Protecting the Rights of Corona Workers
If your employer violated your rights at work, you need an employment lawyer who fights exclusively for employees. Abramson Labor Group represents workers in Corona and throughout California in cases involving wrongful termination, unpaid wages, workplace discrimination, sexual harassment, retaliation, and more. We work on contingency, you pay nothing unless we win.
Corona is a city of approximately 164,000 people in western Riverside County, strategically located at the junction of the I-15 and SR-91 corridors. Known as “The Circle City,” Corona has a diverse economy spanning logistics and distribution, healthcare, manufacturing, construction, retail, and professional services. Major employers include Corona Regional Medical Center, the Corona-Norco Unified School District, and the many distribution, construction, and manufacturing operations that line the city’s industrial corridors. With a median household income near $109,000 and a workforce that includes thousands of commuters traveling daily to jobs in Orange County and Los Angeles, Corona workers face employment issues across a wide range of industries and settings.
Whether you work at a hospital, a warehouse, a construction site, a corporate office, a retail store, or anywhere else in Corona, California employment law protects you. 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 employment state, but at-will does not mean your employer can fire you for any reason. Termination is wrongful when it is motivated by discrimination against a protected characteristic, retaliation for exercising a legal right, a refusal to participate in illegal activity, or a violation of public policy.
Common wrongful termination claims include being fired after reporting harassment or discrimination, being let go shortly after filing a workers’ compensation claim, losing your job after taking medical or family leave, being terminated after requesting a disability or pregnancy accommodation, or being fired after raising concerns about safety, fraud, or other illegal conduct.
If you were recently terminated and the stated reason doesn’t match what actually happened or if the timing points to something your employer would rather not explain, you may have a claim. Damages include back pay, front pay, emotional distress, punitive damages, and attorneys’ fees.
Unpaid Wages and Overtime
California wage and hour laws are among the strongest in the country. Every non-exempt employee is entitled to the state minimum wage for all hours worked, time-and-a-half for hours exceeding 8 in a day or 40 in a week, and double time for hours exceeding 12 in a day.
Wage theft takes many forms: unpaid overtime, off-the-clock work, miscalculated commissions, unauthorized deductions, unreimbursed business expenses, late or missing final paychecks, and failure to pay meal and rest break premiums. In Corona, these violations affect workers across the economic spectrum, from warehouse and logistics workers along the I-15 corridor to construction workers paid flat daily rates that ignore overtime, to salaried professionals in corporate and healthcare settings who are improperly classified as exempt.
When you are terminated, all wages owed, including accrued vacation, must be paid on the date of termination. Every day of delay triggers waiting time penalties of one full day’s wages, 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. “Duty-free” means completely relieved of all work responsibilities and free to leave the premises.
If your employer auto-deducts break time from your pay without you actually taking the break, schedules your break late, interrupts it, or pressures you to work through it, you are owed one additional hour of pay per violation per day. The same applies to each missed rest break.
In Corona, break violations are common in healthcare settings where nurses and technicians cannot leave the floor, in warehouses and distribution centers where production demands override break schedules, in construction where the workday doesn’t pause, and in retail and food service during peak business hours.
Workplace Discrimination
The California Fair Employment and Housing Act prohibits employment 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. FEHA applies to employers with five or more employees and provides broader protections than federal law.
Discrimination can manifest as unequal pay, denial of promotion, harsher discipline, unfavorable assignments, exclusion from opportunities, or termination. It does not need to be stated openly, patterns of differential treatment based on a protected characteristic are sufficient to establish a claim.
Corona’s workforce is approximately 52 percent Hispanic, 37 percent White, and 12 percent Asian. Discrimination based on national origin, language, and ethnicity is a significant concern, particularly in workplaces where discipline, promotion, and scheduling decisions follow patterns that consistently disadvantage one group. Age discrimination targets employees over 40 during restructuring and layoffs. Pregnancy and disability discrimination occur when employers refuse accommodations or push workers out rather than engage in the interactive process.
FEHA damages include back pay, front pay, emotional distress, and punitive damages. There is no cap.
Sexual Harassment
Sexual harassment in the workplace is illegal under California law. It includes unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, and any verbal, physical, or visual conduct of a sexual nature that creates a hostile or intimidating work environment.
There are two recognized forms: quid pro quo harassment, where a supervisor conditions job benefits on sexual favors, and hostile work environment, where the conduct is severe or pervasive enough to alter the conditions of employment. 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. You do not need witnesses. A pattern of unwelcome conduct that a reasonable person would find hostile or offensive is sufficient. California’s Silenced No More Act (SB 331) prevents employers from using NDAs or settlement agreements to silence employees about harassment, discrimination, or retaliation.
Retaliation
California law prohibits employers from retaliating against employees who exercise their legal rights. Protected activities include reporting wage violations, filing a discrimination or harassment complaint, taking medical or family leave, filing a workers’ compensation claim, refusing to participate in illegal activity, and reporting safety or regulatory violations.
Retaliation can be overt, termination, or subtle: a schedule change, reduced hours, reassignment, exclusion from meetings, sudden negative performance reviews, or a demotion disguised as restructuring. When adverse action follows a protected activity and the employer’s stated reason doesn’t hold up under scrutiny, the law provides a remedy.
Multiple California statutes prohibit retaliation, including Labor Code § 1102.5 (whistleblower), FEHA (discrimination and harassment complaints), Labor Code § 98.6 (wage claims), Labor Code § 132a (workers’ comp), and CFRA/FMLA (medical and family leave). Damages include reinstatement, back pay, front pay, emotional distress, punitive damages, and attorneys’ fees.
Exempt Misclassification
Many Corona employers in corporate, healthcare, and professional services settings, classify salaried employees as “exempt” from overtime. But a job title and a salary alone do not make someone exempt.
To be lawfully classified as exempt in California, an employee must earn at least $70,720 per year (the 2025 minimum) and must spend more than 50 percent of their working time performing executive, administrative, or professional duties as specifically defined by law. If your actual work is primarily operational, technical, hands-on, or non-supervisory, regardless of your title, you may be misclassified and owed years of unpaid overtime.
This applies to team leads, project coordinators, assistant managers, account executives, office managers, and many other roles where the “exempt” label doesn’t match the daily reality. If you regularly work more than 8 hours a day without overtime on your paycheck, it’s worth a conversation.
Commuter Workers
Corona is one of the Inland Empire’s largest commuter cities. Thousands of residents travel daily on the SR-91 and I-15 to jobs in Orange County, Los Angeles County, and throughout the region. If you live in Corona but work elsewhere in California, California employment law protects you wherever you perform work in the state. Your employer’s location doesn’t change your rights, what matters is where the work is done.
If you were wrongfully terminated, underpaid, harassed, or discriminated against at a job anywhere in California, you can bring a claim regardless of where you live or where the employer is headquartered.
Whistleblower Protection
California Labor Code § 1102.5 protects employees who report reasonably believed violations of law to a government agency, a supervisor, or any person with authority to investigate. Your employer cannot fire you, demote you, or take any adverse action because you made such a report. You don’t need to be right, only reasonable in your belief that a violation occurred.
Whistleblower claims arise across Corona’s industries when employees report financial irregularities, safety violations, regulatory noncompliance, fraud, or other misconduct. Damages include reinstatement, back pay, emotional distress, punitive damages, and attorneys’ fees.
Workers’ Compensation
Every employer in California must carry workers’ compensation insurance. If you are injured on the job, through a single accident or cumulative repetitive stress, you are entitled to medical treatment, temporary disability, permanent disability, and supplemental job displacement benefits, regardless of fault.
Common Corona workplace injuries include back injuries in warehouse and construction settings, repetitive stress in manufacturing and office environments, slip and fall injuries in retail and healthcare, and vehicle accidents during work. Your employer cannot pressure you not to file, refuse to provide a claim form, or retaliate against you for reporting an injury.
Immigration Status and Your Rights
California law is clear: every employment protection applies regardless of immigration status. Labor Code § 244 confirms this. Labor Code § 1019 makes it illegal for employers to use immigration threats as retaliation, carrying $10,000 penalties per violation. In a city that is 52 percent Hispanic with a significant immigrant workforce, these protections are critical. We serve clients in Spanish and other languages.
Personal Injury
Abramson Labor Group also represents Corona residents in personal injury cases, including vehicle accidents on the SR-91 and I-15, two of the most congested corridors in Southern California, as well as 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 legal 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 grounded in facts and law.
Resolution. We pursue the best outcome through negotiation, mediation, or trial. We have a unanimous jury verdict in a retaliation case and are prepared 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 Corona and Western Riverside County
Abramson Labor Group represents workers throughout Corona and the surrounding communities, including Downtown Corona, North Corona, South Corona, Corona Hills, Eagle Glen, Dos Lagos, Sierra Del Oro, Temescal Valley, the SR-91 corridor, the I-15 industrial corridor, and neighborhoods throughout the city. We also serve workers in Norco, Eastvale, Jurupa Valley, Riverside, Lake Elsinore, and throughout Riverside 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 Riverside County Superior Court.
Frequently Asked Questions
If you were fired and the reason doesn’t make sense, 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. The sooner you act, the stronger your position.
California employment law applies to work performed in California, regardless of which city or county you work in. If you were wrongfully terminated, underpaid, or harassed at a job anywhere in California, you have full rights under state law.
Yes. California law protects you from retaliation for exercising your rights. Many of our clients are still employed when they first contact us. Filing while employed can actually strengthen certain retaliation protections.
Yes. Every California employment protection applies regardless of immigration status. Your employer cannot use your status against you, and any threat to do so is a separate legal violation carrying $10,000 in penalties.
Nothing unless we win. We work entirely on contingency. No retainer, no hourly fees, no costs out of pocket.
Why Corona 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 handle the full range. Wrongful termination, wage theft, discrimination, harassment, retaliation, whistleblower claims, misclassification, workers’ comp, and personal injury, under one roof.
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 a Corona 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 and how we can help.
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 Corona, Riverside County, and all of California.