Protecting the Rights of Ontario Workers
If your employer has violated your rights — unpaid wages, wrongful termination, discrimination, harassment, or retaliation — you need an employment lawyer who fights exclusively for workers. Abramson Labor Group represents employees in Ontario and throughout California on contingency. You pay nothing unless we win.
Ontario is one of the fastest-growing cities in San Bernardino County, with a population exceeding 185,000. Strategically positioned at the center of the Inland Empire, Ontario is home to Ontario International Airport — the eighth-busiest cargo airport in the United States — and more than 110 million square feet of industrial, manufacturing, and distribution space. The city is a gateway for goods moving between the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach and the rest of the country, making logistics and warehousing dominant industries alongside healthcare, retail, construction, and manufacturing. Amazon opened its largest U.S. warehouse in Ontario in 2024, joining a massive network of distribution operations that define the city’s economy.
Whether you work in a warehouse, at the airport, in a retail store at Ontario Mills, in a healthcare facility, on a construction site, or in a corporate office, California law protects your rights. When those protections are violated, we hold employers accountable.
More than 35 years of combined experience. Over 500 five-star Google reviews. Five attorneys recognized by Super Lawyers and Rising Stars. A unanimous jury verdict in a retaliation case.
Call for a free consultation: (213) 493-6300
Wrongful Termination
California is an at-will state, but at-will does not mean your employer can fire you for any reason. Termination is wrongful when it is motivated by discrimination, retaliation for exercising a legal right, refusal to participate in illegal conduct, or a violation of public policy.
You may have a wrongful termination claim if you were fired after reporting harassment, after filing a workers’ comp claim, after taking medical or family leave, after requesting an accommodation, or after raising concerns about safety, wages, or illegal activity. If the timing of your termination follows a protected activity and the stated reason doesn’t match your record, the law is on your side.
Damages include back pay, front pay, emotional distress, punitive damages, and attorneys’ fees.
Unpaid Wages and Overtime
California requires time-and-a-half for work exceeding 8 hours in a day or 40 in a week, and double time for work exceeding 12 hours in a day. Every non-exempt employee is entitled to these protections regardless of job title, pay structure, or industry.
Wage theft is pervasive in Ontario’s logistics-heavy economy. Warehouse workers on 10- and 12-hour shifts regularly see overtime miscalculated, off-the-clock work go unpaid, and time shaved through employer-favorable rounding. Truck drivers paid by the mile or load often receive no overtime regardless of hours worked. Construction workers face day-rate schemes that eliminate overtime. Retail and hospitality workers at Ontario Mills and surrounding businesses experience off-the-clock prep work, tip violations, and missed break premiums.
When you are terminated, all wages owed must be paid on the day of termination. Each day of delay triggers waiting time penalties of one day’s pay, up to 30 days. We recover unpaid wages going back three years, plus penalties, interest, and attorneys’ fees.
Meal and Rest Break Violations
California law requires a 30-minute duty-free meal break before the end of your fifth hour, a second meal break before the end of your tenth hour, and a paid 10-minute rest break for every four hours worked. Each denied break entitles you to one additional hour of premium pay.
In Ontario’s warehouse and distribution sector, production quotas and throughput targets make breaks difficult to take. AB 701 — California’s warehouse quota law — requires employers with 100 or more warehouse employees to disclose all quotas in writing and prohibits quotas that prevent compliance with break requirements. If your quota makes it impossible to take breaks, both the quota and any discipline for failing to meet it are illegal.
Break violations are equally common in healthcare, retail, food service, and construction settings throughout Ontario.
Workplace Discrimination
The California Fair Employment and Housing Act prohibits discrimination based on race, color, national origin, ancestry, sex, gender, gender identity, gender expression, sexual orientation, age (40 and older), disability, medical condition, genetic information, marital status, pregnancy, religion, and military or veteran status.
Ontario is approximately 69 percent Hispanic, 20 percent White, 10 percent Asian, and 6 percent Black. In a majority-Hispanic city with a significant immigrant workforce, discrimination based on national origin, language, and ethnicity is a serious concern — particularly in industries where the workforce is predominantly Hispanic but supervisory and management roles are not. Workers with accents are passed over for promotion. Workers who speak Spanish are disciplined for using their language. English-only policies that extend to breaks and personal conversations are unlawful unless the employer can demonstrate a genuine business necessity.
FEHA damages include back pay, front pay, emotional distress, and punitive damages. There is no cap.
Sexual Harassment
Sexual harassment is illegal in California whether it takes the form of quid pro quo harassment by a supervisor or a hostile work environment. When a supervisor is the harasser, the employer is strictly liable. When the harasser is a coworker or third party, the employer is liable if it knew or should have known and failed to act.
You do not need to report to HR before contacting an attorney. California’s Silenced No More Act (SB 331) prevents employers from using NDAs to silence employees about harassment, discrimination, or retaliation.
Retaliation
California prohibits employers from retaliating against employees who exercise their legal rights — including reporting wage violations, filing discrimination complaints, taking medical leave, filing workers’ comp claims, refusing to break the law, and reporting safety or regulatory violations.
Retaliation can take many forms: termination, reduced hours, worse schedules, reassignment, sudden negative reviews, or demotion. When adverse action follows a protected activity and the employer’s stated reason doesn’t hold up, the law provides a remedy.
Damages include reinstatement, back pay, front pay, emotional distress, punitive damages, and attorneys’ fees.
Warehouse and Distribution Workers
Ontario is one of the largest logistics hubs in the western United States. With Ontario International Airport handling more cargo than any airport in California except LAX, and with over 110 million square feet of industrial space, the city’s distribution centers employ tens of thousands of workers.
AB 701 warehouse quotas. Employers with 100 or more warehouse employees must disclose all production quotas in writing. Quotas cannot prevent compliance with meal breaks, rest breaks, restroom access, or health and safety laws. Discipline for failing to meet an illegal quota is unlawful.
Temp agency joint liability. Many Ontario warehouses use temp agencies to staff operations. Labor Code § 2810.3 makes the client employer — the warehouse — jointly liable for wage violations, safety violations, and workers’ compensation, regardless of which company signs your paycheck.
Heat illness prevention. California’s indoor heat standard (effective July 2024) requires employer action when indoor temperatures reach 82°F. In the Inland Empire, where summer temperatures routinely exceed 100°F, warehouses without adequate cooling create dangerous conditions.
Security screening time. Time spent waiting in line for mandatory security checkpoints before or after your shift is compensable under California law.
Independent contractor misclassification. Truck drivers, delivery workers, and logistics support staff are routinely misclassified as independent contractors. California’s ABC test (Labor Code § 2775) presumes you are an employee unless the company proves otherwise.
Immigration Status and Your Rights
More than a quarter of Ontario’s residents were born outside the United States, primarily in Mexico and Central America. California law is explicit: every employment protection applies regardless of immigration status. Labor Code § 244 confirms this. Labor Code § 1019 makes it illegal for employers to threaten immigration enforcement as retaliation, carrying $10,000 penalties per violation. Labor Code § 1024.6 prohibits employers from demanding specific documents beyond I-9 requirements.
If your employer has used your immigration status to silence a complaint about wages, safety, or working conditions, that conduct is itself a violation of California law.
We serve clients in Spanish and other languages.
Workers’ Compensation
Every California employer must carry workers’ comp insurance. If you are injured on the job, you are entitled to medical treatment, temporary disability, permanent disability, and supplemental job displacement benefits, regardless of fault. Common Ontario workplace injuries include back injuries from warehouse lifting, forklift accidents, slip and fall injuries, repetitive stress from assembly and packing, heat illness, construction injuries, and vehicle accidents during work. Your employer cannot retaliate against you for filing.
Personal Injury
Abramson Labor Group also represents Ontario residents in personal injury cases, including vehicle accidents on the I-10, I-15, and SR-60, wrongful death, slip and fall injuries, and product liability. If another party’s negligence caused your injury, you may be entitled to compensation for medical expenses, lost income, and pain and suffering.
How Our Firm Works
Free consultation. You describe what happened. We identify the claims, explain your rights, and tell you what your case is worth. No cost. No obligation.
Investigation. We gather pay records, personnel files, communications, witness statements, and other evidence to build a case.
Resolution. We pursue the best outcome through negotiation, mediation, or trial. We have a unanimous jury verdict in a retaliation case and the experience to take your case as far as necessary.
Contingency only. You pay nothing unless we win. No retainer. No hourly fees. No upfront costs.
Serving Ontario and the Western Inland Empire
Abramson Labor Group represents workers throughout Ontario and the surrounding communities, including the Ontario International Airport area, Ontario Mills corridor, Ontario Ranch, the Guasti area, New Model Colony, the Haven Avenue office corridor, the Milliken Avenue industrial corridor, and neighborhoods throughout the city. We also serve workers in Rancho Cucamonga, Upland, Montclair, Fontana, Chino, Pomona, and throughout San Bernardino County.
Our firm is headquartered at 1700 W Burbank Blvd, Burbank, CA 91506, and we represent employees in every county in California. Claims can be filed with the Labor Commissioner or directly in San Bernardino County Superior Court.
Frequently Asked Questions
If you were fired and the reason doesn’t add up, you’re not being paid correctly, you experienced discrimination or harassment, or you faced consequences after exercising a legal right, you may have a case. A free consultation is the fastest way to find out.
Wage claims go back three years. Discrimination and harassment must be filed with the Civil Rights Department within three years. Workers’ comp claims are generally one year from the date of injury. PAGA claims have a one-year deadline. Act sooner rather than later.
Yes. California law makes the company that controls the worksite jointly liable for wage and hour violations, safety violations, and workers’ comp, regardless of which staffing agency signs your paycheck. We pursue claims against both.
Under California’s ABC test, you are presumed to be an employee unless the company proves all three prongs: you’re free from their control, the work is outside their usual business, and you have an independently established business. Most truck drivers working for a single company are employees with full rights.
That threat violates Labor Code § 1019 and carries $10,000 in penalties per incident. All California labor protections apply regardless of immigration status. We serve clients in Spanish and other languages.
Nothing unless we win. Contingency only. No retainer, no hourly fees, no out-of-pocket costs.
Why Ontario Workers Choose Abramson Labor Group
We only represent employees. Never employers. Your interests are our sole focus.
Proven results. More than 500 five-star Google reviews. Five Super Lawyers and Rising Stars. A unanimous jury verdict. Over 35 years combined experience.
We know the Inland Empire. Warehousing, logistics, trucking, manufacturing, construction, retail, healthcare — these are the industries that drive Ontario’s economy, and they’re the cases we handle.
We speak your language. We serve clients in Spanish and other languages.
Zero cost unless we win. Contingency. No retainer. No hourly rate. No risk.
Contact an Ontario Employment Lawyer Today
If your rights were violated at work, the first step is a phone call. Free. Confidential. No obligation. We listen, we evaluate your claims, and we tell you honestly what your case is worth.
Phone: (213) 493-6300 Address: 1700 W Burbank Blvd, Burbank, CA 91506 Hours: Monday – Friday, 9:00 AM – 6:00 PM Website: abramsonlaborgroup.com
Free consultations. No fees unless we win. Serving Ontario, the Inland Empire, and all of California.