Employee Attorneys Become "Attorneys General"

Employee Attorneys Invited to be "Attorneys General"

"The Labor Code Private Attorney General's Act of 2004" is a radical addition to the panoply of employee remedies:

Allows you to sue employers "in the public interest" for systemic or company-wide violations of the Labor Code
Allows you to recover a percentage of the civil penalties that previously could only be recovered by the State
Allows you to sue for Labor Code violations that previously could only be prosecuted by the Department of Industrial Relations
Encourages you to bring a class action to recover years of damages and penalties on behalf of hundreds of employees
Violations typically targeted for suit:
- Failure to pay wages in a timely manner
- Failure to pay overtime
- Failure to maintain proper time records
- Failure to provide complete or accurate pay stubs
- Failure to allow rest and meal breaks
- Failure to comply with safety standards
A successful employee is entitled to recover, in addition to all other remedies, the attorney's fees and costs incurred in the suit.

What You Can Do

If you work for a large employer, and you are not being provided your rights:

Realize that the payroll or Human Resources Department is practicing a similar pattern of violation against many other employees
Educate yourself concerning your employee rights to pay, rest periods, meal time, overtime, and safety.
- Visit the State of CA website, Department of Industrial Relations, Divisions of Labor Standards Enforcement, to learn your rights.
- Visit the State of CA website, Division of Occupational Safety and Health, to learn your safety rights on the job.
- Consult with employment counsel
Monitor the violations, and document them.
Calculate the number of persons who are being violated in a manner similar to you. Obtain future contact information from them.
Get an accurate idea of how long the illegal practices have been followed by the employer.
Bring your information for review by an employee rights attorney ready to act on behalf of all employees "in the public interest".

Conclusion

The "Labor Code Private Attorneys General Act" of 2004 is one of the most important legislative changes favoring employees to be enacted in decades. You the employee must recognize when your rights are being violated, and take the first step to obtain substantial remedies not just for you, but potentially for hundreds of others like you. In doing so, you will further a process of economic and legal correction that the Labor Department could not advance because of resource limitations.

Hit Counter

Disclaimer: This site is not legal advice. View it as a general resource and public service.

The Employment Law Office of Frank Pray handles cases related to most areas of employment law. My law firm is dedicated to helping employees dealing with issues of workplace discrimination (including gender discrimination, race discrimination, age discrimination and discrimination based on religion, national origin, sexual orientation, disability, pregnancy or illness); harassment due to hostile work environment (whether sexual, verbal, or other); contract disputes; wage and hour violations (such as overtime or break violations); whistleblower retaliation, qui tam and false claims act cases; and severance agreements and negotiations. My legal services and advice are available to any employee involved in illegal or wrongful termination, assault, battery, defamation, slander, or violation of privacy; or with job concerns regarding medical leave, Occupational Safety & Health Act (OSHA), affirmative action, gay & lesbian rights, Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA), labor code violations, Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), California Family Rights Act, the federal Family Medical Leave Act, Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA), Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) Act, or the Federal Employer's Liability Act. I can be contacted by anyone seeking an attorney for information about employee civil rights, or opportunities for monetary settlement, damages, or personal injury claims. "Employee Rights" is my exclusive focus, and has been for over 15 years.

I serve the Orange County, CA communities of : Aliso Viejo La Habra Anaheim La Palma Balboa Lake Forest Brea Los Alamitos Buena Park Mission Viejo Costa Mesa Monarch Beach Corona Del Mar Newport Beach Coto de Caza Newport Coast Cypress Orange Dana Point Placentia Dove Canyon Portola Hills Foothill Ranch Rancho Santa Margarita Fountain Valley San Clemente Fullerton San Juan Capistrano Garden Grove Santa Ana Huntington Beach Seal Beach Irvine Stanton Ladera Ranch Talega Laguna Beach Trabuco Canyon Laguna Hills Tustin Laguna Niguel Villa Park Laguna Woods Westminster Yorba Linda

I serve the San Bernardino County, CA communities of: Adelanto Apple Valley Barstow Big Bear Lake Chino Chino Hills
Colton Crestline Fontana Grand Terrace Hesperia Highland Joshua Tree Lake Arrowhead Loma Linda Lucerne Valley ntclair Needles Ontario Rancho Cucamonga Redlands Rialto Running Springs San Bernardino Twentynine Palms Upland
Victorville Wrightwood Yermo Yucaipa Yucca Valley

I serve the Los Angeles County, CA communities of: Agoura Hills Alhambra Arcadia Artesia Avalon Azusa Baldwin Park Bell Bell Gardens Bellflower Beverly Hills Bradbury Brentwood Burbank Calabasas Carson Cerritos Claremont Commerce Compton Covina Cudahy Culver City Diamond Bar Downey Duarte El Monte El Segundo Gardena Glendale Glendora Hawaiian Gardens Hawthorne Hermosa Beach Hidden Hills Huntington Park Industry Inglewood Irwindale La Canada Flintridge La Mirada La Puente La Verne Lakewood Lancaster Lawndale Lomita Long Beach Los Angeles Lynwood Malibu Manhattan Beach Maywood Monrovia Montebello Monterey Park Norwalk Palmdale Palos Verdes Estates Paramount Pasadena Pico Rivera Pomona Rancho Palos Verdes Redondo Beach Rolling Hills Rolling Hills Estates Rosemead San Dimas San Fernando San Gabriel San Marino Santa Clarita Santa FE Springs Santa Monica Sierra Madre Signal Hill South El Monte South Gate South Pasadena Temple City Thousand Oaks Torrance Vernon Walnut West Covina West Hollywood
Westlake Village Whittier

I serve the Riverside County, CA communities of: Banning Beaumont Blythe Calimesa Canyon Lake Cathedral City Coachella Corona Desert Hot Springs Hemet Indian Wells Indio La Quinta Lake Elsinore Moreno Valley Murrieta Norco Palm Desert Palm Springs Perris Rancho Mirage Riverside San Jacinto Temecula