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employment attorney Orange County California Whistleblowers

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Many California employees contact us to find out if they are entitled to “whistleblower” protection. Both state and federal laws protect persons who report illegal activity by their employers says employment attorney Orange County. To be protected, an employee usually only has to have a “reasonable but mistaken belief” that illegal activity is afoot. In California, whistleblowers are protected by Labor Code 1102.5 which prohibits retaliation against an employee who complains about illegal activity. This is a very tough law for employers to prevail on, since the very next code section (1102.6) provides that the burden of proof is on the employer to prove by clear and convincing evidence that the whistleblowing about illegal activities had nothing to do with the adverse employment action.

According to employment lawyer Orange County, an employee can claim retaliation under the federal qui tam laws, where it is shown that the whistleblower was discharged, demoted, or discriminated against because of lawful acts done in furtherance of a false claims investigation. If the relator basically violates confidentiality and removes tens of thousands of documents indiscriminately, in order to later prove a qui tam case, there will probably be a finding of non-protected activity and the loss of the right to bring a retaliation action under the federal law.

When a whistleblower actually sues his or her former employer on behalf of the government for monies lost by the government, it must be shown that the government was actually defrauded and lost money says employment attorney Oakland. The federal false claim act is found at 31 United State Code 3729. A recent case illustrates some of the differences in “reasonable but mistaken” (sufficient to support a wrongful termination claim) and actual false billings. In this case the plaintiff contended that her employer withheld disclosure of new inventions from the government, stating that the contract with the company provided that the government owned the inventions. As the government would have had the right to license and sell these new inventions, the theory of the employee went, the United States was defrauded by not having that right of sale. Unfortunately for the plaintiff, she was unable to allege that the employer ever sought payment from the government and had not submitted a “false claim”.

Employment attorney San Diego says that false claims take many forms such as fraudulent use of a receipt; unauthorized purchase of government property or use of a “false record or statement” to avoid payment to the government. Another recent case held that a request for reimbursement that falsely implied compliance with federal rules might constitute a false claim. “Reverse false claims” are also actionable. In one such case, the defendant company falsely represented the value of some aircraft metals as “scrap”, whereas in fact it was worth several million dollars. A false claim was properly stated. Finally, it’s important to determine if the false claim was in a “condition of participation” or a “condition of payment”. No false claim is usually stated if the defendant accused of defrauding the govenment is simply falsely certifying compliance (such as non-discrimination) with a federal program or is actually billing falsely.

Financial rewards for whistleblowers can be huge! Under California state laws, up to 30% can be awarded to the whistleblower. Routinely, about 15-20% is awarded in federal false claims actions.

As always, this blog is educational in nature and legal advise can only be given by an experienced attorney in your jurisdiction.

Abbey Santander Group Demonstrates Appeal Stages And Court Structure In Employment Disputes

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The appeal stages and court structure in employment disputes in the UK is demonstrated by the high-profile Chagger v Abbey National plc & Hopkins (2006) legal case, where the Employment Tribunal found race discrimination and made the record breaking 2.8 million compensation award. Abbey National Santander Abbey (the UK high street bank soon to be re-branded as Santander share, and being part of the Banco Santander Group) ended Balbinder Chagger’s employment in 2006, giving redundancy as the reason. However, Mr Chagger believed the real reason behind his dismissal was race discrimination. Mr Chagger (of Indian origin) was employed as a Trading Risk Controller. He earned around 100,000 a year and reported into Nigel Hopkins, his manager.

If an employee has suffered unfairness and/or discrimination in employment then he could decide to appeal. The first point of appeal may be to the employer, in the form of a formal grievance. The employee lodges the formal grievance with the employer. The employer is responsible for hearing the grievance and deciding its outcome. The employer is, thus, given the opportunity to deal with the employment dispute and to close it satisfactorily. However, Mr Chagger’s issues were simply dismissed out of hand by the Banco Santander Group company.

If the parties cannot resolve their employment dispute between themselves, then either party may appeal to an Employment Tribunal for an independent resolution of the dispute. Employment Tribunals will hear disputes concerning unfair dismissal, redundancy payments and discrimination. Mr Chagger eventually appealed to the Employment Tribunal by starting legal proceedings against both Santander Abbey National and Mr Hopkins on the grounds of race discrimination and unfair dismissal. The Employment Tribunal heard the case and concluded that Mr Chagger had been both dismissed unfairly and discriminated against on the grounds of race in respect of his dismissal, by both Mr Hopkins and Santander Abbey National. The Employment Tribunal took the rare step of ordering Abbey Santander to reinstate Mr Chagger in order to remedy the wrong of race discrimination it had committed. Santander Abbey National, however, refused to comply with the Employment Tribunal’s reinstatement order. Following Santander Abbey National’s failure to comply, the Employment Tribunal subsequently ordered Abbey Santander to pay Mr Chagger the record breaking 2.8 million compensation for his loss on the basis that he had not been reinstated.

The employee/employer that is dissatisfied with the Employment Tribunal’s decisions may appeal to the Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT). The EAT will consider appeals against decisions made by Employment Tribunals. The grounds of appeal must be points of law (i.e., the appeal must be about errors in the legal reasoning of the Employment Tribunal’s decision). The EAT will not reconsider issues of fact. Santander Abbey National and Mr Hopkins appealed to the EAT against the Employment Tribunal’s decision of race discrimination and against the award of 2.8 million compensation. The EAT heard Abbey Santander’s appeals. It decided to uphold the original Employment Tribunal’s finding that Mr Hopkins and Santander Abbey National had discriminated against Mr Chagger on the grounds of race in respect of his dismissal. However, it accepted Abbey Santander’s appeal on the record breaking 2.8 million compensation award and remitted the compensation matter to the original Employment Tribunal for reconsideration on the basis of the likelihood of Mr Chagger leaving Santander Abbey National’s employment in any case.

The party that is dissatisfied with the EAT’s decisions may appeal to the Court of Appeal, being the second highest court in the land. The Court of Appeal will consider appeals against decisions made by the EAT. Once again, the grounds of the appeal must be points of law (i.e., the appeal must be about errors in the legal reasoning of the EAT’s decision). The Court of Appeal will not reconsider issues of fact either. The Santander Abbey National case was appealed to the Court of Appeal; the Court of Appeal’s website showed the case was heard this month, on 7 and 8 July 2009. The Court of Appeal’s records concerning the hearing were not available at the time of writing this article. According to 11KBW set of chambers, the hearing was limited to the issue of compensation only (i.e., not to the matter of race discrimination also). That would suggest that the wrong of race discrimination committed by Santander Abbey National and Mr Hopkins seems to have been finalised by the EAT, which upheld the original Employment Tribunal’s finding that Mr Hopkins and Abbey Santander had discriminated against Mr Chagger on the grounds of race in his dismissal.

The party that is dissatisfied with the Court of Appeal’s decisions may appeal to the House of Lords, being the highest court in the land. Any appeal to the House of Lords requires the Court of Appeal’s approval and the Court of Appeal must also certify a question of general public importance that the House of Lords needs to decide upon. Again, appeals to the House of Lords must be about points of law and not about issues of fact. The House of Lords is the final stage of appeal for most legal cases in the UK. However, rare cases may be permitted for appeal to the European Court of Justice, which has jurisdiction on matters of European Community law.

Housekeeper Resume – How To Create A Winning Housekeeper Resume

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If you plan to find a housekeeping job immediately, you need to polish up your housekeeper resume. While doing so can be difficult for some, it is nonetheless of great importance. For those who have had to create resumes in the past, making an updated resume won’t be difficult. However, if you do not have enough experience being a housekeeper, how will you make your resume attractive enough?

If you are new to writing resumes, getting employed will be easy, as long as you add a bit of ingenuity into your housekeeper resume. You can always make your resume appear more professional. Thus, even if you are not as experienced, getting the job will be easy.

It is important to begin with an excellent layout first of all. There are excellent sources and samples of templates on the web. Once you have made your choice, the next step involves downloading the template and using it for your own resume.

It is important that you enter your name, address, contact details and email address at the top portion of your resume. This way, you can easily be contacted by potential employers. Have your objective section ready where you will put in your goals concerning the job. Make sure to write it in a matter that the employer will be impressed. Following your objective is your educational background. Ideally, what should follow after the objective is employment history. However, since you do not have job experience yet on housekeeping jobs, put in your educational attainment instead.

What follows next, if applicable, is for you to include any past employment records where you have made use of your skills in housekeeping. You might want to include writing down unique skills such as those in home making or any special abilities. It will be valuable if you include multi-tasking, time-management, and organizational skills.

Moreover, provide character references that would be able to attest that you have these skills. It should also be a part of a winning housekeeper resume.

Visit the top live-in housekeeper agency Bahamas for free profiles & photos and contact us for the best way to hire your next live-in maid, nanny, housekeeper, gardener, driver and much more.

Gaining Justice with Employment Solicitors

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Gaining Justice with Employment Solicitors

All workers in the UK, irrespective of the industry in which they are employed, are legally entitled to certain standards in the workplace. As well as the more obvious things such as adequate health and safety levels, there are various other laws which are in place, and employment solicitors are on hand to help when employees are treated illegally.

For example, it’s a sad yet inevitable fact that some companies do not meet the minimum standards required for working conditions. Employment law solicitors can advise workers who have suffered in this area, and it needn’t cost a penny. No win no fee employment solicitors work hard from day one to get you the maximum possible compensation you deserve. Unfair Dismissal? Employment Solicitors Can Help

Losing a job is a traumatic experience at any time, but it’s even worse when it’s done illegally. Anyone who feels they have been the victim of unfair dismissal needs to contact a reliable firm of employment law solicitors. London is home to a vast number of businesses operating in all industry sectors, some of whom do not treat their staff as well as they should.

With such a wide choice of employment solicitors, London workers are never likely to be far away from a reliable firm. Whether the individual employee works for a small, family-run business or a huge multinational corporation, he or she is legally entitled to certain standards within the workplace. Making Contact with Employment Solicitors

It’s straightforward for any employee to take their case to employment law solicitors. Most employment law firms offer clients a free consultation to start with, and once they’ve assessed the merits of the case they usually act on the basis of no win no fee.

Employment solicitors have specialist knowledge of this often complex area, and will be on hand to guide clients through the whole process. A telephone call or email is all it takes to start the ball rolling and in no time, you could be under the expert guidance of employment law solicitors. With them on your side, your chances of success are greatly increased.

Getting An Employment Reference Letter From College Professors

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As a graduating college student you already know you’re immediate future could be tense. The odds of getting hired straight out of college aren’t nearly as high as they were ten years ago. The odds of getting a job which pays enough to cover your daily living expenses, as well as your student loans will prove even more difficult. When you’re getting ready to start applying for post-college jobs, you can’t afford to be blas about your employment reference letter. It doesn’t matter if you’re asking someone to write a letter for you, or if you’ve been asked to write a letter of recommendation for someone else, you need to make sure it’s the best letter possible.

When it comes to getting your first professional job after leaving college, you need to take care when selecting just who will be writing the letter. Even though your buddies love you, and will be more than willing to provide you outstanding recommendations, the really aren’t the ones you should be going to. Future employers won’t just be interested in the information contained in the employment reference letter, they will also be very interested in the person who penned the letter. The more respect they have for the employment reference letter’s author, the more weight they will give the reference, and the better your odds of landing the job.

Presumably you’re applying for a job in the same field you have jut finished studying. As long as this is the case, you should talk to some of your professors about providing you with good employment reference letter. Most college professors consider this to be part of their job. You will do best when you pick a professor you’ve not only worked closely with during the time you’ve been in the university, but you should also pick one that has strong connections in the field. The more respected the professor is, the better your chances of getting the job.

You shouldn’t wait until the last possibly second to get the letter. Professors are very busy, the have to carefully manage their time and it may take a few days before they have chance to sit down and write down their thoughts an opinions of you. The even bigger reason to ask the professor for the letter soon as possible will be to ensure they know exactly who they’re recommending for a job. The average college professor sees lots of students throughout the course of a year.