Most employees know their boss cannot openly discriminate against them or refuse to pay them, but many workplace violations are less obvious. Some unlawful practices are disguised as company policy, “team culture,” scheduling needs, or routine management decisions.
California employees have strong protections under state and federal law. Your employer cannot ignore wage laws, retaliate against you for speaking up, discriminate based on protected characteristics, deny legally required accommodations or leave, or use unlawful contracts to control your future employment.
1. Pay You Below Minimum Wage or Deny Overtime
Your employer cannot pay you less than the legally required minimum wage or deny overtime if you are a non-exempt employee. Under the Fair Labor Standards Act, non-exempt employees must receive overtime pay at 1.5 times their regular rate for hours worked over 40 in a workweek.
California goes further. Non-exempt employees may be entitled to daily overtime after 8 hours in a workday, weekly overtime after 40 hours in a workweek, and double time in certain situations. Employers also cannot avoid overtime by misclassifying workers as exempt employees or independent contractors.
If you were underpaid, you may be able to recover unpaid wages, penalties, interest, and attorney’s fees.
2. Require Off-the-Clock Work
Your boss cannot make you work before clocking in, after clocking out, during unpaid breaks, or after hours without pay. This includes answering work emails, preparing equipment, cleaning up, finishing paperwork, attending required meetings, or closing out the register.
If the employer knew or should have known you were working, that time generally must be paid. Small amounts of unpaid time can add up quickly, especially when it happens every shift. Off-the-clock work may qualify as a wage and hour violation.
California also requires legally compliant meal and rest breaks for eligible non-exempt employees. The state provides guidance on required meal break rules, and missed breaks may entitle workers to premium pay.
3. Discriminate Against Job Applicants
Workplace rights begin before you are hired. Employers cannot make hiring decisions based on protected characteristics such as race, color, religion, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, national origin, disability, pregnancy, age 40 or older, or other protected traits.
These protections come from several laws, including Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Americans with Disabilities Act, the Age Discrimination in Employment Act, and California’s Fair Employment and Housing Act.
Discrimination during hiring is not always obvious. It may appear through questions about your age, family plans, medical conditions, religion, birthplace, or whether you are “a good cultural fit” in a way that screens out protected groups. If an employer rejects you because of race, religion, age, sexual orientation, or another protected trait, that may be unlawful.
4. Allow a Hostile Work Environment
A hostile work environment can exist when harassment based on a protected characteristic becomes severe or pervasive enough to affect your working conditions. This may include slurs, sexual comments, threats, unwanted touching, offensive jokes, intimidation, or repeated degrading treatment.
In California, harassment does not always have to be both severe and pervasive. One severe incident may be enough, depending on the facts. Employees experiencing workplace harassment may have claims involving sexual harassment or broader workplace discrimination.
California’s Civil Rights Department provides additional information on employment protections and required sexual harassment prevention training, including employer training requirements such as the two-hour supervisor training. Employers are expected to take reasonable steps to prevent and correct harassment.
5. Retaliate Against You for Reporting Violations
Your employer cannot punish you for reporting unlawful conduct, unsafe working conditions, discrimination, harassment, wage violations, or other workplace issues.
Retaliation can include termination, demotion, reduced hours, pay cuts, schedule changes, write-ups, exclusion from meetings, undesirable assignments, or sudden negative performance reviews. In some cases, it may also support a wrongful termination claim.
Under California Labor Code Section 1102.5, employees are protected when they report suspected violations of law, even if the violation is not ultimately proven, as long as they had a reasonable belief that unlawful conduct occurred.
6. Ban You From Talking About Wages
Your boss cannot legally prohibit most employees from discussing pay with co-workers. Wage conversations are protected because they help employees identify pay discrimination, unpaid wages, and unfair compensation practices.
The National Labor Relations Act protects many employees who discuss wages as part of their right to engage in concerted activity. The National Labor Relations Board enforces these rights.
California also protects wage discussions under Labor Code Section 232. In addition, SB 1162 expanded California pay transparency requirements by requiring many employers to include pay ranges in job postings and provide pay scale information when required.
7. Block Union Representation or Organizing Rights
Many private-sector employees have the right to organize, support a union, discuss workplace conditions, and engage in collective action. Employers cannot fire, discipline, threaten, or retaliate against employees for protected union activity.
Unionized employees may also have the right to request a union representative during an investigatory meeting they reasonably believe could lead to discipline. Employers cannot interfere with these rights simply because they want to control the conversation or discourage organizing.
California agricultural workers also receive organizing protections under the Agricultural Labor Relations Act.
8. Refuse Reasonable Disability Accommodations
If you have a qualifying disability, your employer may be required to provide reasonable accommodations unless doing so would create an undue hardship. The ADA protects qualified employees with disabilities, and California law provides additional protections for many workers.
Accommodations can include modified schedules, remote or hybrid work, ergonomic equipment, assistive technology, job restructuring, medical leave, or changes to workplace procedures. California employers with five or more employees must also engage in a timely, good-faith interactive process.
A refusal to accommodate may qualify as disability discrimination, especially if the employer ignores the request, delays indefinitely, or rejects it without meaningful discussion.
9. Ignore Workplace Safety Requirements
Employers must provide a workplace that is reasonably safe and free from recognized hazards. OSHA and Cal/OSHA require employers to follow workplace safety standards, provide required training, and maintain proper safety procedures.
In California, many employers must maintain an Injury and Illness Prevention Program. Depending on the industry, employers may also need to follow rules involving heat illness prevention, protective equipment, chemical exposure, workplace violence prevention, and injury reporting.
Your employer also cannot retaliate against you for reporting unsafe conditions or refusing work that presents an imminent danger.
10. Deny Protected Medical or Family Leave
Eligible employees may be entitled to job-protected leave under the Family and Medical Leave Act, the California Family Rights Act, or other state leave laws.
Protected leave may apply for serious health conditions, pregnancy-related needs, bonding with a new child, caring for certain family members, or other qualifying reasons. California’s CFRA applies to employers with five or more employees and covers a broader range of family members than federal law.
California’s Paid Family Leave program may also provide partial wage replacement for qualifying leave. Your employer cannot deny protected leave, interfere with your leave rights, or retaliate against you for requesting or taking leave.
11. Run Background Checks Without Proper Consent
Employers must follow strict rules before using background checks for hiring or employment decisions. Under the Fair Credit Reporting Act, an employer generally must provide proper notice and obtain written authorization before obtaining a background report.
If the employer plans to take adverse action based on the report, it must follow the required pre-adverse action process, provide a copy of the report, and give the applicant or employee a chance to respond. The FTC provides guidance on background checks and employee rights.
California also has “Ban the Box” protections under AB 1008, which restrict when and how employers can ask about criminal history and use that information in hiring decisions.
12. Make Employment Decisions Based on Protected Characteristics
Your boss cannot fire, demote, discipline, reduce hours, deny promotion, or otherwise treat you worse because of a protected characteristic.
Protected characteristics may include race, religion, sex, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability, age, pregnancy, national origin, ancestry, medical condition, marital status, or other legally protected traits.
Discrimination is not always openly stated. It may appear as unequal discipline, biased promotion decisions, exclusion from opportunities, harsher scrutiny, or sudden performance criticism after an employer learns about a protected trait.
13. Misclassify You as an Independent Contractor
Some employers label workers as independent contractors to avoid paying overtime, minimum wage, payroll taxes, workers’ compensation, unemployment insurance, and other employee protections.
In California, many worker classification questions are evaluated under the ABC test, subject to certain exemptions. AB 5 also changed how many workers are classified under California law.
A worker’s title or contract does not automatically control whether they are truly an independent contractor. If you were misclassified, you may be owed unpaid wages, overtime, missed break premiums, expense reimbursement, and other remedies.
14. Enforce an Unlawful Non-Compete Agreement
California strongly limits non-compete agreements. In most cases, an employer cannot stop you from leaving your job and working for a competitor, starting a competing business, or continuing in your profession.
The FTC previously announced a federal rule targeting non-compete agreements, but regulation now depends heavily on state law. California stands out because Business and Professions Code Section 16600 generally makes contracts restraining a person from engaging in a lawful profession, trade, or business void, subject to limited exceptions.
An employer also cannot use an unlawful non-compete to scare you away from a new job opportunity.
15. Assign Work Based on Discriminatory Motives
Discrimination is not limited to firing or hiring. Your boss also cannot assign worse shifts, harder duties, lower-value accounts, unsafe tasks, or less desirable opportunities because of a protected characteristic.
For example, it may be unlawful to give certain employees worse assignments because of their race, sex, religion, disability, pregnancy, age, national origin, or another protected trait.
A pattern of unfair assignments can support a discrimination claim, especially when it affects pay, advancement, working conditions, or job security.
16. Pay You Less Because of a Protected Trait
Employers cannot pay employees less because of sex, race, ethnicity, or other protected characteristics. The federal Equal Pay Act and California equal pay laws prohibit unlawful wage gaps for substantially similar work unless the employer can justify the difference based on lawful factors.
California employers also cannot use prior salary alone to justify a pay gap. Pay secrecy policies may also be unlawful because employees generally have the right to discuss wages.
If you discover that co-workers doing substantially similar work are being paid more, documentation can be important. Save job descriptions, pay information, schedules, performance records, and any written explanations from management.
Get Legal Guidance From West Coast Employment Lawyers Today
Workplace violations can be complicated to manage on your own, especially if your boss is denying any wrongdoings or is trying to minimize your concerns. At West Coast Employment Lawyers, our legal team represents individuals who have undergone unlawful treatment at work, whether it be wage and hour violations, discrimination, harassment, retaliation, and wrongful termination.
We will take the time to look into your situation, go over your legal rights, and help you take the next steps if your employer has acted unlawfully. To get started on the legal process, we invite you to book a FREE consultation by calling (213) 927-3700 or completing our easy online contact form.
