Legal Workers’ Benefits: Understanding Your Right to a Conducive Working Environment!

Many California workers must know their rights to a good working environment. Insincere employers can deny them certain benefits, and they may not even know it. If you need clarification on what the law says concerning your legal working benefits, this article is for you.

The world of employee benefits is wide and sometimes confusing. Therefore, here is an overview of the legal employee benefits provided by California law to every worker in the state. 

Meanwhile, benefits differ from job to job and industry to industry—even from employee to employee. As such, you might want to talk to a California attorney for legal counsel on your job and benefits.

Wages

Generally, the minimum wage for employees in the United States is $7.25 per hour, although this varies from one state to another. It cannot go lower than this, effective from February 2024. This is the least an employee can receive per hour in the United States, regardless of the job.

Hours

Each full-time employee is obligated to work 40 hours per week at the most; it is fewer for part-time employees. Therefore, you are entitled to extra pay if you work more than 40 hours per week as a full-time employee. More so, California law requires that your employee pay you overtime for every hour past the stipulated 40 hours.

The overtime wage rate is typically 1.5 times your regular hourly rate, but exceptions exist. For example, part-time workers are not eligible for this benefit, and neither are salaried workers.

Health insurance

The Affordable Care Act (ACA), or Obamacare, mandates employers with over 50 full-time employees to provide them health insurance. The scope of the health insurance plans, among other health benefits, will vary, but there are certain baselines the plans must meet.

Sick leave

Employees are allowed to take sick leave when they are sick or to care for a sick loved one, provided there is proper communication and documentation with their employers. However, eligibility for this leave depends on how many hours the employee must work in a week and how much is left.

The Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) gives eligible employees up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave annually. This leave can be taken to care for a family member, for the worker’s health, or after giving birth or adopting a child. To qualify for this leave, the employee must have worked for at least one year for an employer with over 50 employees.

Safety

Every employee has a right to a safe working environment as mandated by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). Most states, including California, require that employers carry workers’ compensation insurance to cover workplace injuries. In other words, if an employee gets injured on the job, they receive compensation for medical expenses and some lost wages.

Conclusion

Being an employee in California makes you eligible for a wide range of benefits, depending on your job and industry. In addition to the ones mentioned, your workplace may offer retirement plans, tuition reimbursement, and other voluntary fringe benefits.

“If you are unsure if your employer is providing you with the required benefits, you should contact an attorney,” says employment attorney Rusty Levin of Levin & Nalbandyan LLP. They understand the benefit laws that apply to your case and how to ensure your employer does what is necessary.