Los Angeles Employment Attorney Blog

Employers and employees should be working together for the success of the company and the benefit of the employees. Of course, there are some true non-profit organizations that seek to advance a cause, charity or need of the community. But, the overall themes remain the same. Employers want to make money, perform a governmental or quasi-governmental service or achieve some noble endeavor. Employees want to earn a living and perform meaningful tasks. Somewhere, somehow, instead of cooperating to accomplish these goals, employers and employees often find themselves as adversaries.

Why is this? Why do employers seek to control instead of lead? Why do employees seek to get back instead of give to make it better? The answer - greed, denial, anger, frustration, and the need for control. All common human emotions. And, often these emotions generally make the problems become worse.  Needless to say, there are no shortages of lawsuits to prove who is right.

Is there a way to create an environment where the employer's interests are protected and the employee's dignity and rights preserved? Yes, there are ways; however, based on my 26 years of practicing employment law in Los Angeles, few employers are willing to make the honest commitment to making things right they know to be wrong. They do have the power, the resources, and the determination to fight which is all to often the path taken. But, what isn't considered until it is too late, are the costs to the company and the employees. Those considerations are mean realities brought to light by the blood of battle and exhaustion of resources.

A real open door policy is one approach to ameliorate employer/employee problems. Every employer should be dynamically concerned about the welfare of its employees. Dynamically concerned means for the employer to be actively and presently involved in improving the work environment and addressing and resolving employees' concerns promptly and fairly. Many employers and government entities in Los Angeles have good employer/employee policies.  However, it is not enough to have a policy. Frequently, employee grievances go unaddressed or get stonewalled.The employer's response is to raise its shield with the emblem that reads "We have policies."

Open the doors to creatively solve problems and concerns. Allow employees and employee panels to help address and solve employer-employee relations. Los Angeles employers and employees need workplace leaders not managers.  

A quick check of the United States Department of Labor Women's Bureau published statistics regarding women in the workforce reveals that 71 million women are in the U.S. workforce. Another way of viewing it is almost 60% or all women above 16 years old work. And, while there are more women than men in high paying management, professional, and similar professions (women number 51%), they are still not paid what a man is paid for the same job. Of course, there are exceptions.

The plain statistics on the matter are that women get paid less than men. In 2004 CNN.com commented on a study done by the AFL-CIO which demonstrated that over a 40 year career ending at age 65, that a woman would earn $523,000.00 less than the average male. But don't think it is just the women performing labor, clerical or administrative work who are paid less.

No, it reaches the best of the professions. For example, Unique Opportunities in its September/October 2008 Vital Statistics referenced the American Medical Associations' 2008 report that asserted that women physicians, although their numbers have significantly increased over the last few years, continue to earn less than male physicians. A comparison of physician compensation for 2007, disclosed that women family practitioners earn 81% of what male family practitioners earn. Even in the field of Ob/Gyn, where one might assume the pay would be comparable, a woman Ob/Gyn earns only 69 % as much as a male Ob/Gyn.

So, "Hey, how come he gets paid more than me?" Obviously, our country, and our city, Los Angeles, have not reached the point yet where women are valued as much as a man is in the workforce. That is a shame because Los Angeles needs hard working, reliable, talented, and skilled women in its workforce.  Many millions of families depend on two incomes to make it. Equal pay is the federal law and has been since 1963. Gender discrimination is an unlawful employment practice both under federal and California law.

Women don't take that mistreatment. File a charge of discrimination with the Los Angeles District office of the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) or the Los Angeles District office of the California Department of Fair Employment & Housing (DFEH). Alternatively, there are many employment attorneys who handle gender discrimination claims on a contingency basis.  The point is - Don't take it. Instead, take action.

Here in Los Angeles, Hispanic Americans are teachers, police officers, firefighters, soldiers, doctors, lawyers, journalists, and actors. Hispanic-Americans are active citizens engaging in the vital aspects of our communities and national life. There are over 44 million Hispanics in the United States according to the U.S. Census Bureau. That constitutes a significant minority of the population of the United States.

Then why don't we see them in T.V. commercials? I mean those in English that target the general population. Yes, there are Hispanics in Spanish speaking commercials, but where are all the Hispanic Americans in the main media? Just watch T.V. and pay attention to the commercials. You will see Caucasians, Asians, and African-Americans, but almost never an Hispanic. Hola, where are all the Hispanics?

Our country (and especially Los Angeles), is built on diversity, which is one our great strengths. Hispanics are good enough to teach our children, police our streets, fight our fires and wars, heal our sick, defend our rights, report on the news; but when it comes to our marketing dollars, they just don't count. The Association of Hispanic Advertising Agencies researched the marketing budgets for the top 500 national advertisers for 2007. No surprise here, 40 % of the top 500 advertisers spend less than 1% of their marketing dollars targeting Hispanics. Of the top 500 advertisers, only 11 % spend more than 10% of their budget targeting Hispanics.

Guess what, it is against public policy not to hire a qualified Hispanic for an acting part in a commercial just because he or she is Hispanic. If you are Hispanic and can't seem to get an acting position for a commercial, maybe it is because you are being discriminated against because of your race. Contact the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) or the California Department of Fair Employment Housing (DFEH) to file a charge of discrimination. Charges of discrimination must be filed in a timely manner. Contact either of these agencies or an experienced race discrimination attorney for more information and assistance.