Did you suffer from sexual harassment? Worker Advocates of California

Worker Advocates of California

Worker Advocates of California was founded to assist the millions of California workers who have been abused by their employers in these tough economic times. From advice to assistance with forms and procedures, Worker Advocates of California has the expertise that will help you in your fight for justice in the bureaucratic system, and many cases we can handle at no up-front or out of pocket cost to you. 

Did you suffer from sexual harassment?

Were you fired un-justly?

Did management fail to pay you minimum wages?

Were you misclassified as an independent contractor?

Did you have to pay management to work?

Does your current employer owe you pay or back pay?

If you have problems with the following:

• Unpaid commissions, bonuses, vacation and sick pay

• Unpaid final wages, paychecks or overtime

• Paid salary instead of hourly wages

• Not provided breaks or lunch time

• Unreimbursed expenses

If you said “yes” to one or more of these questions, your labor rights were violated call for free consultation

949 697-5676.

Worker Advocates of California will help you with filings, paperwork, advice and support, and in most cases you’ll get to keep all the money that is coming to you...

Attention all workers in the entertainment, hospitality and amusement industries you are not an independent contractor.  In spite of what your employer may claim. If you’re a bartender, waitress, or stripper or others in the industry, it doesn’t matter if the boss calls you an independent contractor or if it’s a term you apply to yourself.   The reality is that the way entertainment, hospitality and amusement industries operate; the workers can only be employees.  It’s because management must exercise a certain amount of control over working conditions or else there would be chaos.   Some might argue that management creates more disorder with their policies than order…. Management need to figure out which workers are going to work on any given shift; how many shifts there are in a day; how many hours each shift runs; many decide what workers may wear at work; for example, in the case of bartenders, waitresses and strippers, again as example how many dancers shall perform on stage, etc….The reason why the industry misclassify workers as “independent contractors” is to dodge their employer obligations. The irony is that employer say you’re an independent contractor but actually treat you like an employee.

All employers must also pay into social security, worker’s compensation, employer taxes, & a slew of others good things that workers in any other industry are guaranteed as employees. In fact if they don’t it is illegal.  In my opinion these workers should get paid far more than minimum wages including good benefits for them and their families. 

To add insult to injury, club management charge strippers for the privilege to work! Can you believe that? You know:  those stage fees, quotas, commissions, piece rate system, locker fees, booking fees, etc, etc…. It’s also illegal for employers to require strippers to tip other employees (DJ, House Mom, Manager, bouncers, etc).  Management minimally pay non-stripper staff and expect strippers to underwrite the remainder of their wages.  Why are these fees-to-work illegal?  Because many of these workers earn their money through tips that customers provide for them.  Strippers for example use their tips to pay management these illegal mandatory fees. THIS IS ILLEGAL.

As your advocate we can take action to assert your labor rights!

1. Join other workers (current & former) who are trying to stop these illegal labor practices.  Identify others at your place of work who doesn’t want to pay to work anymore!
2. Demand that your city agencies enforce state and city labor laws so owners must comply with the law.
3. File a wage an hour labor complaint against employer to get back the fees that you paid to work plus your minimum wages with back pay.  You maybe able to go back 3 to 5 years from the time that you quit to file with the state’s Labor Commission and Department of Labor Standards Enforcement to recuperate your back wages & tips.  We know state Labor Commission for specifics on filing statue of limitations as they can vary.  We have staff that can help you fill out your complaint application.
4. If you were discriminated against while on the job, consider filing a complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). Here’s what EEOC says: “[They are] responsible for enforcing federal laws that make it illegal to discriminate against a job applicant or an employee because of the person’s race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy), national origin, age (40 or older), disability or genetic information. It is also illegal to discriminate against a person because the person complained about discrimination, filed a charge of discrimination, or participated in an employment discrimination investigation or lawsuit.” This includes sexual harassment.

To file a labor complaint with your state’s Labor Commission or Department of Labor, you will need to fill out a wage complaint application. 

Keep track of the following:

1. The days that you worked (keep a separate calendar just for your job)
2. How many hours you worked each shift (count  from the time you began dressing & putting on makeup until you leave the premises at the end of your shift.  Include the time you spend cashing out at the end of the night when management take your tips.  Include all hours worked overtime.
3. How much you paid out every shift in stage fees; commissions; mandatory tip outs to the DJs, house mom, manager; fines; mandatory uniform purchases (ex. stilettos, g-strings, pasties, evening gown, make up–things that you only wear for work), etc.
4. How much you were required to purchase in club merchandise to re-sell to customers.  This includes money that comes out of your own pocket to pay for things like club T-shirts, cigars, etc.
5. Any receipts that the management provided you for paying stage fees including IOUs they might have issued to you when you didn’t make your quota, etc
6. Any house rules or contracts that the management made you sign as a condition of your employment
7. What the minimum wages were over the time that you worked (these rates vary over time & the Labor Commission has exact details of this–ask them). In cities like San Francisco, they have set a higher minimum wage than the state, which can take precedence. We can contact your city officials to find out if this applies to your city.

Every case is different. We encourage you to contact us to tell us your story so we can best advise you based on the specifics of your situation

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Workers Advocate: Michael Webster, (949) 697-5676 301 Forest Ave, Laguna Beach, CA 92651. E-mail mvwsr@aol.com