Unfortunately, corporate bankruptcy is a common occurrence. When you write "previous employer went bankrupt leaving CA," do you mean that the corporation actually filed a petition for bankruptcy protection. If they did file a bankruptcy petition you would be considered an unsecured... View More

California has several overtime exemptions. If your job consists of selling insurance policies, you are most likely to qualify for the "inside salesperson" exemption. To qualify, a salesperson must earn a base salary of at least one and one-half times the minimum wage and earn more than... View More

Libel (the written form of defamation) must expose the plaintiff to "to hatred, contempt, ridicule, or obloquy, or [...] cause him to be shunned or avoided, or which has a tendency to injure him in his occupation." It would be very difficult to convince a jury that your employer's... View More

Labor section 226 requires employers to give its employees a pay stub each time that wages are paid (including the final time wages are paid). Furthermore, these pay stub must contain nine different categories for information. For for information on pay stubs, please visit --... View More

It depends on two factors that I do not know from your question. Do you have a written employment contract that contains any language relating to termination? Does your employer have any established policy or practice regarding termination? If the answer to both of these questions is no, then your... View More

The most basic and absolutely solid principle of California wage and hour law is that wages must be paid on time. If wages are late, the employer owes back wages, interest and a penalty equal to one day's wages for each day wages remain unpaid for a maximum of 30 days. For more information... View More

Probably yes. The employer has no duty to raise your pay. While you and your employer may negotiate the terms of any proposed pay raise, you employer is fee to attach conditions (no matter how outrageous) to any proposed pay raise. For more information on employment law topics, please visit --... View More

An employer must pay all wages that it owes an employee at the time of termination. If the employers fails to pay these wages at must pay the employee a penalty of a full day's wages up to a maximum of 30 days. You should file a wage claim with the Labor Commissioner or seek a contingency... View More

The answer depends on whether the contract requires all disputes to be adjudicated in Pennsylvania. The reason is that California Courts will not enforce a no-compete clause against a California resident because such clauses are (generally) unlawful under California law. If there's no... View More

You potentially have claims against your former employer for fraud and slander. The problem with each claim is that the employer will contend that you have only speculative damages. In other words, even if you prove that the employer did lie about you, you still must establish that these lies... View More

Three years. For more information on how employers can protect themselves against wrongful termination lawsuits, please visit -- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6s73RkEQs30

There's two questions here. First, can she fire you? Assuming that you're an "at will" employee, the answer is likely yes. Second, can she refuse to pay your wages? The answer is a clear no. Once an employee has earned his/her wages, the wages belong to the employee. Consider... View More

Although an employer has a duty to reasonably accommodate its employees, this duty does not extend to reasonably accommodate job applicants. For more information about an employer's duty to reasonably accommodate, please visit -- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CsmLKwFqqSM

If all you did was quit, the answer is very likely "no." Where former employees often do incur liability is by breaching confidentiality provisions or agreements. To read more about new California laws related to employment, please visit -- http://employerdefenseattorney.com/case-laws/

While your privacy rights were violated, the party who violated those rights was your co-worker. This year, however, California passed several new laws to protect employee privacy. To read more about these new laws, please visit -- http://employerdefenseattorney.com/employer-use-of-social-media/

If the work performed for this company occurred in California, the answer is absolutely no. Once they are earned, wages are property of the employee. The employer would owe you: back pay; interest and up to 30 days of wages as a statutory penalty. For more information on wage issues, please visit... View More

You should either (1) file a wage claim with the Labor Commissioner, which is often done without the assistance of a lawyer (2) hire a contingency attorney to file a civil complaint in court. You may also be entitled to overtime. For more information about the right of salaried employees, please... View More

Considering that the statute of limitation for most employment law claims is three years, what you need to do is file a wage claim with the Labor Commissioner. You are entitled to one hour of pay for each day that you were denied a meal break. For more information on this topic, please read --... View More

Even when there is a written agreement stating that someone is an independent contractor, California may still consider that person an employee. An employer who intentionally misclassifies someone as an independent contractor faces civil liability to the employees and at least $5k in penalties from... View More

To enforce your rights, you have probably figured out that you will need to consult with an attorney one-on-one. There are several law firms in your area that do this work regularly. For more information on disability discrimination, please watch this 3-minute video --... View More