01 | A SAFE ENVIRONMENT

If you feel you are being sexually harassed in a way that is creating a hostile work environment, your right to a safe work environment is being violated and your employer may be liable.

02 | WORKPLACE EQUALITY

Title VII protects the following aspects of a job from discrimination, including sexual harassment: Hiring and firing; compensation, assignment or classification of employees; transfer, promotion, layoff or recall; job advertisements; recruitment; testing; use of company facilities; training and apprenticeship; fringe benefits; pay, retirement plans and disability leave; and other terms and conditions of employment.

03 | WORKERS’ RIGHTS

Not just employees, but also applicants, unpaid interns, professional relationships and independent contractors are protected from sexual harassment under the California Fair Employment and Housing Act.

04 | GENDER

Sexual harassment can occur between any two people in a workplace, regardless of gender, including same-sex harassment. Sexual desire does not have to motivate the harassment.

05 | EMPLOYER RETALIATION PROTECTION

Workers are entitled assert their right to be free from discrimination, called “protected activity” by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). Therefore, it is unlawful for an employer to take retaliatory action against a victim of sexual harassment for complaining about the unwelcome behavior.

01 | LANGUAGE

Unless your employer shows legitimate reasons for requiring employees to speak English at all times at work, an English-only rule may be an illegal discriminatory practice. Your employer may be acting against the law by requiring employees to be fluent in English if the rule is not necessary for the nature of the job, or if the employer targets employees of a particular national origin.

02 | COLOR OF SKIN

Skin color, as well as race, religion, sex and national origin, are expressly protected under Title VII from discrimination. Discrimination or harassment due to skin color, regardless of whether it is commonly linked to race or national origin, is unlawful.

03 | ASSOCIATION TO RELIGION OR ETHNICITY

It is unlawful for your employer to discriminate against you because of your association to person of a particular religion or ethnicity, including a partner, spouse, child, or friend.

04 | CITIZENSHIP STATUS

Generally, an employer cannot discriminate based on citizenship status if its effect is discriminatory against your national origin. An employer may only require U.S. citizenship status as a condition of employment if it is required for the job by local, state or federal contract. Otherwise, it is unlawful to have a “citizens only” hiring policy, and your employer may not ask about citizenship status during an interview.

05 | EQUAL OPPORTUNITIES

Employers must not treat prospective hires differently during interviews based on their national origin, and must have selection criteria that do not cause a discriminatory effect. Additionally, employers must not implement criteria that limit promotions or assignments for employees of a particular national origin. You must have equal opportunities to hiring, promotion, and reassignment.

06 | CLOTHING OF CULTURAL ORIGIN

The clothing you wear can be an expression of your cultural origin or religious association. It is illegal to discriminate or harass a worker for the clothing they wear. While your employer might argue that your clothing can cause your business to lose customers or make coworkers “uncomfortable,” this is never a justification for discrimination.

01 | MINIMUM WAGE

Workers are entitled to the minimum wage as required by State law, regardless of whether they are paid an hourly rate, by piece rate, by commission or a salary.

02 | OVERTIME

Overtime wages must be paid no later than the payday for the next regular payroll period in which the overtime work was completed.

03 | FULL PROMISED PAY

A worker has the right not just to minimum wage, but to the wage promised by the employer. The employer owes the worker the promised hourly rate for all hours worked. If your employer pays you less than the promised rate, you may be able to file a wage claim for the unpaid difference.

04 | MEAL AND REST BREAKS

If an employer does not provide an uninterrupted 30-minute meal break for every 5 hours worked and a 10-minute paid rest break for every 4 hours worked, the employer is committing wage theft.

05 | REIMBURSEMENT OF EXPENSES

An employer must reimburse workers for expenses and tools reasonably necessary to complete their job, such as uniforms and supplies. However, your employer can require you to provide your own supplies for the job if you earn at least double the minimum wage.

06 | FINAL PAYCHECKS AT TERMINATION

An employer must provide a worker’s final wages, including accrued vacation (if applicable), on their last workday if they were fired. If the employer does not provide payment on the last workday, the former employee may be able to file a claim for a day’s wages for up to 30 days that the paycheck is withheld.

07 | BEING PAID ON TIME

Depending on the type of employment, California law requires employers to pay workers within a reasonable period for each payroll period. For example, many employers must pay workers by the 26th of the month for the payroll period of the 1st to the 16th, or by the 10th for the payroll period of the 16th to the end of the previous month.

08 | LIMITED PAYCHECK DEDUCTIONS

Your employer cannot legally make additional deductions from your paycheck other than those required by law, such as social security tax.