Law update, a must read for employees

Do you feel like you are getting a raw deal at work? Perhaps not getting equal pay for equal work or being passed over for a raise due to gender or race or being denied fair treatment, then there is good news. California’s employment laws are continuing to grow more and more employee friendly and doing more to protect the rights of the workers in our great state.

The National Law Review online, in a recent post, provided a suite of new rules designed to provide additional protections for workers. Let’s take a deeper look at a couple of these new rules that favorably impact the information an employer can ask for from a prospective candidate on a job application.

The first of these two pieces of legislation restricts employers from making inquiries or forcing candidates to disclose any past convictions for a crime. This is being referred to as “ban-the-box”. This new law is, in fact, an amendment to a current law on the books called the California Fair Employment and Housing Act or FEHA. The law is structured so that at the time of application for a position, the employer is strictly prohibited from any inquiries about the candidate’s past convictions for criminal acts. The law doesn’t apply to all businesses but it does to most of the criteria are imposed on businesses with five or more employees. Once an offer is made for employment, it is then ok to make such an inquiry putting the candidate into a preferred situation to explain any past missteps.

The second item of legislation is a new requirement that prohibits employers from obtaining a candidate’s salary history for past jobs. This law is directed across the board to all business in both private sector and public sector and calls out that:

• an employer cannot depend on past income levels and a determining factor on which to base as offer to a candidate nor can it prejudice the compensation to be offered and,
• an employer cannot seek, in any form either written, via reference or 3rd party or orally information pertaining to past income history of the applicant.

The upshot here is that these new laws will open more doors for those who have had a past from which they are trying to recover and rebuild and it will also not create the condition where a candidate is paid a non-prevailing wage if he or she was underpaid in past roles or took a job at a below market rate just to get experience for which the candidate should be properly compensated.

The Los Angeles Injury Group represents clients in many types of personal injury cases. Explore our practice areas where we are subject matter experts and have years of experience successfully representing our clients. Whether a motor vehicle accident, work-related, animal attack or wrongful death, we’re here to protect your interests. There are no upfront fees we only get paid when you do and retaining an injury lawyer is the best way to improve your chances of fair compensation and avoid being taken advantage of by the insurance company. Call 310-954-7248 or submit an online inquiry to schedule your free consultation today.