Most California employees hear the same script when they are laid off or terminated: “This is our standard severance.” “It’s not negotiable.” “This is the best we can do.” Sometimes that is true. More often, it is positioning. In California, there is generally no...
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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.
Matthew J. Ruggles
30+ Years of Employment Litigation Experience
Fired After Reporting a Work Injury in California? How to Prove Retaliation
If you were fired after reporting a work injury in California, there is a real possibility what happened to you was illegal retaliation. This scenario shows up over and over again. An employee gets hurt on the job, reports the injury as the law requires, and suddenly...
Fired After Being Injured on the Job in California: A $500,000 Case Study
Fired after being injured on the job is something no California employee expects to happen, but it happens every day. You get hurt doing your job. You report the injury. You need medical treatment or time off to recover. And instead of support, things change. The...
Can My Employer Change My Commission After the Sale in California?
You closed the deal. The customer signed. The revenue hit the books. Then your employer changed your commission after the sale and acted as if that was perfectly normal. Maybe they said the deal was “too big,” maybe they suddenly discovered “discretion” in the plan,...
Closed the Deal, Lost the Commission: California Law on Post-Sale Commission Theft
You did everything right. You sourced the lead, ran the process, dealt with the demos, the internal approvals, the legal reviews, and the procurement delays. You closed the deal. Then, after the fact, the commission you expected to be paid either vanished or was...
Fired for Refusing Unsafe Work: A California Retaliation Case Study
When an employee refuses unsafe work and is then terminated, California law takes that seriously. When the employer responds by offering an explanation that does not hold up under basic scrutiny, the law tends to respond even more seriously. I’m Matt Ruggles and I’ve...
How Executives Negotiate Severance After a Merger or Layoff
How executives negotiate severance after a merger or layoff is rarely discussed openly, even though mergers are routinely sold as exercises in efficiency, synergy, and strategic alignment. For corporate executives, however, mergers often carry a quieter subtext:...
How We Tripled a California Enterprise Sales Executive’s Severance
California severance negotiation is rarely straightforward for high-earning enterprise sales executives. When compensation is driven by commissions tied to large, long-cycle deals, severance discussions often intersect with disputes over earned commissions, clawback...
What Is and Is Not Workplace Harassment Under California Law
What is (and what is not) workplace harassment under California law is a question many employees struggle with when work becomes tense or uncomfortable. Workplaces are full of friction. Deadlines, office politics, pressure, personalities, power dynamics, and stress...
Fired While on Medical Leave in California? What to Know About Return to Work Dates
How Indefinite Return-to-Work Dates Can Make or Break a California Disability Discrimination Claim If you were fired while on medical leave in California, you may be wondering whether what happened to you was disability discrimination under state law. That is a fair...
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