Mesriani Law Group Settles Age Discrimination, Retaliation Case for $80K

LOS ANGELES - July 18, 2013 - PRLog -- In another display of employment law expertise, the Mesriani Law Group (MLG) has successfully represented and secured $80,000.00 settlement pay for a male employee who was subjected to age discrimination and retaliation by his employer, among other employment and labor law violations.



Case records revealed that said client-employee worked for an IT services company in California for 12 years as a sales associate. He was technically hired as an independent contractor for the company, but it soon became clear that the latter intended to exercise considerable employee-like control over him on a daily basis. In fact, he was assigned a massive amount of fixed hours, in which he was scheduled to work five days a week, with a work requirement every third weekend of the month on a Saturday. On average, he was working at approximately 54 hours per week; however, the company did not afford him meals and rest periods during his long working hours.



During his first few years working for the company, the client-employee’s salary dipped down, from the agreed-upon $2,500.00 salary after getting hired, to $2,000.00 per month in the second quarter of 2001. The next year, the owner of the company not only placed him on a commission-based pay, but his base pay was reduced to $1,000.00 plus 16 percent commission on his personal sales. In around 2004, he learned from the other sales associates who were paid on salary basis that he was the only one on commission-based pay.



In 2008, the company owner told client-employee that he needed to hire younger people who are energetic and assertive with customers, replicating that of a Mac Store where the working staff is young. The owner evidently failed to acknowledge the client-employee’s tenure in the company, and the latter was offended by it. In fact, the client-employee was repeatedly singled out on the account of his age, in which the owner consistently compared him to other younger employees. On several occasions, the owner told him that he is old, not a good worker, and lazy.



The issue of his commission-based status escalated further after he received a gross income that is absolutely lower than the salary he initially received. He continuously complained similar discrepancies on his commissions to his supervisor who manages the sales invoice, to no avail.



In 2011, the owner again extended client-employee’s working hours, from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. on weekdays, and from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Saturdays. He complained about his new work schedule, but the same was ignored. To make matters worse, the company did not offer to pay him overtime compensation for his extended working hours, plus he was, again, denied the required meal and rest breaks for his services. The client-employee’s continuous complaints had fallen on deaf ears, and he decided to submit his resignation letter in August that same year. He was constructively terminated right after.



In line with the aforementioned facts, it was clear that the California-based company violated a variety of the state’s employment and labor laws. Aside from negligently and deliberately subjecting client-employee to age discrimination and harassment and retaliation for complaining about his wage and hour issues, the company misclassified him as an independent contractor rather than a salary-based employee. Moreover, he was subjected to longer working hours while failing to provide him with timely and accurate wage and hour statements. Further, he was denied overtime pay, as well as meal and rest breaks.



His ordeal during the course of his employment evidently caused him to experience emotional distress as a direct result of the unlawful retaliation he was subjected to. He likewise incurred lost wages and benefits during his tenure in the company, along with impairment of his future earning capacity after his wrongful termination.



But, thanks to the adept and effective handling of the case by the trusted and professional Los Angeles employment attorneys and paralegal staff of the Mesriani Law Group, the client-employee was awarded a favorable settlement of $80,000.00, which would cover for special, general, and punitive damages he incurred. This settlement victory proved once again the Los Angeles employment law firm’s topnotch legal expertise and vast knowledge in handling and successfully litigating employment and labor cases for California workers.



ABOUT MESRIANI LAW GROUP

Mesriani Law Group is a full service law firm operating out of Los Angeles, California, with several distinct and independent divisions, each of which specializes in a different branch of the law. Mesriani Law Group currently maintains divisions specializing in Business and Corporate Litigation, Personal Injury Litigation, Social Security Disability (SSD/RSDI) and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) claims, and Employment/Labor Law.

For more information about Mesriani Law Group, please go to http://www.mesrianilaw.com/
Mesriani Law Group
510 Arizona Avenue
Santa Monica, CA 90401
T: (310) 826-6300
F: (310) 820-1258