Anticouni & Ricotta | Leaders In Employment Litigation Serving Clients Throughout California.

You cannot be fired for objecting to lack of rest breaks

On Behalf of | Jul 10, 2019 | Wage And Hour Claims |

According to California law, employers have a duty to provide their workers with rest breaks, provided that workers have performed labor for four hours. So if you notice that your employer is not giving workers the amount of rest breaks that they deserve, it is a valid complaint and you should not be penalized for it. If an employer decides to take retaliatory action against you, you should know that your rights are being violated.

The right to call attention to employer misconduct against employees is protected under law, and objecting to employer policy on rest breaks is no exception. Aside from lodging a verbal complaint to an employer about a lack of rest breaks, the law also protects you if you alert an employer that you will file a claim with California’s Labor Commissioner office if workplace policy does not change. You are also protected if you decide to file a claim anyway.

In the event you are retaliated against or are outright terminated from your job for speaking out or acting, California’s Department of Industrial Relations describes your options. You can file a complaint that you have been discriminated or retaliated against with the state’s Labor Commissioner’s Office. Keep in mind that if you intend to exercise this option, you will have to do it no less than six months of experiencing retaliation.

Should you miss the state deadline to file a complaint, you still have recourse by filing a lawsuit against your employer. Taking on an employer in court, particularly a big company, will not be an easy task even if you believe the case against the employer is clear cut. Consulting with an attorney is important to understand what your options are and what course of action to take.

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