A job isn’t just a place you spend eight hours a day; it’s a part of your identity. You worked hard to get to where you are, and to see everything come crashing down can be incredibly overwhelming. Whether you have been the target of illegal discrimination or harassment or were fired for engaging in lawful activity, you have rights, and it is important you understand them. Employers count on the fact that workers won’t assert their rights. The Hardin Law Group is here to help prove them wrong.
At the Hardin Law Group, we proudly represent the interests of workers throughout Southern California, including in Los Angeles and Orange County. We have more than 25 years of experience investigating, negotiating, and litigating incredibly complex and high-stakes cases across all areas of employment law. Attorney Hardin takes a unique and comprehensive approach to every case he handles, ensuring your interests are put first and that you are kept informed about your case’s progress.
At the Hardin Law Group, our Los Angeles employment law attorneys handle a wide range of disputes that arise between employees and employers. However, unlike many other employment law firms in LA, we only represent employees. This means you don’t need to worry about our loyalties being split between you and your employer.
While we handle almost all types of employment claims, our clients routinely come to us with the following types of cases:
Wage & Hour Violations
California employers have a legal duty to pay workers a fair wage for the hours they work. However, whether due to an oversight, a misinterpretation of labor laws, or a desire to pad their bottom line, employers routinely violate wage and hour laws. Some of the most common violations include failing to provide meal and rest breaks, refusing to pay overtime wages, or denying employees’ requests to be reimbursed for business-related expenses.
Wrongful Termination
While California is an at-will employment state, meaning employers can fire a worker without a reason, they can’t fire you for the wrong reasons. Wrongful termination involves an employer’s unlawful termination of an employee and often involves discrimination or retaliation. For example, an employer cannot terminate you for making claims of sexual harassment in the workplace or filing for workers’ compensation benefits. An employer can also wrongfully terminate an employee by relying on a reason that is precluded by an employment contract.
Sexual Harassment
Sexual harassment is pervasive in workplaces across California, and Los Angeles is no exception. Quid pro quo sexual harassment occurs when a worker’s employment is conditioned on the submission to unwelcome sexual advances. The more common type of sexual harassment, however, is the creation of a hostile work environment, which occurs when an employee is subject to hostile or abusive words or actions, such as sexual misconduct or discrimination.
Retaliation
Employees would rarely bring a complaint against their employer if, in turn, the employer could fire them on the spot. Thus, under state and federal law, it is illegal for an employer to retaliate – or take any adverse action against an employee – for engaging in lawful activity. This includes complaining about working conditions, asking other employees about their rate of pay, and blowing the whistle on what you believe to be an employer’s illegal conduct.
Medical Leave Violations
State and federal law provide several options for employees to take paid and unpaid medical leave in the event of a medical event. The federal Family and Medical Leave Act requires employers to provide up to 12 weeks of job-protected, unpaid leave during any 12-month period. California’s Paid Family Leave Act requires employers to provide up to six weeks of paid benefits when a full-time employee cannot work for a qualifying medical reason.
Discrimination
While federal law broadly prohibits employment discrimination, California law provides employees with additional protections. For example, Los Angeles employers with five or more employees cannot base any employment decision on a worker’s age, disability, sex, gender, gender expression, race, national origin, pregnancy, religion, sexual orientation, marital status, or veteran status.
Class Actions
Class action lawsuits are a type of employment case where one or more employees bring a claim against their employer on behalf of other workers who find themselves in a similar situation. Class action lawsuits can be based on almost all types of employment disputes and allow employees to bring claims that may not otherwise be worth the time and expense of filing an individual lawsuit.
Trade Secrets
In most employment arrangements, employees are prohibited from divulging or misappropriating trade secrets. Trade secrets refer to confidential business information that provides a competitive edge to a company based on the fact that the information is not generally known to others who could profit from it. However, to qualify as a trade secret, an employer must be able to establish that the information was not known to the general public and that the employer took reasonable efforts to keep the information confidential.
When you’re looking for a Los Angeles employment attorney, you have a lot of choices. And the truth is, most lawyers are capable of competently handling your case. However, with so much on the line, it’s worth putting in the work to find the best LA employment attorney. At the Hardin Law Group, one of the things that sets us apart from other firms is that we only handle employment cases and only represent employees. We don’t split our loyalty between workers and employers—we’re always on the worker’s side.
Historically, employers have been able to get away with unlawful practices by intimidating workers and hoping that they don’t take the time to learn what rights they have. Attorney James Hardin founded the Hardin Law Group to help level the playing field between employers and employees. With more than 25 years of experience handling all types of employment law cases in Los Angeles and Orange County, we have what it takes to ensure that your case ends with the best result possible.
While employment law can be very complex, it’s also based on common-sense principles. So, if you believe that your employer has violated your rights and you want to learn what options you have, reach out to the Hardin Law Group. We offer all prospective clients a free, no-obligation consultation. During this initial meeting, we will take as much time as we need to answer your questions, outline the relevant laws, and explain how we can help. We also operate on a contingency fee basis, meaning we will not accept payment from you unless we can win your case through settlement or a favorable jury verdict. To learn more, and to schedule a free consultation today, call our Los Angeles employment lawyer at 310-606-2122. You can also connect with our Orange County employment attorney by calling 949-337-4810.
Newport Beach, CA 92660
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