Unlock a wealth of knowledge and gain a deeper understanding of California’s employment law landscape. Our blog is a treasure trove of insightful posts authored by Matt Ruggles, exploring the latest trends, legal updates, and practical advice.
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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....
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...
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...
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...
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