Protecting the Rights of Glendale Workers
If your employer violated your rights, you deserve an employment lawyer who will fight for you. Abramson Labor Group represents workers in Glendale 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 your case.
Glendale is a city of nearly 188,000 people, one of the largest in Los Angeles County, with a diverse economy spanning entertainment, healthcare, corporate headquarters, retail, and education. Whether you work at DreamWorks Animation, Adventist Health Glendale, Nestlé, one of the many businesses along Brand Boulevard, or anywhere else in the city, California employment law protects you. When those protections are violated, we hold employers accountable.
Our firm is headquartered just minutes away in Burbank at 1700 W Burbank Blvd, making us one of the closest employment law firms to Glendale workers. 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 that 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, a refusal to break the law, or a violation of public policy.
Common wrongful termination scenarios include being fired after reporting harassment, being let go shortly after filing a workers’ compensation claim, losing your job after requesting medical leave or pregnancy accommodation, or being terminated after raising concerns about illegal conduct in the workplace.
If you were fired and the reason doesn’t add up — or if the timing points to something your employer would rather not explain — you may have a wrongful termination claim. Remedies include back pay, front pay, emotional distress damages, punitive damages, and attorneys’ fees.
Unpaid Wages and Overtime
California wage and hour laws are among the strongest in the country. Employers must pay at least the state minimum wage for every hour 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, miscalculated pay, off-the-clock work, missed meal and rest break premiums, unauthorized deductions, late final paychecks, and failure to reimburse business expenses. In Glendale’s retail and hospitality sectors — including the Americana at Brand, the Glendale Galleria, and the restaurants and shops along Brand Boulevard — wage and hour violations are common, particularly for hourly workers and tipped employees.
Employees who are terminated are entitled to all wages owed on the date of termination. Every day of delay triggers waiting time penalties of up to one full day’s wages, for up to 30 days. Employees who resign with at least 72 hours’ notice are owed all wages on their last day.
We recover unpaid wages going back three years, plus penalties, interest, and attorneys’ fees.
Meal and Rest Break Violations
California law requires employers to provide a 30-minute duty-free meal break before the end of your fifth hour of work, and a second meal break before the end of your tenth hour. You are also entitled to a paid 10-minute rest break for every four hours worked.
“Duty-free” means you must be completely relieved of all responsibilities and free to leave your work area. If your employer schedules your break late, interrupts it, requires you to stay at your station, or auto-deducts break time from your pay without you actually taking the break, you are owed one additional hour of pay per violation per day.
These violations are widespread across industries in Glendale — from healthcare workers at Adventist Health Glendale and Glendale Memorial who can’t leave the floor, to retail employees at busy shopping centers who are told to eat while working, to office workers pressured to stay at their desks.
Workplace Discrimination
The California Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA) 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 take many forms: refusal to hire, unequal pay, denial of promotions, harsher discipline, unfavorable assignments, or termination. It does not need to be stated openly — patterns of unequal treatment are enough.
Glendale is home to one of the largest Armenian-American communities in the United States, along with significant Hispanic, Asian, Middle Eastern, and Eastern European populations. In a city this diverse, discrimination based on national origin, ethnicity, accent, or language is a serious concern. Workers who speak Armenian, Spanish, Farsi, Korean, or other languages among themselves should not be punished with English-only rules unless the employer can demonstrate a genuine business necessity — and even then, the restriction cannot apply during breaks or personal conversations.
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 harassment, 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 harassment to HR before contacting an attorney. You do not need witnesses. You do not need the harassment to be physical. A pattern of unwelcome comments, messages, looks, or treatment that a reasonable person would find hostile is enough.
Retaliation
California law protects employees from retaliation for exercising their legal rights. If you reported unpaid wages, complained about discrimination or harassment, filed a workers’ compensation claim, requested medical leave, refused to participate in illegal activity, or reported a safety violation — and your employer responded by firing you, cutting your hours, changing your schedule, demoting you, or subjecting you to increased scrutiny — you may have a retaliation claim.
Multiple California statutes prohibit retaliation, including Labor Code Section 1102.5 (whistleblower protection), FEHA (discrimination and harassment complaints), Labor Code Section 98.6 (wage claims), Labor Code Section 132a (workers’ compensation), and CFRA/FMLA (medical and family leave). The legal analysis focuses on whether you engaged in protected activity, whether your employer took adverse action, and whether the two are connected by timing and circumstances.
Retaliation damages include reinstatement, back pay, front pay, emotional distress, punitive damages, and attorneys’ fees.
Wage Theft in Glendale’s Key Industries
Entertainment and media. Glendale is home to DreamWorks Animation, Walt Disney Imagineering, and numerous production-adjacent companies. Workers in these industries — including production assistants, post-production staff, animators on project contracts, and support personnel — may face exempt misclassification, unpaid overtime, and long hours without proper break compliance. California requires a minimum salary of $70,720 per year for exempt status, and the employee must spend more than 50 percent of their time on qualifying executive, administrative, or professional duties.
Healthcare. Adventist Health Glendale, Glendale Memorial Medical Center, and USC Verdugo Hills Hospital employ thousands of workers including nurses, technicians, aides, and administrative staff. Healthcare workers frequently experience missed meal and rest breaks, mandatory overtime, and retaliation for raising patient safety concerns. California law provides specific protections for healthcare employees, including the right to uninterrupted breaks.
Retail and hospitality. The Americana at Brand, Glendale Galleria, and the restaurants and shops throughout downtown Glendale employ a large service-sector workforce. Common violations include unpaid overtime, tip theft, misclassification, off-the-clock work, and split-shift premiums that go unpaid.
Corporate and professional services. Glendale hosts the headquarters of Nestlé USA, IHOP, Avery Dennison, Public Storage, and LegalZoom, along with numerous professional services firms. White-collar workers in these settings may face exempt misclassification, commission disputes, severance agreement pressure, non-compete enforcement (which is virtually unenforceable in California under Business & Professions Code § 16600), and retaliation for whistleblowing.
Whistleblower Protection
California Labor Code Section 1102.5 protects employees who report reasonably believed violations of law to a supervisor, to a coworker with authority to investigate, or to any government agency. Your employer cannot fire you, demote you, or take any adverse action because you made such a report. You do not need to be right about the violation — you need to have had reasonable cause to believe it occurred.
Whistleblower claims are common across Glendale’s corporate landscape. Employees who report financial irregularities, regulatory noncompliance, safety violations, or fraud are protected — and if they face consequences for speaking up, they are entitled to substantial damages.
Workers’ Compensation
Every employer in California must carry workers’ compensation insurance. If you are injured on the job — through a single accident or through cumulative repetitive stress — you are entitled to medical treatment, temporary disability payments, permanent disability benefits, and supplemental job displacement benefits, regardless of fault.
Your employer cannot retaliate against you for filing a workers’ comp claim. If they pressure you not to file, refuse to provide a claim form, or terminate you after you report an injury, each of those actions is a separate legal violation.
Immigration Status and Your Rights
Glendale has one of the highest foreign-born populations of any city in California — approximately 40 percent of residents were born outside the United States. California law is clear: every employment protection applies regardless of immigration status. Labor Code Section 244 confirms this. Labor Code Section 1019 makes it illegal for an employer to use immigration threats as retaliation, carrying penalties of $10,000 per violation. Labor Code Section 1024.6 prohibits employers from demanding specific documents beyond what the I-9 requires.
If your employer has ever 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 Armenian, Spanish, and other languages.
Personal Injury
Abramson Labor Group also represents Glendale residents in personal injury cases, including vehicle accidents, 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 tell us what happened. We evaluate your claims, explain the law, and tell you what your case is worth. There is no cost and no obligation.
Investigation. We gather pay records, personnel files, communications, witness statements, and any other evidence that supports your claims. We build a case grounded in facts and law.
Resolution. We pursue the best outcome through negotiation, mediation, or litigation. We have trial experience, including a unanimous jury verdict in a retaliation case, and we are prepared to take your case as far as it needs to go.
Contingency only. You pay nothing unless we win. No retainer. No hourly fees. No upfront costs.
Serving Glendale and the Surrounding Area
Abramson Labor Group represents workers throughout Glendale and the surrounding communities, including Downtown Glendale, Adams Hill, Rossmoyne, Oakmont, Verdugo Woodlands, Sparr Heights, Crescenta Highlands, Montrose, La Crescenta, Glendale Hills, Pacific-Edison, Grandview, Citrus Grove, Pelanconi, Vineyard, and the neighborhoods surrounding the Americana, Glendale Galleria, and Brand Boulevard corridor. We also serve workers in neighboring Burbank, Eagle Rock, Atwater Village, Silver Lake, Pasadena, and throughout Los Angeles County.
Our office is located at 1700 W Burbank Blvd, Burbank, CA 91506 — just minutes from Glendale. We represent employees in every county in California. Claims can be filed with the Labor Commissioner or directly in Los Angeles County Superior Court.
Frequently Asked Questions
If you were fired under suspicious circumstances, are not being paid correctly, experienced discrimination or harassment, or faced consequences for exercising a legal right, you may have a case. The best way to find out is a free consultation — we can evaluate the facts and tell you where you stand.
Wage claims can go back three years. Discrimination and harassment claims 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.
Yes. California law protects you from retaliation for exercising your legal rights. Filing a claim while still employed can actually strengthen certain retaliation protections. Many of our clients are still employed when they first contact us.
Arbitration agreements change the forum — your case may be heard by an arbitrator instead of a judge or jury — but they do not eliminate your rights. Many arbitration clauses contain unenforceable provisions. We evaluate every agreement and advise you on the best path forward.
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.
Nothing unless we win. We work on contingency. You pay no retainer, no hourly fees, and no costs out of pocket.
Why Glendale Workers Choose Abramson Labor Group
We only represent employees. We never represent employers. Your interests are our only priority.
We’re right next door. Our office is in Burbank, minutes from Glendale. We know the local employers, the local industries, and the local courts.
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 speak your language. We serve clients in Armenian, Spanish, and other languages. In a city with Glendale’s diversity, language should never be a barrier to justice.
Zero cost unless we win. Contingency. No retainer. No hourly rate. No risk.
Contact a Glendale Employment Lawyer Today
If your rights were violated at work, the first step is a conversation. Free. Confidential. No obligation. We listen, we evaluate, 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 Glendale, Los Angeles County, and all of California.