California’s labor commissioner is reminding working people and their employers that employees’ immigration status does not impact their rights on the job.
Employers are required to provide new notices to workers statewide by Feb. 1. The notices, which also must be posted at workplaces, stress that all workers have certain rights and protections.
“As a worker in California, you are entitled to know and exercise your workplace and constitutional rights,” the notice reads. “Labor laws, including but not limited to standards for wages, hours, and health and safety, apply to all workers in the state regardless of immigration status.”
The reminder comes as the Trump administration continues to crack down on immigration, including through raids at workplaces in California and across the country. Federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement authorities have recently conducted surprise inspections in the downtown Los Angeles fashion district, at Camarillo cannabis farms, and across the Central Coast, for example.
The actions can have a chilling effect on employers and workers across the state, including many who are lawfully in the U.S. The moves are already having a negative economic impact statewide.
The labor commissioner is also making clear that employers cannot use workers’ immigration status as leverage to underpay employees or keep them from speaking up about the terms and conditions. That includes ensuring that they are fully paid for all of their time on the job, work in a reasonably safe environment, and that their employers take steps to prevent discrimination and harassment.
“Under California law, it is unlawful for employers to retaliate against you or threaten immigration-related action when you exercise your rights,” the notice states.
At Justice Law Corporation, our California employment class action attorneys help working people fight back to protect their rights on the job. That includes fighting for full pay and combating workplace discrimination and harassment. We are seasoned attorneys who have dedicated our careers to assisting people in wage and hour, bias, and other cases.
It is crucial that all working people in California understand their legal rights and protections. Here is what you need to know.
Immigration Raids and Retaliation at California Workplaces
The new notice makes clear that employees have the right to be notified about upcoming immigration inspections in many situations.
“If your employer receives notice of an upcoming immigration agency’s inspection of I-9 Employment Eligibility Verification forms or other employment records, your employer must post a notice informing workers and their union representative, if applicable, within 72 hours of receiving that notice,” according to the labor commissioner.
It also underscores that employers cannot take immigration-related action as a means of retaliation against workers who exercise their rights on the job. That includes harassing workers by refusing to accept legitimate documents during the verification process, forcing them to repeatedly reverify their status, or threatening to report them to immigration authorities.
Wage and Hour Rights
One of the most important legal protections for working people across California is the right to be fully and fairly paid for all of their time and effort.
The current minimum wage statewide in California is $16.90. This applies to nearly all employees in the state, with limited exceptions. Many cities and counties—particularly in Los Angeles and the Bay Area—have adopted their own minimum wage rates that are higher than the state minimum. Employers in these places must pay the higher, local minimum wage rates.
Workers in certain fields, such as health care, fast food, and hospitality, are covered by separate minimum wage scales. Some of those rates are statewide, while others depend on location.
Overtime pay is the second major guarantee under California wage and hour law.
Employers must pay covered employees time-and-a-half wages for time worked over eight hours in a single workday or over 40 hours in a single workweek. The overtime rate also applies for the first eight hours worked on the seventh consecutive day of work in a workweek.
Covered employees must be paid twice their normal rate for time worked over 12 hours in a day, or beyond 8 hours on the 7th consecutive day of work in a workweek.
These laws apply to the vast majority of workers across California, regardless of their immigration status.
Protections Against Discrimination and Harassment at Work
Separate state and federal laws also ban discrimination and harassment on the job. They generally protect workers from a wide range of biases based on:
- Race
- Ethnicity
- Gender
- Age
- Disability
- Pregnancy
- Religion
- Sexual orientation
- Gender identity
- Marital status
Discrimination can arise in a number of different ways, from being turned down for jobs or promotions to being paid less than others for the same work or pigeonholed into certain types of positions. It all too often presents itself as open harassment on the job, whether from colleagues or superiors.
How to Fight Back
The good news for working people in California is that you have the power to fight back against unlawful pay practices, discrimination, or harassment on the job.
A class action is a powerful tool that allows workers to join together in a lawsuit against their employer. These cases are common when groups of workers are harmed by the same employer’s policies or practices.
The thought of taking on your employer can be daunting and intimidating, especially for people who need a job to support themselves and their families. Fortunately, you do not need to go it alone. Suing as a class gives a group of workers leverage against the employers that they would not have if they pursued individual lawsuits. These suits also allow workers to share some of the costs and risks of pursuing legal action.
Our California Employment Class Action Attorneys Can Help
If you believe that your employer is violating your rights on the job, whether it is by being underpaid or in other terms and conditions, you do not need to go it alone. A California employment class action attorney at Justice Law Corporation can help you evaluate your claim and understand your rights and options.
