Employees’ Legal Protection in California

The Hiring Procedures

Employers do have their prerogatives to hire only the most qualified job applicants for a particular position in their companies. However, as the federal law provides, it is definitely prohibited for them to make their decisions based on the traits and personality of an applicant that are not related in the job position. The labor law provisions forbid employers to discriminate their employers according to their:

  • Race
  • Gender
  • Age
  • Marital status
  • Nationality
  • Religious affiliation
  • Disability

In addition, it is unlawful for a company interviewer to ask questions in relation with the applicant’s marriage plans, number of children, sexual orientation and even his place of birth.

All the questions should be pointing to the applicant’s capability and skills such as his former work and educational background, if applicable. Yet, in some cases, the interviewer may also determine whether the applicant has been convicted in any crime.

The Actual Employment

In California, workers are guaranteed of the following rights and protections:

  • It is the obligation of the employers to provide a safe and protected workplace for their employees. Hence, any injuries and harms incurred by their employees due to the presence of hazards in the workplace might considered as their fault and might result to lawsuits filed by the affected employees.
  • All employees are entitled of worker’s compensation if ever they have died or sustained injuries in any accident involvement that are related to work. This is without even resulting to the filing of formal cases in court. The amount of remuneration would be based on the extent of the damage – whether partial or total, temporary or permanent.
  • Employers, along with other co-employees, are not supposed to perform unwelcome sexual advances in whatever form. Generally, women workers are the target of these malicious conducts.

However, some reports stated the occurrences wherein men have been the victims of sexual harassments.

  • Similarly, the employees are also protected against discriminative actions based on the classes stated in the hiring procedures. These include promotions, task assignments, wages and benefits, terminations, etc. Therefore, it is indeed wrongful to terminate an employee without any valid reasons such as contract violations and poor job performance. All employers must also follow due process in discharging their workers.
  • Employees also have the privilege to utilize their 12 weeks of unpaid leave for the reasons stated in the Family and Medical Leave Act.

Filing a LawsuitFor any of the aforementioned reasons an employee’s rights has been violated, he is very much eligible to file his lawsuit against his ill-mannered employer.

However, due to the many intricate law provisions and procedures involved in pursuing a case, it would be advisable for him to consult a qualified California employment lawyer before proceeding with his case. This is also to make sure that his employer would not perform any acts of retaliation against him.

Justice Should Be Blind, Not Dumb – Continuing Ed For Lawyers

When people talk about how important continuing education is to society at large, the example that usually comes up is the medical field. There is no way to overstate the importance of doctors, nurses and therapists staying abreast of changes in their fields, as health care is of primary concern to everyone. The availability of online continuing education has had a tremendously positive impact on public health, but another socially important area benefiting from the technology is the legal profession.

Next to their staying healthy, staying within the law in their personal, professional and business activities is about the most important consideration for people today. With new laws going on the books every year, online continuing legal education is no longer an option, but a necessity, for every practicing attorney. It is equally important that prospective clients know that the lawyer they are using, or going to use, is up to date on the law.

State by state, district by district

Every one of the 50 states in the U.S. has oversight agencies that certify professionals in a variety of specialties – medicine, law, accounting and so forth. Being “admitted to the bar,” in fact, is something that lawyers must do on a state-by-state basis, as there is no single “federal bar” that comprises all the states. In fact, being accredited to practice in the federal court system (which would include U.S. possession such as Guam, the Virgin Islands, etc.) would constitute a 51st detail for any legal eagle who wants to practice across the country. (However, there is no record of any lawyer ever being admitted to practice in every state in the country.)

Because laws differ so greatly from state to state, as practices and procedures also do in such varied legal specialties as criminal law and probate, the curricula of the various online colleges would be specific to individual states. Even for attorneys admitted to the federal bar, an online continuing legal education would have to cover the different court districts around the country. Each district has its own legal precedents and case law, so practicing law in federal districts has to be mastered individually.

With Internet-based distance learning, lawyers (like other professionals) can continue a full-time workload and serve their clients while scheduling their online continuing legal education with great flexibility. In this way, the Internet helps to keep the gears and levers of the justice system functioning, even as the gear-pullers and lever-handlers of the legal profession stay abreast of current legislation and court decisions.