Los Angeles Employment Attorney Blog

Today, President Obama made history by picking a female Hispanic jurist, Sonia Sotomayor, to fill retiring Justice Souter's seat on the U.S. Supreme Court. Congratulations President Obama on making an outstanding selection of a qualified woman and minority. Women make up 51 % of the U.S. population, yet in the history of the U.S. Supreme Court out of 110 justices, only 2 have been women. Right now, there is only one woman on the U.S. Supreme Court. It is time to for our nation to progress not only with its enlightened laws, but with action.

President Obama commented that Justice Sotomayor is an inspiring woman with the intellect and compassion to interpret the U.S. Constitution. Obama's selection shows his own intellect and his leadership. As a former professor of Constitutional law, he has unique insight into the significance of the U.S. Supreme Court. Federal judges are appointed for life and it is not unusual for U.S. Supreme Court justices to serve for many years.

Justice Sotomayor, in her prior 1997 confirmation hearing for her federal judgeship, said "I don't believe we should bend the constitution under any circumstances. It says what it says. We should do honor to it." If Justice Sotomayor is confirmed and she adheres to her expressed view of honoring the constitution, Obama will have made a good choice.

The U.S. should employ the best people and be fair to all its citizens in selecting people to fill the ranks of civil servants; and, that includes filling positions of the U.S. Supreme Court. The justices on the U.S. Supreme Court, while appointed for life, are still employees of the U.S. government which means employees of the people. This nomination sets the tone for employers throughout the nation. Let the faces of our leadership reflect the faces of our people.

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security's director, Janet Napolitano, recently announced that under the Obama Administration, the Homeland Security is shifting its focus from arresting and prosecuting illegal workers to raid, arresting, and prosecuting employers who hire illegal works. This makes sense and is a much better use of resources than arresting individual illegal employees.

Employers throughout the country and in Los Angeles who use illegal workers, are now subject to greater scrutiny. Immigration enforcement agents have been given orders to arrest and prosecute employers who are violating immigration and work laws. Employers who circumvent the law are cheaters and make it harder for those employers who comply with the law.  The criminal employers hire illegal workers because they will work for less without benefits; and, this makes it harder for law-abiding employers to compete on the open market.

This is another positive step by the Obama Adminstration and the Homeland Security Department. Los Angeles employment attorneys may have to branch out to handling criminal defense cases if they want to stay employed. It really is time that the government crack down on employers who are violating the law. In this writer's opinion, this policy will have greater impact on advancing the purpose of our laws; and, it will also help Los Angeles employees who work in industries plagued with employers who hire illegal workers. It's about time.

Los Angeles businesses who are violating the law shouId consult with a Los Angeles  employment law attorney , preferably one who also has experience in criminal defense.  Communications between a client and an attorney are privileged from disclosure.  That means the communications are confidential and cannot be required to be disclosed even to the government.  Consulting with a knowledgeable employment attorney can help an employer comply with the law and avoid arrest and criminal prosecution.  There's no more hiding.  Take action now to get the legal advice your business needs to comply with the law. Contact the Abel Law Offices, Los Angeles Employment attorneys.   

Los Angeles is faced with almost impossible budget deficits and cuts. City leaders are scrambling to meet the challenge. Unions and the Mayor are looking for ways to fairly and prudently handle a 530 million dollar budget deficit. Los Angeles City Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa is doing a commendable job in an unenvious position of trying to manage an enormous budget of over 7 billion dollars, but one that falls far short of the city's needs. Desperately looking for ways to do the right thing and avoid laying off thousands of Los Angeles employees, the Mayor is considering early retirement incentive offers to those nearing retirement.

The plan is appealing and might be welcomed by those who would qualify.  After a person has devoted 30 or 40 years to public service, early retirement with a financial incentive probably is appealing. And, the Mayor should be congratulated on tackling this problem. However, according to the April 22, 2009, issue of the Los Angeles Times, Mayor Antonio Villagraigosa was quoted as referring to those nearing retirement as "deadwood."

Mayor, you need some new speech writers. Deadwood is, to say the least, a politically incorrect reference to older workers. If people approaching the commonly thought age of 65 as retirement age are deadwood, then 6 of the 9 justices of the United States Supreme Court would qualify as "deadwood." Under that same view that those approaching retirement age are "deadwood", the Chief Justice of the California Supreme Court would qualify as "deadwood". Agree or disagree with these justices, they are not deadwood by any stretch of the imagination.  Rather, they are all stellar examples of people over the age of 60 who are productive, intelligent, and hard working professionals.  Andy Rooney, Mike Wallace, and Clint Eastwood are other great examples of hard working, productive people well over the "retirement" age.

It would be better to refer to those employees nearing "retirement age" as the mature part of the workforce who have enjoyed full and productive careers, not deadwood. More appropriately, these workers should be considered beautiful aged oak trees who have stood the test of time. Our Los Angeles mature public servants deserve our respect.  There is dignity in age. Anyways, Mayor, wasn't Deadwood an HBO western series?

Age discrimination is often subtle.  But whether it is subtle or obvious, it should be opposed. If you believe you have been discriminated against because of your age, you have rights and remedies under federal and state law.Consult with a mature Los Angeles employment law attorney or contact the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing (DFEH) or the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC).

Californians are reeling in an economic crisis. Teachers are being laid off, important services being reduced or cut, unemployment is historically high, and the state is near bankrupt. State and governmental employees are being asked to work less, take time off with pay, and make other accommodations because we don't have the money.

The average citizen in California is concerned about his or her paycheck, the stability of the state economy, and the future outlook. Even the legislature is trying to figure out creative ways to meet the challenge. The other day California State Speaker of the House, Karen Bass, a Democrat representing Los Angeles, and her Republican counterpart, the minority leader. Michael Villines, came up with a brilliant plan. Between the two of them, they gave out raises to 136 staff members for a total expenditure of $551,000.00.

Media, including the Los Angeles Times quickly jumped on the story. Ooops, busted. Political pressure exploded overnight; and, the legislators did a a turn-around. The raises were revoked, but it seems as though they were revoked for political expediency rather than because they wanted to correct a mistake.

Why do politicians think the taxpayers, the working people, should bear the burden, but they should be immune from the trouble and adversities everyone else is struggling with? Why does it take news and public outrage for politicians to do the right thing? Probably because most of the time, people don't notice and they can do what they want.Not this time. The news got out; and, ooops, California legislative leaders were busted and had to do a turn-around. A nice victory for the people of California. Really, legislators, we are all in this together. No excpetions. If we are going to raise anything, let's raise the bar of common sense. his would be a raise that we could all benefit from. 

If you have an employment law issue, contact the Abel Law Offices, Los Angeles employmnet law attorneys.