Legal Question in Employment Law in California

I have been employed with my company for almost 7 years. I am a retail merchandiser. With the holiday just passing, I was out of work for 10 days unpaid at Thanksgiving, and then another 10 days at Christmas, unpaid. I work on a crew doing resets in grocery stores nightly. Now to start the year alot of our hours have been cut drastically. My team lead had a person hired and she started after Christmas, an acquaintance of his and someone whom we've worked with at times, but she worked at a different company. She was hired. Then the new schedule came out, I have been reduced to only 2 days a week for this whole month, from 5 days a week. One question is it legal or even fair for a company to keep on hiring people for work when they can't even give the employees that have been faithfully working for years hardly any hours. That's what my company does, I don't think it fair nor should it even happen. Well this new person who has been employed about 10 days, and who was given specific dates she would work, like all of us. I just found out that she has worked EVERY SINGLE day, regardless if she was on the schedule or not, and my team lead is the one who called her in. I am the only one hurting the most over this on our crew, I was only able to work 1 day last week, my scheduled day to work. My company know I want hours badly, especially since we just lost 20 days pay within the last 6 weeks or so. Shouldn't I have been considered first to work extra hours over her, they know I wanted them. I've been here 7 years, her 7 days. I asked my supervisor about this, emailed her a long email telling her I didn't think it fair, her reply, I had no knowledge of it, which I know for sure she did, but oh well. That was about 6 days ago, and she has worked EVERY SINGLE day since and my boss does know. I still have not been offered more days or to even split them up between us. I feel this is discrimination against me. I'm a good hard worker, and they know this. This is a favorites thing going on here, and is not proper business practice I think. Can I do anything legally at all. I'm a 50 year old women, who's put in 7 years of loyal service to them, also have only asked for 1 raise in 7 years, I got 25 cents. I am an original on the crew. i've seen people come and go quite a bit in that time. Where is my seniority???

Can you offer any advice to me.

Thank you


Asked on 1/12/10, 6:31 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
Terry A. Nelson Nelson & Lawless

"Fair" has nothing to do with it. Unless you are in a union or have a written employment contract, you are an 'at will' employee, meaning the employer can hire and fire at will, change hours, duties, compensation, etc at their discretion. Your goal is to keep your employer happy with you. Unless you are claiming 'discrimination' based on the civil rights laws, you are not protected from such decisions as you describe. The only issue you may have raised is 'age'. If you can demonstrate that your 'over 40' age is the basis of this problem, then you may have a claim. If so, and if you're serious about pursuing that claim, feel free to contact me.

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Answered on 1/18/10, 10:18 am


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