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Retaliation against workers who speak up when they have had their workplace rights violated through wage theft, sexual harassment or other unlawful abuses is prevalent in California. It functions to undercut all of California’s labor laws, turning our strong, clear legal standards into an inconsistent mess in the reality of workplace interactions. Retaliation takes many...
Silver Taube: Epidemic of unpaid labor in rehab programs must be stopped
Unpaid work-based programs are often the cornerstone of alcohol and drug rehab. In a July 7, 2020 article that is part of a Reveal investigative series on these programs, reporter Shoshana Walter said her team identified at least 300 rehab facilities in 44 states that required unpaid labor from participants. They found that, in recent...
Silver Taube: The restaurant industry wants to halt a law giving fast-food workers a seat at the table
On Labor Day, Gov. Gavin Newson signed the landmark bill, AB 257, the FAST Recovery Act, into law. The law will establish a 10-member council with four seats held by fast-food franchisor and franchisee representatives, four seats held by fast-food worker representatives and advocates and two seats held by representatives of the Department of Industrial Relations...
Silver Taube: Employers fail to provide lactation accommodations
On July 28, Amazon warehouse worker Fernanda Torres filed a class action lawsuit alleging the company failed to provide lactation accommodations in violation of the law. Torres alleged Amazon’s breastfeeding workers are forced to take unpaid breaks to pump milk and risk discipline for not meeting quotas. She also alleged breastfeeding workers often wait in...
Silver Taube: Palo Alto janitorial workers shed light on wage theft
Allegations of wage theft loom over Palo Alto as several janitors who clean the city’s facilities have filed at least $23,000 in wage claims, not including penalties. The janitors filed claims with the Labor Commission against the city’s janitorial services vendor, SWA Services Group, a non-union company. These troubling allegations highlight the failure of one...
Silver Taube: We must step up wage theft regulation in Santa Clara County
“We’re being robbed,” said Georgina Hernandez, a janitorial worker whose former employer was ordered to pay workers over $1.7 million for multiple wage theft violations in 2014. Five years later, Hernandez and other employees have not received a dime. Ms. Hernandez is not alone. A 2014 report the Eastern Research Group prepared for the Department...
Silver Taube: The good, the bad and the ugly—some propositions and bills to look out for
A few years ago, the demand for $15 an hour was dismissed as unimaginable pie in the sky. Spearheaded by fast-food workers and a remarkable campaign punctuated by strikes, walkouts, media, lawsuits and brave worker leaders, and led by the Fight for $15 and a union, $15 an hour went from laughable to viable. On...