How does an employer get sued in San Diego or anywhere in California? California is, by far, the hardest and most complex state in the US in which to be an employer. It may seem like all of the cards in the deck favor the worker but the “lawyer for employers” at the Watkins Firm have more than 40 years of experience advising, protecting and defending employers. We can help you to prevent issues before they ever arise, and we will work to resolve any challenge, dispute or lawsuit quickly and cost-efficiently while accomplishing your goals and objectives.
How Does an Employer Get Sued in San Diego or Anywhere in California?
So, how does an employer get sued in San Diego or anywhere in California? My name is Dan Watkins, and after more than 40 years of experience as a business owner and employer myself I can tell you: it’s not a matter of IF you will get sued as an employer, it’s WHEN. I can also tell you it’s not THAT you are sued it’s HOW your lawyer for employers from the Watkins Firm can help to help solve problems in a timely and cost-effective manner while defending and protecting your interests.
Did you know that we help many of our employer clients solve disputes (and often potentially large disputes) on their own? Did you know that there are almost always actions you can take to immediately mitigate or outright remediate your legal and financial risks in any dispute with a worker?
An employer in California is sued because the laws and Courts of our state have created an advantageous environment for the employee. California has further incentivized workers and plaintiffs’ attorneys to sue employers on behalf of the Attorney General of California through a Private Attorneys General Act or PAGA action. The lawyers get fees and the workers in a PAGA action get a substantial piece of the action from any resulting fines, penalties, back taxes and benefit recoveries and other proceeds achieved by the PAGA action itself.
The past few years have brought a rapid increase of disputes and lawsuits based upon wage and hour and unpaid overtime disputes, misclassification, employer retaliation and wrongful termination actions, leave disputes including FMLA violations, as well as disputes involving tips, overtime, commissions and bonuses.
There are too many state agencies and plaintiffs’ attorneys who are eager to help a disgruntled employee to come after us as employers. So what are you going to do about that?
How Can a California Employer Reduce or Eliminate the Risk of Being Sued? Is there a “Right Way” to be Sued?
How can a California employer reduce or eliminate the risk of being sued? Is there a “right way” to be sued? How can you limit or eliminate your exposure as an employer?
The best piece of advice for a California employer: Act Quickly!
If you have an employee-related dispute and you suspect something is up you’re probably right. Call the Watkins Firm at (858) 535-1511 and speak to one of our experienced employer defense attorneys for a free consultation. We have 40+ years of experience. We don’t have to research it, we know precisely how to advise you and tell you step-by-step what you should do based upon the facts at hand. We can tell you pretty quickly “if that mole is cancer!”
More importantly we can help you to put a stop to it or limit the potential legal and financial exposure.
You don’t need to call the employer defense attorneys at the Watkins Firm every single time someone looks at you funny. But if you have somebody who’s in a protected class, or who is claiming unfair treatment that’s usually a precursor to being sued, that the worker has probably already contacted a lawyer. Plaintiffs’ lawyers will advise that potential future lawsuit (your employee) to go ahead and “seed the file” with emails, texts and a paper trail to set up a lawsuit, or make certain complaints and see how you as the employer reacts.
You’ve heard of employers papering an employee’s file by putting in reviews and, and disciplinary actions and things like that? Well, employees can do the same thing to employers. If you see that happening, then that’s probably a really good time to contact us and get some advice on how to proceed.
Is there a “right way to be sued?” Yes. First, when you make that quick call we can help to immediately identify where things are. If a lawsuit is coming your way we can see it ahead of time (before you are actually served). We can help you to take all available action to either remediate the situation entirely to prevent a lawsuit from happening, or mitigate the circumstances and take immediate action to keep damages at an absolute minimum.
Look, a one-off wage and hour dispute with an employee is usually within a few hundred dollars. If that same wage and hour dispute is leveraged by either the employee or the plaintiffs’ attorney it can become a full blown lawsuit with a financial risk in the tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars.
There are actions you can usually take to significantly reduce or eliminate the incentive of any plaintiffs’ attorney to take the case. If they can’t make money they won’t sue. If you are sued, you want to be in a strong position. The Watkins Firm helps to prepare good documentation, a thorough chronology and a mastery of potential damages. It may surprise you (and comfort you) to learn that we are able to resolve the vast majority of our cases through effective, leveraged negotiation. This is the fastest and least expensive path to resolve and employee-related dispute or lawsuit.
We have more than four decades and a proven, successful track record of success defending employers and representing them through negotiations, mediation, arbitration and at trial.
Preventing Disputes and Lawsuits as an Employer in California
The best defense is a good offense. We work with our clients to make sure the documents, contracts and procedures are correct from the first interview through the hiring process, employment, discipline and ultimately termination. We make sure your employee handbook and policies and procedures are up-to-date and structured to prevent a potential lawsuit at any point along the journey of employment.
Our clients value their access to our experienced paralegals who answer many day-to-day employer questions for a very reasonable fee. Our clients value their access to experienced, proven lawyers for employers at the Watkins Firm who can help them to quickly identify or dismiss potential risks and prevent a dispute or lawsuit before it ever gets off the ground.
How does an employer get sued in San Diego and throughout California? What can you do, today, to reduce or eliminate your risks and exposure as a California employer?
Are you looking for a great legal partner and coach as a California employer? We invite you to review our podcast Episode 27 – Changes in CA and Federal Law for San Diego Employers as well as the strong recommendations of our clients and contact the Watkins Firm or call 858-535-1511 for a complimentary consultation today.
