Reisman & Reisman, Attorneys at Law

How to prove a California Equal Pay Act violation

2026-06-29T14:26:12Z

Discovering that a newer colleague earns more than you for the same work can feel like a gut punch, but it may also signal a legitimate legal claim. California stands among the strongest states in the country when it comes to protecting workers from pay discrimination. Recent changes to state law expanded your rights and gave you more time to hold employers accountable. Understanding what the law requires puts you in a stronger position to take action.

What California law requires employers to do

Recent legislation placed real transparency obligations on employers — and those rules work in your favor. Knowing what your employer owes you is the first step toward recognizing when something has gone wrong.

Pay scale in job postings: SB 1162, effective January 1, 2023, requires employers with 15 or more employees to include pay scales in all job postings, making wage gaps easier to identify.
Pay scale upon request: Your employer must provide the pay scale for your current position if you ask, giving you access to information that was once difficult to obtain.
Equal pay for substantially similar work: California law prohibits paying you less than a counterpart of a different sex, race or ethnicity who performs substantially similar work under comparable conditions.
Extended back pay recovery: Recent amendments expanded the back pay window to between three and six years; a deliberate expansion designed to give workers more time and leverage to recover wages they may have lost.

These protections exist for situations exactly like yours, and the law now gives you more room than ever before to act on them.

How to start building your claim

Documenting your situation carefully tends to make a real difference in how a pay discrimination claim develops. Gather what you can such as job postings, offer letters or any conversations where pay came up. Record your qualifications, tenure and job responsibilities and note how your employer responded when you raised pay concerns. The comparison between your compensation and that of similarly situated colleagues forms the core of your claim. A Beverly Hills employment attorney who handles wage discrimination claims can help you assess what you have and map out your next steps. California's pay transparency laws shifted real power toward workers. If your employer failed to meet those obligations, you may have strong grounds to recover what you are owed.

California “stay-or-pay” laws 2026: Are you free to leave your job?

2026-04-21T17:04:33Z

For years, some California employers used “stay-or-pay” provisions to discourage employees from leaving. These agreements often required workers to repay training costs, tuition, signing bonuses or relocation expenses if they resigned within a certain period. As of January 1, 2026, that landscape has changed significantly. California’s AB 692 places broad limits on these arrangements and strengthens worker mobility. Under this new law, employers generally cannot require employees to repay employment-related debts simply because their job ends. This includes many of the so-called “quit fees” that previously appeared in offer letters or training agreements. If the obligation is tied to remaining employed for a set period, it is likely prohibited. The law recognizes that these provisions can trap workers in jobs they would otherwise leave and can function as a financial penalty for exercising the right to change employment. The scope of the prohibition is broad. It can apply to repayment demands for on-the-job training, required certifications or relocation packages that primarily benefit the employer. Even if an agreement was signed at the start of employment, it may no longer be enforceable if it effectively penalizes a worker for leaving.

Exceptions and enforcement

There are narrow exceptions to this law. Certain government-backed loan programs or legally distinct educational financing arrangements may still fall outside the prohibition. For example, if a worker voluntarily enters into a true loan agreement that is not conditioned on continued employment, repayment may still be required. The key distinction is whether the obligation is genuinely independent of employment or functions as a penalty for leaving a job. On the flip side, some employers may still attempt to enforce outdated agreements or send demand letters after a worker resigns. Others may frame repayment as a contractual obligation without acknowledging the impact of the new law. Workers should approach these situations carefully and avoid assuming that a demand is valid simply because it appears in a signed document. Ultimately, if you are being asked to repay training costs, tuition or relocation expenses after leaving a job, it is worth taking a closer look. California’s changes reflect a broader shift toward protecting employee freedom and preventing financial barriers to job mobility. Do not rush to pay or agree to a settlement without understanding your rights.

Can your employer legally fire you while you are on parental leave?

2024-12-04T21:05:23Z

Welcoming a new member of the family should be a joyful time, but many California workers question whether their parental leave could leave them vulnerable to losing their job. What should you know about the legal protections for your parental leave?

Is it legal for your employer to fire you?

The straightforward answer is no. Employers in California cannot legally fire you just because you are on paternal leave. A variety of laws provide a safety net for employees, ensuring they can bond with their new child without fear of losing their job. Employees in Los Angeles and throughout California are entitled to take up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave for the birth, adoption or foster care placement of a child. During this time, the law generally protects your job. As a result, you should be able to return to the same or a similar position with equivalent pay, benefits and working conditions.

Are there exceptions?

While the law does protect your job, there are certain circumstances under which an employer might legally be able to fire an employee on paternal leave. These exceptions typically do not relate directly to the leave itself. Instead, they are more about the broader context of employment:

Company layoffs: If your employer is undergoing significant layoffs that would have included your position even if you were not on leave, they might legally be able to terminate your employment.
Performance issues: In some cases, existing performance issues or misconduct could justify termination. Because they are unrelated to the leave, your employer might have a legal basis for termination.
Business closures: If the business shuts down completely, then the employee cannot feasibly continue their work with the company. As a result, their job may no longer be available when they end their parental leave.

What can you do to protect yourself while on leave?

To safeguard your rights during paternal leave, consider taking the following steps:

Documentation: Keep detailed records of all communications with your employer regarding your leave. This includes saving emails, notes from meetings and any written correspondence about your leave and job status.
Understand Your rights: Familiarize yourself with the relevant state and federal laws.
Communicate effectively: Maintain open lines of communication with your employer. Notify them as early as possible about your leave plans and keep them updated on your expected return date.

What can you do if you believe that your employer illegally fired you while you were on leave?

If you believe that your employer wrongfully terminated your employment during or because of taking paternal leave, it is important to seek legal advice. An attorney specialized in employment law can help you understand your rights and guide you through the process of filing a complaint with the appropriate government agency. For California workers, especially those in bustling cities like Los Angeles, understanding the protection laws regarding paternal leave is crucial. The time after your child's arrival should be joyful and stress-free, and knowing your rights can help ensure that it remains that way.

What are reasonable accommodations for pregnant employees?

2022-06-10T10:42:11Z

Pregnancy can be an exciting time for many, but protecting your health and the wellbeing of your child often requires you to take careful precautions. Alongside dietary restrictions, many pregnant workers must avoid heavy lifting or modify the amount of time that they spend sitting or standing. This can significantly impact their work, and leaves many concerned about whether they must choose between their physical health and their employment. Under California and federal law, your employer must make reasonable accommodations for pregnant employees. Which accommodations can be considered “reasonable”?

Reasonable accommodations vary depending on an employee’s health needs.

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission notes that employers must provide their workers with reasonable accommodations to allow pregnant employees to continue their work. They must also provide accommodations for pregnancy-related conditions like morning sickness, preeclampsia, gestational diabetes and postpartum depression as well as accommodations for nursing. Depending on an employee’s individual needs, this may include:

Modifying work or break schedules
Providing assistance with manual labor
Offering light duty work or temporarily transferring employees to a less taxing position to reduce heavy lifting or prevent exposure to harmful substances
Adjusting equipment to accommodate an employee’s physical needs
Replacing seating or adding a standing desk to allow the employee to work more comfortably
Arranging a space for expressing breast milk if employees breastfeed their child

Reasonable accommodations also include up to four months of medical leave for pregnant employees if the company provides leave to other temporarily disabled employees. Employers who refuse to provide reasonable accommodations for eligible employees or fire pregnant employees because of their request for accommodation could be found guilty of discrimination. If your employer denied you the accommodations you need, consider speaking to an attorney about your legal options. You could be eligible for reinstatement of your position, payment for lost wages and other compensation.

Am I a victim of sexual harassment even if no one touched me?

2022-06-10T10:38:11Z

When a coworker or employer engages in unwanted physical contact with you, it is a case of workplace sexual harassment. But what about situations when no one touched you? Is it possible for someone to suffer from sexual harassment when no one physically contacted them? Sexual harassment is more common in the workplace than many people may expect. The boundaries of sexual harassment do not stop at physical contact. There are many forms of non-physical behavior that can qualify as sexual harassment.

Non-physical sexual harassment examples

Another person in the workplace can sexually harass you without ever even being in the same room. Words and other non-contact behavior can be all that is necessary for sexual harassment to take place. Methods of this harassment can include:

Sending sexually-based notes to you or other colleagues about you
Sending sexually inappropriate videos or images to you
Unwanted comments about physical appearances
Sexually gesturing towards you
Aggressive flirting or other sexual advances

Any act that a person engages in towards or about you that you do not consent to could be considered sexual harassment. Many victims of sexual harassment have suffered from someone who never touched them. As an employee, you have the right to work in an environment without fear of sexual harassment or any other form of harassment. You never have to allow anyone to treat you like this, and you can take action to defend your job and yourself.

Do not write off your experience

Too many people think that because no one touched them, they cannot stop their sexual harassment, or even prove it happened. Consult with an attorney to discuss what happened to you and what you can do to make your work environment a harassment-free zone once again.

Pay disparity is even worse than previously thought

2024-07-30T19:53:49Z

The lack of equal pay has long been an issue and source of outcry in society. Why is it that when a man and woman work the same job with the same responsibilities, historically the man’s bank account fills up faster? Behind rallying cries against pay disparity is the oft-quoted mentions of how much money women makes, projected against the value of the dollar bill. When a man is making a dollar, how many cents fill a woman’s pocket? Besides tracing the exact number of cents, the Institute for Women’s Policy Research (IWPR) has put in decades of work into studying the economic movements that women have experienced. As one can assume, it hasn’t always been encouraging work. For instance, they have seen the common number that people say fits in the blank to be: “82 cents.” But the IWPR has discovered the actual, far more dismal truth.

Women earn about half as much as men

It’s a measly 49 cents! Can you believe that 82 cents was being optimistic? In recent years the IWPR has uncovered the frightening reality of the pay gap and the economic ramifications that have resulted. One principal ramification is the fact that a substantial number of women could actually be brought out of poverty provided equal pay. The research also shows a head-shaking, sigh-inducing prediction. Progress as it stands will see white women achieving pay equity by the year 2059. That sound rough? For women of color the wait time is substantially longer. More details, few of them encouraging, can be found in their official reports.

Asking coworkers about pay isn’t against the rules

For some, the main way to discover unequal pay in comparison to male counterparts is by asking those male counterparts about their pay. While in social situations discussing this may be uncouth, talking about pay grade with coworkers violates zero rules. If anything, it helps keep an employer accountable. What’s more, regulation like the Equal Pay Act is set up to prevent unequal pay from occurring. Isn’t it strange that 2059 is the predicted pay equity goal for one demographic, but this piece of law came to be in the 1960s? No matter how you found out about unequal pay, it likely created a sense of surprise and frustration. Whether or not you’ve approached your boss about it already, it can still feel like a delicate matter to navigate. Seeking out counsel to help vet your approach, whether it be talking to a superior or gathering evidence for a claim, can help you find out more on the “why” of the case, and seek a more positive result.

How sick does someone have to be for FMLA leave?

2022-06-10T10:34:05Z

The whole purpose of the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) is to provide employees a safety net. In the event they or an immediate family member becomes seriously ill, the law affords an eligible worker up to 12 weeks of unpaid time off. But what illnesses qualify an employee to take advantage of FMLA leave? Here is an overview.

A ‘serious’ health condition

The FMLA does not allow a worker to take protected time off for any old illness. Instead, as the Department of Labor explains, the eligible employee must be:

Caring for a spouse, child or parent who has a serious health condition
Unable to work themselves due to a serious health condition

So what makes an ailment “serious,” exactly? The rules and regulations don’t name specific ailments, as different people may require varying levels of care for the same illness. However, the agency does provide some guidelines. A “serious health condition” is a physical or mental injury, illness, or impairment that requires inpatient care (so a stay at a hospital, hospice or other care facility) or continuing treatment by a medical provider. This treatment can be the result of a short-term, long-term, chronic or permanent ailment.

Your job is protected

If an employee is eligible for FMLA leave, they can take up to 12 weeks of unpaid time away from work in order to either care for their family member, or recover themselves. Crucially, an employer cannot fire, demote or punish you for taking this protected time off. When you return from FMLA leave, your employer has to place you either back into your original job, or an “equivalent” position with generally the same pay and work terms. It is illegal for an employer to retaliate against you for taking advantage of this legally protected benefit. Life is unpredictable. The FMLA is in place to provide a modicum of stability in uncertain times. Employees should not be punished for enduring these difficult circumstances.

How employers must protect from customer harassment

2022-06-10T10:44:07Z

All too often, our view of sexual harassment in the workplace is a picture of a male employer and a female employee. However, it’s important that we widen that view to the reality that many people experience. Harassment can involve any genders and any role. In many workplaces, harassment from customers is prevalent. While in this case the perpetrator is not employed by the company, employers still have the responsibility to protect their employees.

What counts as harassment

According to the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), harassment is any unwelcome conduct that can be based on race, skin tone, religion, sex, pregnancy, national origin, age, disability or genetic information. Sexual harassment can include unwelcome comments or advances, requests for sexual favors or physical harassment that addresses sex, sexuality or gender. As harassment persists in the workplace to the point that it becomes a condition of employment or creates a hostile work environment, it is illegal.

How employers must protect employees

Employers are responsible for the work environment in which employees function, which includes sexual harassment from customers. This means that they must provide ways for employees to report harassment as well as preventative and corrective procedures. Employers are responsible for their response to sexual harassment of their employees if they reasonably should have known about it or if they were informed. They must then take steps to prevent and correct the behavior. If you are experiencing sexual harassment in your workplace, first notify your employer. If they do not take proper steps to rectify the issue, you should talk with an employment law attorney and file a complaint with the EEOC.

Sexual harassment suit settled for $1.8 million

2024-07-30T19:53:18Z

Though he and his businesses have packed their bags and left California, they cannot escape the recent settlement of a lawsuit here. Though Lee William "Bill" McNutt and his investment firm and direct mail company have departed the state, they will still have to pay $1.8 million to settle a sexual harassment lawsuit. McNutt was accused by the female employee of repeatedly harassing her on business trips in 2017. She was at that time the vice president for operations and communications for the companies. McNutt was accused of touching her under her clothing without her consent. In one alleged incident, he exposed himself to her in a hotel room while they were attending a company conference in southern California, and then touched her without consent.

“Baseless”?

Her employment law attorney sent McNutt a complaint outlining his California employment law violations, stating that she should be placed on paid leave. She was fired, however, in June 2018. A spokesman for McNutt called the harassment lawsuit “baseless.” Of course, many readers will find the use of that term odd for someone who has just agreed to pay $1.8 million to settle a suit. The spokesperson tried to explain the contradiction from McNutt and the companies’ (Silicon Valley Growth Syndicate and International Direct Mail Consultants, Inc.) co-owners: “in light of the current gender discrimination environment, they ultimately opted to spare their family and friends from the ongoing stress that defending the suit brought and agreed to this settlement.”

More than money

The settlement includes more than the substantial financial compensation, including an agreement that McNutt can no longer hire students from Southern Methodist University, the school where the woman had been a student. McNutt also went to school there. He was banned from the SMU campus in 2009 in response to complaints about him by female students. The California lawsuit settlement also bars McNutt from videotaping or photographing women and girls unrelated to him. Please remember what the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission says that sexual harassment can include “unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, and other verbal or physical harassment of a sexual nature.”

Can I request housing modifications to accommodate my disability?

2022-06-10T10:37:28Z

Finding an apartment in California is never easy. For individuals with disabilities, it can be extremely challenging to find a place that fits your needs, especially if you require special accommodations of any kind. It can be intimidating to request housing modifications, such as permission to install a ramp at a rental house or modify the countertop height in an apartment space. You may worry the property owner will reject your application in favor of an “easier” tenant. However, this would be in violation of the Fair Housing Act and actionable by law.

You have a right to request accessibility

Under federal law, you have a right to live in a rental unit regardless of your disability. Legally, the property owner must treat you the same way they would any other tenant.

You also have the right to request reasonable accommodations so that you can enjoy the apartment and common areas in your complex just like all the other tenants. However, there must be a true link between the disability and the modification you are requesting. You may need to demonstrate the relevancy of the modification with a statement or get a doctor’s note for confirmation of the legitimacy of your request.

Who pays for accessibility?

If you are modifying a temporary apartment where you will only stay for a year or so, it’s possible you will have to pay for the modifications if they will make the apartment uncomfortable for future tenants. To ensure legal protection, run all modifications by your property owner.