HELP! Attorney referral needed

[JJ1179]

I am in need of a good employment law attorney that practices in California. If anyone knows of someone, please PM me. Thanks!

 

[MikeDeltaFoxtrot]

Do you need someone to represent an employer or an employee? Most lawyers only do one or the other.

 

[JJ1179]

An employee

 

[JJ1179]

.

 

[stanginthe11s]

you got caught sleeping at work again?

employment law is usually fairly cut and dry. if you're looking to go after a company, I would suggest you do the research as its all pretty simple. all states have labor laws and offer help against employers so there's rarely a need for a lawyer.
are you union or non-union? full or part time? actual employee or 1099? corporate? lots of questions that matter.
feel free to share the story and guys might help.

 

[Dos Perros]

California has some pretty bizarre labor laws that make it very difficult for an employer to stay in compliance.

 

[JJ1179]

I work for a local government and one of my employees was investigated by our police department for 653.2 PC - “Harassment by Electronic Device”. They interviewed the person and had a warrant for their phone.

The charge is a misdemeanor offense and PD had the investigation wrapped up within a couple of weeks from what I understand and filed with the DA. The interview took place in early November, and to date, there have been no charges filed. I’m guessing that they have more important cases to hear other than a case about text messages.

Here’s where it gets messy. A couple weeks later they were placed on administrative leave at work through HR for what they had done. There were no explanations given for what the accusations were, other than the cookie cutter letter explaining the expectations of the leave. Things like work days/hours, who they were to report to, that they were to no longer engage in work activities and that all power and authority had been removed, etc. The disciplinary talk from their boss and memo was given to them in mid November.

They emailed the HR Director in December asking for the policies and procedures for internal workplace investigation and for the information was being used against them, and never received a response. They tried 3 separate times and were ignored each time.

Over a month later, the HR Director finally emailed explaining what the accusations were - “sexual harassment” - and when their interview was to take place with an investigator for the internal workplace investigation.

In early January they had their interview and still have not heard anything back from HR regarding the disciplinary action plan or what the next steps are. They have left multiple voicemails with the HR Director, which have all been ignored. It is now going on 6 weeks since the interview and over 2.5 months off.

There has been zero communication/response, per the California Code of Regulations the investigation is supposed to be timely (which in my opinion it is not), from what I have read they were supposed to provide the policies which they have not, and they did not distribute the harassment policy after the incident which I believe they were supposed to do.

I’m definitely not an attorney and interpreting employment law is like trying to decipher hunting and fishing regs. If anyone has any advice or suggestions I’m all ears. I feel like they are getting railroaded. Thanks!

 

[Pharmseller]

Paid leave?

 

[JJ1179]

Correct. Paid leave.

A couple other important details I forgot. When they requested a copy of the police report, they were denied because it is, “investigative and exempt from disclosure”. However, the investigator (not a police investigator but a privately hired attorney) had a copy of the report that he was using against them. Additionally, the person was taking medication for a medical condition and experienced bad side effects and had an adverse reaction to the medication that this was due in part to.

 

[backcountry_hunter]

are they represented by a union? This is actually progressing faster than most states if it’s only been that long. Not uncommon for HR and employer to leave them in the dark…. Not saying it’s right but it is “normal”. Odds are after interviews, investigator will have an objective write up if just facts and then hiring officers up to directors & HR will determine discipline. If it’s sexual harassment, there’s a good chance said employee won’t be back..: most government agencies down to city/county are zero tolerance nowadays…

 

[Pharmseller]

Don’t spend a bunch of money. California is an at-will employment state.




P

 

[JJ1179]

Thanks for the advice and feedback.

 

[49ereric]

Didn’t get two checks rapidly so seems iffy.
I have seen more than one case of verbal sexual harassment cases with union workers on the job during work hours and the company issued 2 checks faster than I thought possible.
most companies have Zero Tolerance clauses and immediate discharge is the result.

 

[JJ1179]

No, they are still working on figuring out how to handle the situation. They’ve gotten 2 1/2 months worth of checks.

 

[49ereric]

No, they are still working on figuring out how to handle the situation. They’ve gotten 2 1/2 months worth of checks.

Must not have zero tolerance then.