Employment Law

Bay Area / San Francisco Employment Attorneys

Employees spend much of their adult life at work and depend on their paychecks to feed their families, and that is why there are so many laws regulating behavior in the workplace.   The Zurada Law Firm handles claims of employees who find themselves victims of unfair work practices.  We also counsel employers about the applicable federal, state, and local employment laws, how to avoid employment problems, and defend employers against unmeritorious claims.  Our employment practice can be broken down into four main practice areas:

• Violation of Wage & Hour Laws
• Discrimination and Harassment
• Breach of Employment Contract
• Independent Contractors

Wage and Hour laws govern all aspects of payment of wages to employees (minimum wage, pay period, overtime, commissions, tips), their rest periods (meal and rest breaks), as well as various miscellaneous issues (sick pay, vacation pay, docking of pay).  These laws are quite complex, inflexible, and must be strictly obeyed by the employer.

Discrimination and Harassment laws prohibit discrimination due to race, religion, gender, sexual orientation and other “protected characteristics”.  This means that only certain types of harassment and discrimination violate the law – for example, an employer can discriminate or act in a hostile manner towards an employee because they genuinely dislike them as long as the dislike is not based on any of the protected characteristics.  Unlawful harassment is unwelcome, offensive, or otherwise belittling behavior by co-employees or managers towards an employee based on protected characteristics, and unlawful discrimination is a denial of work opportunities to an employee based on their protected characteristics.

Employers sometimes enter into written or oral agreements with employees that set the terms of employment between the parties. 

While certain legal requirements related to wage & hour laws as well as harassment/discrimination are non-waivable, there are other terms of employment that can be negotiated between an employer and employee and become part of the employment contract.  Breach of such employment contract by either employer or employee can lead to litigation.

The Zurada Law Firm has significant experience in enforcing and protecting the rights of employees as well as educating employers about employment issues and defending them against claims that have no merit.  

We would be honored to be your Bay Area/San Francisco discrimination and harassment attorneys, and your first consultation with us is always FREE.  We also take on meritorious discrimination and harassment cases on behalf of employees on a contingency basis, meaning that you do not have to pay us an hourly rate, and that we get paid only if you win.