What If HR Ignores Your Sexual Harassment Complaint in California
What if HR ignores your sexual harassment complaint in California? Sometimes employees take the right step and report harassment, only to have HR dismiss it. HR may downplay what happened. HR may suggest you’re exaggerating. Or HR may act like it’s not their...
Can I Sue My Employer for Unpaid Wages in California While Still Employed?
Employees often ask me: “Can I sue my employer for unpaid wages while I’m still working there?” The short answer is yes, you can file an unpaid wages claim in California even if you’re still employed. But the smarter question is whether you should, and how to do it...
What to Do When HR Ignores Your Complaint in California: Employee Guide
One of the most frustrating experiences an employee can face is making the effort to raise a workplace complaint only to have Human Resources go silent. When HR ignores your complaint in California, the silence creates fear and anxiety. You’ve mustered the courage to...
How to Make a Workplace Complaint in California: Verbal vs. Written
One of the most common questions I get from California employees is simple: does a verbal complaint at work count, or does it have to be in writing? Many employees feel stuck and are unsure whether speaking up is enough, or whether they need to formalize the complaint...
Severe vs. Pervasive Sexual Harassment in California
Every week, employees call my office convinced they are being harassed at work. Many of them are. But just as often, what they’re describing is general mistreatment, unfair treatment, or a toxic boss. In other words, behavior that feels awful but doesn’t always rise...
Does Reporting Sexual Harassment Hurt Your Career in California?
When employees ask me whether reporting sexual harassment will ruin their careers, I understand the hesitation. Sexual harassment isn’t rare, and it usually isn’t as obvious as an assault. More often, it’s subtle: the senior executive who can’t stop commenting on your...
California Severance Agreement: Why You Must Act Fast and Hire a Lawyer
The number one mistake California employees make with a severance agreement offer happens before the negotiation even starts: unsure how to proceed, the terminated employee waits too long, and then attempts to negotiate with the employer without a lawyer. That...
California Unpaid Commissions Lawyer Explains How to Get Paid
Working hard to close a sale only to have your employer refuse to pay your commission is one of the most devastating experiences a California employee can face. For many salespeople, commissions aren’t just extra money, they’re the paycheck. When those commissions go...
Free Rent as Wages Is Not Legal Pay in California
Free Rent as Wages Is Not Legal Pay: California Supreme Court Ruling Explained If you’ve been working where you live - managing apartments, handling maintenance, or repairing property - in exchange for housing, your employer may tell you that free rent is your pay....
Proving Commission Chargebacks Are Illegal in California: A Guide for Employees
If you’re reading this, it’s probably because your employer hit you with a so-called “chargeback” and you’re wondering if it’s legal. The short answer: in most cases, it isn’t. The long answer is what I’m going to walk you through in this blog: how to prove commission...
Disability Discrimination and Retaliation in California
Disability Discrimination and Retaliation in California: Lessons from Lampkin v. County of Los Angeles Disability discrimination and retaliation in California workplaces are some of the most damaging violations an employee can face. Careers stall, reputations suffer,...
California PAGA Lawsuits: Can You Sue Only for Other Employees?
California PAGA Lawsuits: Can You Sue Only for Other Employees? The CRST Expedited Decision Explained Most California employees know that the Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA) lets them sue on behalf of themselves and other workers for civil penalties when their...
How to Negotiate Severance in California’s Tech Industry
How to Negotiate a Severance Agreement in California’s Technology Industry Severance agreements are nothing new in California’s technology industry, but they’re more common than ever, especially in the wake of mass restructurings, reorganizations, and “strategic...
Misclassified as an Exempt Employee in California? Here’s What It Means for Your Sick Pay
If you’ve been misclassified as an exempt employee in California, you may be losing far more than just overtime pay. Your classification affects how your sick pay is calculated, whether you get meal and rest breaks, and how much leverage you have to recover unpaid...
Do You Have to Be Paid for On-Call Time in California?
You clock out, head home, and settle in. But you’re still “on call.” You can’t leave town. You can’t have a drink after work with your friends or at the family barbeque. You’re checking your phone every few minutes, just in case. Your employer says you’re off the...
How to Negotiate Executive Severance Agreement Terms
One of the most common situations I encounter is the often abrupt departure of a senior executive, someone who’s spent years driving growth, leading teams, and delivering results. When that executive is handed a severance agreement, the message is clear: the...
How to Fight Illegal Commission Chargebacks Like an Employment Lawyer
Employees paid on commission face a frustrating and uniquely unfair problem: illegal commission chargebacks. These occur when an employer deducts money from your paycheck, money you believe you've earned, claiming they’re “reversing” a commission for a deal that fell...
How to Negotiate Severance Like an Employment Lawyer
Most employees have no idea how to negotiate an increase in their severance offer. Like everything else in life, experience makes a big difference. And when you're negotiating a severance offer with an employer, it's no different. I’m Matt Ruggles. I specialize in...
My Leave of Absence Ended in Termination: Was This Discrimination?
If your leave of absence ended in termination, you’re not alone and you’re right to question whether that firing was legal. Whether you were out on medical leave, pregnancy leave, or a disability accommodation, California law puts strict limits on when and how an...
Examples of Successful Severance Negotiation in California
Employees offered a severance package from their employer normally have the same reaction: the severance payment offered is not enough to realistically transition the terminated employee to comparable subsequent employment. The result? The very first question most...
Denied Medical Leave? What California Employees Can Learn from Head v. Costco
If you’re searching for a real-world disability discrimination case study, look no further than Head v. Costco Wholesale Corp. One former Costco employee was denied medical leave after exhausting his FMLA and CFRA time while caring for his wife with cancer and...
How Do I Collect Unpaid Wages from Independent Contractor Misclassification?
Some California employers think they’ve found a clever way to skip out on paying wages, overtime, and payroll taxes: they use what is known as "independent contractor misclassification" i.e. misclassify workers as independent contractors (ICs) instead of employees....
How to Demand Unpaid Wages Like an Employment Lawyer
Most employees encounter the situation where the employer hasn’t paid all of the employee’s earned wages and the employee is left wondering how to demand unpaid wages. It might be unpaid overtime, a missing commission, an unexplained commission chargeback, or a bonus...
Am I Misclassified as an Independent Contractor in California?
If your employer classifies you as an independent contractor, but you're doing the same work as the company’s employees, you're probably wondering: Am I really an independent contractor, or am I being misclassified? I'm Matt Ruggles, and I’ve spent more than 30 years...
Fastest Ways to Recover Unpaid Wages in California (Ranked Worst to Best)
If you’re reading this, there’s a good chance your employer owes you money and you need it now. Understanding the fastest ways to recover unpaid wages can make the difference between getting paid in days, months, or years and avoiding the costly mistakes that delay or...
Examples of Workplace Harassment in California
Many California employees who believe they’re the victim of workplace harassment are surprised to learn that what they’re dealing with, while aggravating or even offensive, may not qualify as illegal harassment under California law. That’s because not all bad behavior...
Workplace Discrimination in California? All Employees Have Equal Rights
Workplace discrimination law in California isn’t a popularity contest, and the United States Supreme Court just made that point loud and clear. In Ames v. Ohio Department of Youth Services, a unanimous Court ruled that employees can’t be forced to meet a higher legal...
Workplace Harassment in California’s Entertainment Industry
Workplace harassment in California’s entertainment industry is a real problem and it’s just as illegal as harassment in any other workplace. Whether you’re on a film set, in a recording studio, or working behind the scenes, the law is clear: the entertainment industry...
Recovering Unpaid Commissions in California: $1M Case Study
Recovering unpaid commissions is a legal right under California law, but most employees don’t know where to start. When employers refuse to pay commissions that have already been earned, it’s not a misunderstanding. It’s wage theft. Matt Ruggles, a California...
Indirect Sexual Harassment Is Illegal in California
If you’re being sexually harassed at work, it’s easy to wonder if what you’re experiencing is “bad enough” to take action. Maybe your boss isn’t the one harassing you. Maybe it’s a coworker who makes constant inappropriate comments or a manager who pressures you to...