ADA Law 

The Americans with Disabilities Act, and the California Civil Code, protect people with disabilities from discrimination based on disability in most public places you can think of: parks, hotels, restaurants, sidewalks and streets, buses, amusement parks, movie theaters, malls, schools, government buildings, and doctors’ offices.

The ADA also protects people with disabilities from discrimination based on their need for a sign language interpreter, or because they rely upon a service dog, signal dog, guide dog, or therapeutic dog or other animal.

David Geffen Law fights for your rights and the rights of other people with disabilities who would otherwise be affected in the future.  As part of the settlement, these public accommodations will be required to make changes to comply with the law, benefitting other people who follow.  And clients will receive a minimum of statutory damages, or more if there is real injury.  The other side will pay the attorney’s fees and costs.                   

Please fill out the ADA intake form if you would like David Geffen Law to review your
case free of charge.

Wrongful Termination and Retaliation

David Geffen Law can help you with a lawsuit for illegal termination, failure to provide a reasonable accommodation, and retaliation. It’s important to know what this really means.

 California has some of the best laws in the country for protecting employees. Even so, employers can legally fire an employee for lots of unfair reasons.  It may seem like a contradiction, but in order for something to be illegal there has to be a law (the constitution, a statute, or case law) that makes it illegal. Just being unfair is not enough.

Unless you are a public employee, you work for a nonprofit organization, or you have a written contract that requires your employer to have “good cause” to terminate employment, the chances are that your employment is at will, that is, either party can terminate the relationship for any reason at any time.  The exceptions to this absolute right include an illegal termination (also called wrongful termination), an illegal failure to hire, or any illegal discipline. 

Examples of illegal termination and retaliation include:

Discrimination- this means being treated differently based on one’s race, sex (including sexual-harassment), ethnicity, nationality, pregnancy, age, and disability discrimination (including failure to provide reasonable accommodation.) These claims are usually based on the California Fair Employment and Housing Act, the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), and the
Civil Rights Act (Title VII.)      

Wrongful termination– this usually means that the employee has been fired for doing something that the employee has a legal (protected) right to do. An employee cannot be fired for telling a public agency about the employer’s fraud or safety violations.  An employee cannot be fired for complaining about the employer’s failure to pay overtime or give breaks.  It is also illegal for an employer to fire an employee because the employee has refused to do something illegal.

Retaliation– likewise, an employer cannot punish an employee through adverse actions for doing something that the employee has a legal right to do such as filing a complaint of discrimination, a claim for unpaid wages, or giving testimony on someone else’s discrimination claim.                        

David Geffen has practiced employment litigation for over 23 years and he is one of the most successful attorneys in his field.

Wage Claims and Severance Agreements

David Geffen Law can help you recover unpaid wages and overtime.

If you have not received the minimum wage for every hour worked, two rest breaks a day paid by the employer, at least one half hour for a meal break, and overtime for work you have done in excess of eight hours per day or 40 hours per week, you may have a wage claim against your employer.  The labor codes allow you to claim back pay for several years.

It is the employer’s responsibility to keep accurate time and payroll records.  If the employer does not have these, an employee’s testimony about the hours worked and the failure to give breaks may be sufficient evidence. Also, you do not have to be a legal resident to make a claim.

Employment Contracts and Severance Agreements

David Geffen Law analyzes and negotiates employment contracts and severance agreements.

If you have a written contract, you may have legal rights that go far beyond statutory protections.  You need to understand each party’s obligations.  To do this you will have to have the contract analyzed to determine whether its terms are legal and binding, what the terms mean, and what would constitute a breach of the material terms.  If there has been a breach, you will need to know what damages can be claimed.  Certain types of agreements, such as noncompetition agreements and arbitration agreements have been severely restricted by the court.

Housing Discrimination

The California Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA) and the federal Fair Housing Act (FHA) make it illegal to discriminate in housing based on age, sex, nationality, pregnancy, disability, sexual orientation, marital status, and other protected categories. For example, a building owner cannot refuse to rent to you because you are pregnant, or because you use a wheelchair or have a service animal.

Landlords who rent apartments and homeowners associations are required to make changes in their policies and facilities to accommodate the needs of individuals with disabilities.  This means that they can be required to reassign parking spaces to provide closer handicapped parking, modify their policy to allow service animals, put in ramps to public areas, or make doors easier to open.  Often, they will be required to pay for these changes themselves.   

Please fill out the housing discrimination intake form if you would like David Geffen Law to review your case free of charge.                

Serious Personal Injury        

Few people understand how serious personal injury can affect virtually every aspect of a person’s life, 24 hours a day, seven days a week.  It is a nightmare that seems to be without an end.  Having to deal with a legal claim is the last thing the person wants to do, but it may affect the rest of that person’s life. They need a lot of help from someone who really understands what they’re going through.

David Geffen Law has helped dozens of successful litigants focus on what they need to -- medical treatment and recovery – while building their case for the maximum award possible.  With an extensive network of experts, and exceptional trial skills, there is no better choice than David Geffen Law for your serious personal injury case.