What We Do
At RCD LEGAL, we help employees navigate complex legal challenges related to their rights in the workplace. Here’s an overview of the key employment disputes we handle:
Employer Misconduct
Wrongful termination occurs when an employer unlawfully fires an employee in violation of state or federal laws, such as discrimination statutes or breach of an employment contract. Employees may also have claims if they are fired for reporting workplace violations or exercising their legal rights.
Retaliation happens when employers punish employees for reporting misconduct, filing complaints, or participating in investigations. Examples include termination, demotion, or harassment after an employee asserts their workplace rights.
Workplace discrimination involves unfair treatment of employees based on protected characteristics, such as race, gender, age, disability, or religion. These actions can manifest in hiring, firing, promotions, pay, or other workplace decisions.
Mass Layoffs
Large-scale layoffs can leave employees vulnerable to sudden unemployment without proper notice or compensation. Employers may violate laws like the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) Act, which mandates notice periods for mass layoffs.
Compensation
Wage theft occurs when employees are paid below the legal minimum wage, denied overtime pay, or misled about their earnings. California law provides strong protections for employees to recover unpaid wages.
Employers often fail to provide required meal and rest breaks or pressure employees to work through them. These violations can lead to lost wages and penalties under California labor laws.
Despite legal protections, pay gaps persist, especially for women and minority workers. Wage discrimination happens when employees performing substantially similar work are paid unequally based on gender, race, or other protected traits.
California law requires employers to reimburse employees for business-related expenses, such as travel, uniforms, or equipment. Failure to do so unfairly shifts business costs to employees.
Misclassification occurs when employers label workers as independent contractors or exempt employees to avoid paying overtime, benefits, or minimum wages. This is a common violation in industries relying on contract labor.
PAGA allows employees to sue on behalf of the state for labor code violations affecting a group of workers. This powerful tool holds employers accountable for systemic abuses, benefiting not just individuals but the entire workforce.
Examples Of Employees And Workers We Represent
Wrongfully Terminated Employees
Employers often disguise or withhold their true intentions when terminating employees. In wrongful termination cases, we have represented caregivers, construction workers, sales professionals, executives, drivers, project managers, and healthcare professionals.
Retaliation Victims
We represent employees facing retaliation for their legally protected reports or activities. We have represented retaliation victims in a variety of industries, such as healthcare, senior care, tech, construction, security, and cannabis.
Workers Facing Discrimination
We represent employees who experience unfair treatment based on race, gender, age, disability, sexual orientation, or other protected characteristics. We have represented employees terminated for their pregnancy status, fired for their disability disguised as poor performance, and lost promotions based on their race. Our industry experience in wrongful termination includes the healthcare, construction, solar, medical device, and education industries.
Hourly Employees With Wage Claims
Workers often overlook their rights to overtime, the lawful minimum wage, meal breaks, rest and recovery breaks, and other benefits provided under California law. We represent individual workers and groups to help recover the compensation they are owed.
Employees Misclassified As Independent Contractors And Nonexempt (Salaried)
Employers often misclassify workers as independent contractors to avoid paying employee benefits and complying with California’s Labor Code requirements. We represent misclassified “1099” independent contractors. We also represent employees misclassified as nonexempt salaried workers.
Employees With Unreimbursed Work Expenses
Employees are often forced to cover business expenses without proper reimbursement from their employer. We represent employees to recover their reimbursements for expenses incurred for their employer’s benefit, such as fuel, supplies and equipment.
Employees Affected By Mass Layoffs And Business Closures
We represent workers laid off due to reductions in force or business closures without receiving proper notice or compliance under the California and Federal WARN Act. We have experience resolving employment disputes in bankruptcy and distressed situations.
