Labor Law

If you experience an injury at your work place, it is important for you to file a worker’s compensation claim in order to receive justice from your employer. Typically there are three fundamental eligibility requirements that you must have: You must be an employee, your employer must carry workers compensation insurance, and you must have…

As cities and states experiment with increases in minimum wage, enforcement strategies are evolving to meet the challenges of this labor equality movement. Since the end of 2012, workers and labor organizations have been fighting to raise minimum wage across the nation to reverse growing wage inequality. Their efforts fought heavily in the public eye,…

As the old saying goes, “work smarter, not harder.” While some working professionals consider it to be wise work ethic advice, others prefer the traditional method of working hard to reap the rewards. However, what happens when an employee’s overtime hours are not compensated for by the employer?    Working overtime is not uncommon for…

The new online QME Panel request form 106 is most definitely the easiest form to fill out that the Division of Workers’ Compensation has created. This form was made available on October 1, 2015, after a press release in July announced that the paper format will no longer be accepted. For all intents and purposes,…

The short answer is maybe.  However, it is only when an employee has pre-designated his or her private doctor, and the pre-designation occurred prior to the workers’ compensation injury.  There are additional requirements that must be met before an injured worker can see his/her private doctor and remain under the care of one’s private doctor…

California Workers’ Compensation Laws provide certain benefits to employees injured on the job, including medical treatment for the industrial injury. At the initial evaluation, the workers’ compensation doctor will create a treatment plan which may include consultations with specialists, conservative medical treatment, diagnostic testing, and/or surgery. This means that the injured worker will be entitled…

Beginning January 1, 2015, California’s new paid sick leave law takes effect. This new law mandates that California employers must allow its employees to accrue and use paid sick time. However, while this new paid sick leave law aims to benefit employees and is seemingly a leap forward for employees’ workplace rights, some believe this…

In California, employers are required to have workers’ compensation insurance to cover employee injuries, also called industrial injuries.  How can an employer or employee identify when an industrial injury has occurred through occupational labor?  Sometimes it is easy to identify an industrial injury (ex: office worker slips and falls, construction worker falls off a ladder,…

Do you have to determine whether a professional in your company is exempt from California overtime laws? This can be a challenging and confusing exercise for many who are attempting to classify a professional employee as exempt or non-exempt from overtime laws. If your professional employee is, for example, a doctor, dentist, architect, or an…