Ontario Employment Law And Labor Attorneys
Ontario is the fourth biggest city in San Bernardino County. Ontario has a diverse economy and is one of the few places in Southern California that still has a large manufacturing industry. Just like in the rest of the county, warehousing, distribution centers and various service industries are also important parts of the city’s economy.
While Ontario has one of the fastest growing economies in the state, it is also one of the cities where violation of employment laws happens most commonly. One illustration of the fact that employers in Ontario take advantage of their employees is that the incomes in Ontario are among the lowest incomes in California– around 35% less than the state average.
Our law firm provides representation to working people in Ontario and the rest of the San Bernardino county. At Broslavsky & Weinman, LLP, we are always on the side of employees and never represent employers. We help employees fight discrimination, harassment, wrongful termination, and wage and hour violations. We combine diligent, effective advocacy with personal attention and focus on our client’s needs, and have taken on and achieved success against numerous San Bernardino employers of all sizes and across many industries.
Employment Discrimination
Employment discrimination is all too common in companies throughout San Bernardino. Fortunately, California law provides remedies for unlawful discriminatory conduct. Employers are legally prohibited from taking negative employment actions against an employee because of certain characteristics, including but not limited to:
- Age
- Physical or Mental Disability
- Religion
- Race
- Gender
- Citizenship status
Victims of discrimination are frequently terminated or laid off. Other unlawful discriminatory conduct can include unfair disciplinary actions or write ups, demotion, reduction in pay, failure to pay the same salary that your co-workers receive for similar work, denial of promotions, and being insulted on the basis of personal characteristics mentioned above.
Employees who pursue discrimination claims can recover lost wages (past and future), compensation for emotional distress, and potentially other damages. As employers are not very likely to acknowledge discrimination, the key is finding and gathering direct and/or indirect evidence that supports your claim. Our Ontario Employment discrimination attorneys work hard and utilize effective strategies to unearth such evidence and bring about successful resolution of the case.
Sexual Harassment in the Workplace
Becoming a victim of sexual harassment in the workplace is a terrible position to be placed in, and the effects of sexual harassment can impact not only a work environment but also a person’s home life as well. Both the harassers and employers who allow it to happen should be held responsible.
Sexual harassment includes many forms of offensive behavior such as touching, unwelcome sexual advances or flirting, suggestive comments, and sexual gestures. Retaliation for reporting or complaining about harassment is also illegal.
There is no specific guidebook on how to deal with being harassed and the confusion and embarrassment that comes along with it. We work closely with each of our clients to understand their situation and goals, to provide personalized legal advice to protect their rights, and to initiate a legal action if that’s what the client would like to do.
Wage and Hour Violations
Employers often fail to pay their employees everything they are owed under law. The most common reason companies cheat their workforce out of wages is that employers know that not all workers are aware of all their rights, or assume that employees are so scared to lose their job that they will put up with being underpaid.
However, employees can confirm what their compensation should be and whether their employer is violating the law by talking to a knowledgeable Ontario wage and hour attorney, and companies are moreover prohibited from retaliating against employees for complaining about unpaid wages.
In addition to obvious violations such as failure to pay minimum wage or overtime, there are many more subtle but still unlawful wage practices, such as:
- Failure to pay for downtime between performance of regular job duties
- Failure to pay for certain time before start of regular job duties, such as the time spent setting up workstation or logging into computer systems
- Failure to pay for standby time
- Failure to reimburse for work-related expenses
These are just samples of different violations, especially as some different professions have their own requirements. If you believe that you have a wage claim or are just not sure whether you do, you can contact us for more information at (310) 575-2550.
Wrongful Termination
The most common types of wrongful termination are tied to discrimination, sexual harassment, and wage and hour violations described above, specifically:
- Termination because of discriminatory reasons or for complaining about discrimination
- Termination because of complaining about sexual harassment by a supervisor or co-worker
- Termination because of complaining about being paid less than what you are owed under the law
Other kinds of wrongful termination include retaliation for acting as a “whistleblower” with regard to a company’s illegal actions, retaliation for taking sick/medical leave, and retaliation for filing or asking to file a workers’ compensation claim.
If you have recently been terminated from a position, it is critical to understand whether or not your legal rights have been violated. Naturally, employers almost always word their release statements so they appear lawful – even if they have illegal underlying reasons. Sometimes, legitimate and illegitimate reasons are present at the same time – such as for example, an employer legitimately having to lay off someone but then choosing which employee to terminate based on discriminatory or other improper reasons. Our Ontario wrongful termination lawyers can go over your employment history and assist you to determinate whether your termination was unlawful and you have a potential case against your former company.
Contact Our Employment Law Attorneys in Ontario Today for a Free Consultation
If you feel that that you may be a victim of any of the conduct discussed above and would like to discuss your situation and legal options, call or contact one of our Ontario employment law attorneys by calling us at (909) 551-4455 or filling out our online contact form.
We also offer our services in the following cities:
