts are as specialized and diverse as its landscape. In Santa Ana, California, our attorneys are highly specialized and handle complex employment lawsuits where private individuals trust us to bring forth their cases in local, state and federal courts.
Healthy Workplaces, Healthy Families Act of 2014 (Mandatory Paid Sick Leave Law)
Employees who work in California for 30 or more days for the same employer within a year of beginning employment are entitled to accrue paid sick leave. Sick leave accrues at the rate of at least 1 hour for every 30 hours worked. An employer may choose a different accrual rate if the leave accrues “on a regular basis” and employees will accrue at least 24 hours of sick leave or paid time off by the 120th calendar day of employment, each calendar year, or in each 12-month period. However, an employer has the option to award all paid sick leave at the beginning of each year of employment, calendar year, or 12-month period. Please also note that an employer may cap the total amount of paid sick leave that employees may accrue at 48 hours or 6 days.
An employer must provide paid sick days, on the oral or written request of the employee, for diagnosis, care, or treatment of an existing health condition of, or preventive care for, an employee’s family member. In addition, family members include an employee’s child (regardless of age), parent, spouse or domestic partner, parent of a spouse or domestic partner, grandparent, grandchild, and sibling. On the oral or written request of an employee who is a victim of domestic violence, sexual assault, or stalking, an employer must also provide paid sick days to allow the employee to obtain relief such as a temporary restraining order.
What Steps Are Employers Required to Take Upon Termination?
An employer must pay all wages owed to an employee immediately at the time of discharge or within 72 hours if the employee either is laid off from seasonal employment or voluntarily quits. If a quitting employee has given more than 72 hours’ notice of the intention to quit, wages are due at the time of quitting. When an employee is hired for a particular job assignment or time duration, the employment relationship is terminated when the employer releases the employee after completing the assignment or time duration.
Disclosure or Assignment of Inventions as Condition of Employment
Any provision in an employment agreement which provides that an employee shall assign any of his or her rights in an invention to his or her employer shall not apply to an invention that the employee developed entirely on his or her own time without using the employer’s equipment, supplies, facilities, or trade secret information. However, this protection does not apply if the invention results from any work that the employee performed for the employer. An employment agreement requiring an employee to assign an invention that does not have to be assigned under is against public policy and unenforceable. Further, an employer’s condition of employment that the employee assign rights in any invention is void and unenforceable. However, an employment contract can require the employee to disclose in confidence to the employer all of the employee’s inventions made solely or jointly with others during his or her term of employment.
Private Attorneys General Civil Suit for Labor Code Violations
Under the Private Attorneys General Act of 2004, an “aggrieved employee” can bring a civil action on behalf of himself or herself and others against an employer for violating any Labor Code section that carries a civil penalty, as long as the Labor and Workforce Development Agency or its departments, divisions, commissions, boards, or employees do not do so. Every Labor Code section carries a civil penalty for its violation, whether specifically provided in the statute or enumerated in Labor Code §2699(f). Therefore, with certain exceptions, an “aggrieved employee” may bring a civil action on behalf of other current or former employees against an employer for violating any provision of the Labor Code. The civil action may be brought on behalf of the employee and other aggrieved employees. An “aggrieved employee” is a person who was employed by the employer and against whom one or more of the alleged Labor Code violations was committed.
Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA)
The FMLA guarantees eligible employees leave from work for any one of the following reasons:
(1) The birth of a child of the employee;
(2) The placement of a child with the employee for adoption or foster care;
(3) To care for a spouse, parent, or child with a serious health condition;
(4) The employee’s own serious health condition, which makes the employee unable to perform his or her job; or
(5) Any “qualifying exigency” arising out of the fact that the employee’s spouse, child, or parent is on active military duty.