The Law Office of Traci M. Hinden

We handle all types of employment cases. That includes individual cases, class cases, and every type of case you could think of in the employment sector. We handle wage theft, which other people call wage-and-hour cases. That includes failure to provide rest breaks and lunch breaks, failure to pay employees for breaks that aren’t taken, failure to pay overtime, and failure to pay all wages.
We also handle cases involving protected classifications. That includes sexual harassment, harassment on any other basis, sexual orientation harassment, discrimination or retaliation, disability discrimination, harassment or retaliation, and discrimination based on marital status, ethnicity, taking leave for yourself or another person, race, national origin, immigration status, domestic violence victim status, or military status. We also handle a fair number of whistleblower cases and defamation claims.
Outside of employment law, we handle all types of personal injury claims, including car accidents, slip-and-falls, bicycle cases, motorcycle cases, and dog bites—the whole gamut. I always tell clients, and this might sound very cliché, that finding a lawyer is like finding a good shoe. You have to find one that fits right and meets your comfort level and style.
Your lawyer is going to be your mouthpiece. In order for your lawyer to be your mouthpiece, your lawyer has to understand you. You have to feel comfortable enough with your lawyer to allow that person to learn everything about you. Otherwise, your lawyer can’t speak for you. In the same way that the perfect shoe encompasses your foot and feels comfortable, that’s how you want to find a good lawyer. If you need more handholding, you need someone who will be there for you. If you want something done faster, you need to find somebody who works at that speed and perhaps doesn’t take on as many cases. That’s what I always say.

I’ve always been concerned about people who don’t have as many rights. Even as a child, I was bullied, and I protected my friends from being bullied. I’ve always had this sense of decency and fairness.
Especially in our employment cases, you’re entitled to go to work and not have to deal with all the crud we hear about. You have the right to be treated with respect and dignity. I try to do the same thing for my clients and present that as well. What has always guided me is asking, “What is fair here? What does justice require?”
As a child, I was bullied, and I had a lot of friends who were bullied before I was. I think that really helped shape who I am. When I was a teenager, I was accused of things that were not true. It struck me to my core that no matter what I said, even people who claimed they believed me didn’t.
Recently, I had a case like that. I had a client who was accused of having a sexual relationship with her boss, and it was completely untrue. It gave her this scarlet letter. She was fired for it and wasn’t hired for other jobs because of it. That experience reinforced in me that I’m seeking clients who have experienced some of the same injustices I have. I’m also a survivor of domestic violence, sexual assault, and rape. I remember feeling completely powerless. There are times when I still feel that way as a woman today. Those are the people who come to me. They understand that I have that shared experience. The other major area I practice in is disability discrimination. I started as a workers’ compensation attorney with my family, and I saw attorneys fail to protect people who were injured. Then I became disabled myself. I have fibromyalgia, suffer from migraines, and have a spinal condition. I see how people treat those with invisible injuries. They expect all disabilities to look the same, such as someone being in a wheelchair. They think I’m too young to have any of these conditions. I started being plagued by some of these issues in my 30s, and it gives me a sense of connectedness with my clients.
I’m also a survivor of domestic violence, sexual assault, and rape. I remember feeling completely powerless. There are times when I still feel that way as a woman today. Those are the people who come to me. They understand that I have that shared experience. The other major area I practice in is disability discrimination. I started as a workers’ compensation attorney with my family, and I saw attorneys fail to protect people who were injured.
Then I became disabled myself. I have fibromyalgia, suffer from migraines, and have a spinal condition. I see how people treat those with invisible injuries. They expect all disabilities to look the same, such as someone being in a wheelchair. They think I’m too young to have any of these conditions. I started being plagued by some of these issues in my 30s, and it gives me a sense of connectedness with my clients.

One thing people don’t realize is that AI is open. It’s as if you’re walking down the street publicly saying something.
What I mean is that you don’t have an expectation of privacy when you ask Claude, ChatGPT, OpenAI, or any other system, “Was I wrongfully terminated?” or “Do I have any recourse concerning this write-up?”
When the system starts providing answers and you continue giving it information, it may ask you for a copy of your write-up, offer letter, or text messages. You’re putting that information out there as if you had posted it publicly on Facebook, Instagram, Substack, or somewhere else on the internet.
If you later decide to file a claim, you may have to turn all of that over—all of your communications with ChatGPT and any other AI. In fact, courts have already ruled on that. We in the legal community strongly encourage people not to put specific information into communications with an open AI system. It is best to talk to a lawyer and learn what your rights are.
You can also look up the government agencies that handle your rights. Those websites have many frequently asked questions. Look there to see whether your situation fits before putting personal information out into the ether.

A lot of people use the term “hostile work environment.” I understand that a workplace may seem hostile because it’s unpleasant or demeaning.
For example, a lot of people call me and say their boss repeatedly calls them stupid. That may not qualify as a hostile work environment.
A rare exception might be when someone has a mental disability or cognitive decline or impairment, their coworkers know about it, and they call the person stupid because of it. Generally, the hostility must be based on a protected status or classification, such as your race, religion, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, disability, pregnancy, or taking leave for yourself.
If the work environment becomes unbearable because of one of those things, it could qualify as a hostile work environment. For example, your boss might be groping you or forcing you to work beyond your physical abilities despite restrictions resulting from an injury, medical condition, or disability.
That could constitute a hostile work environment. It could also be retaliation or discrimination.

When something feels uncomfortable, take a step back and ask yourself, “Does this seem normal?”
We have a high level of inappropriate behavior happening in the workplace right now. It follows what is happening in our country and throughout the world.
For example, there is a war on women’s rights in this country and in other countries. If someone says something to you that is demeaning to you as a woman, you should report it.
You should also report someone calling you something inappropriate instead of using your name. If you are transgender and someone intentionally uses the wrong pronoun or your deadname, that is something you should report.
Discrimination can be more subtle. It could even result from something the employer did not intend, but that appears discriminatory.
For example, if you are of one ethnicity and someone of another ethnicity receives a position, that decision may or may not have been based on ethnicity. It could have been based on qualifications.
In a situation like that, take a step back and do a little research before complaining. You might simply ask, “What qualifications or characteristics did this person have that led to their receiving the position instead of me?”

In California, for every five hours you work, you are entitled to a 30-minute, uninterrupted meal period.
Thirty minutes does not mean that you spend part of that time standing in line waiting to clock out or that you can be called back by a bell. That would be illegal because it would shorten your 30-minute meal period. If your boss asks you a work-related question while you are on your break, your break has been interrupted. Some people think an interrupted meal period occurs only when they’re physically asked to come back to work. For example, if you work in a store, they might ask you to return to the floor early and shorten your lunch. But merely asking you a question or sending you a text message that you’re expected to answer immediately while you’re on your meal period can constitute an interrupted meal period and a meal-period violation.
If your employer forces you to sign what is called a meal-period waiver, meaning you waive your meal period even though you want to take your 30 minutes, that can also be a problem. That is your time to do whatever you need to do—hydrate, go for a walk, or take a nap. It is your time, which is why it is unpaid.
For each violation, an employer is responsible for paying one additional hour of pay if your meal period is interrupted, cut short, or not provided.
If you work more than 10 hours, you are entitled to a second meal period. We often see low-wage earners working 10- or 11-hour shifts without receiving their second meal period. Sometimes employers establish what they call “four tens,” meaning employees work four days a week for 10 hours or more. If that arrangement has not been properly adopted, there may be other issues. You may also be entitled to a second meal period.
For rest breaks, you are entitled to a 10-minute, uninterrupted, duty-free rest period for every four hours you work, or major fraction thereof. Three and a half hours is generally considered a major fraction of four hours.
If you work eight hours, you are entitled to two rest breaks. If you work 11½ hours, you are probably entitled to three. As with a meal-period violation, if someone asks you a work-related question, asks you to return early, cuts your break short, or requires you to combine it with another break, that can be illegal. If you don’t receive the full amount of time, your employer may owe you an hour of pay for the violation. The caveat is that an employer is responsible for only two such payments per day. I have workers who work 12-hour days and receive only one lunch and no rest breaks. They don’t receive compensation for every break they lost because that is the California law right now. Another important thing to note is that if you have to prosecute one of these claims, you no longer recover your attorney’s fees. The payment is not considered a wage anymore; it is considered a penalty. No matter how much people try to characterize it as a wage, this means that if you hire a lawyer, the lawyer will generally take a percentage of what you recover instead of receiving separate attorney’s fees.

That’s an interesting question because there are many reasons for which you could be wrongfully terminated.
California is what’s called an at-will employment state. You can be let go at any time, and you can leave at any time, as long as the reason for letting you go is not based on a protected status or classification.
Protected classifications include race, religion, sexual orientation, disability, gender, gender identity, pregnancy, domestic violence victim status, immigration status, and military status. There are many protections in California, as well as under federal law, although California’s protections are generally broader.
If your termination appears connected to one of those classifications, a complaint you made about illegal activity in the workplace, or standing up for someone taking medical leave, those are good indicators that the termination may have been wrongful.
You still need to speak with a lawyer and look more deeply into the case. In California, we have different levels of proving a wrongful-termination claim. You may say that you are part of a protected classification. The employer then has an opportunity to respond, “This was actually due to a business necessity.” If the employer can prove that the loss of your job had nothing to do with what you’re claiming, and you don’t have evidence to rebut that explanation, you may not be able to prove that you were wrongfully terminated. Evidence might include being called a name related to your age or sex, or being terminated immediately after disclosing that you were pregnant.

My recommendation would be not to negotiate it without a lawyer. Once you receive the agreement, you may see terms that we call creepy settlement terms. They’re one-sided, don’t protect you, and may cause you to have to repay the money for even a minor violation.
You may also have already proposed an amount you’re willing to accept. The employer is unlikely to accept the exact number you propose. They’re going to go lower. Once you’ve put a number out there, someone like me may be less willing to come in and try to negotiate a higher amount. The reason is that you’ve lost credibility in the negotiation process. Rather than having a knee-jerk reaction and saying, “This is what I want,” talk to a lawyer first. See whether the lawyer can provide a consultation and guide you through the process or is willing to negotiate it for you.

Absolutely.
For a long time, claims involving someone who quit were almost automatically denied. I don’t know whether that had to do with the volume of work, rising unemployment rates, or the training of the people handling the claims. You would then have to go to a hearing and fight your case. Many of those denials get overturned. In fact, I think a majority of them do. Unless you committed serious misconduct, you should fight the denial. Serious misconduct could mean that you were the harasser or were committing an illegal act even after being told not to do it.
Otherwise, you absolutely should fight the denial and try to seek counsel from an attorney. Be careful because those denials usually give you only about 20 or 25 days to respond. Time is really of the essence.

A whistleblower is someone who makes a complaint or questions a direction or activity at work that the person believes is illegal. The activity does not actually have to be illegal. If you truly believe it is illegal and question it, you may be protected as long as you complain to someone in management, such as your manager, or complain outside the workplace. For example, if you see something that is seriously unsafe in the workplace and file an OSHA complaint, you become a whistleblower. The concern for a lot of people is that they don’t want to complain, respond to something that has been said that is untrue, or point something out because they are afraid it will hurt their job.
Being a whistleblower may actually put you in a better position if you take that step. If you don’t complain and you’re later terminated after remaining silent about something you believed was illegal, you may have no protection. As with retaliation, the protection comes after the fact. It won’t immediately get your job back like a genie’s wish. It is something you may be able to sue over later under the whistleblower-protection laws.

When something feels uncomfortable, take a step back and ask yourself, “Does this seem normal?”
We have a high level of inappropriate behavior happening in the workplace right now. It follows what is happening in our country and throughout the world. For example, there is a war on women’s rights in this country and in other countries. If someone says something to you that is demeaning to you as a woman, you should report it. You should also report someone calling you something inappropriate instead of using your name. If you are transgender and someone intentionally uses the wrong pronoun or your deadname, that is something you should report.
Discrimination can be more subtle. It could even result from something the employer did not intend, but that appears discriminatory.
For example, if you are of one ethnicity and someone of another ethnicity receives a position, that decision may or may not have been based on ethnicity. It could have been based on qualifications.
In a situation like that, take a step back and do a little research before complaining. You might simply ask, “What qualifications or characteristics did this person have that led to their receiving the position instead of me?”

I went to Law School to help people and I really feel like I help everyone, from average Joe, to high exec, immigrants, the whole gamut. I feel that people really need a voice, and often times people who come to me are those who never would have had a voice. They never even thought about bringing a case and it feels good to advocate on their behalf.

We see discrimination in a few places. It could be a failure to hire case. It could be a failure to promote case, failure to transfer, failure to provide equal pay, and it can look like anything. It could be between a male and a female in gender discrimination. It could be between an African American person and a Chinese person. It could be between two different religions. And that’s what it’s about is comparing them and there’s two avenues there. It’s either direct discrimination, which means there’s been some names, there’s been some, you know, epitaph, something that has been slurred, or it’s an impact case, which is all of the Latinos in that company are not being promoted, or all of the Chinese people are given pay raises and no one else.

Well, I think you want to stop for a second and collect your thoughts and see, you know, what exactly is happening, maybe document it, because most people, you know, will take a stand back and say did that just happen, and then kind of let it go. It’s important to document it. If you write down the day and what happened, maybe anybody else who’s around, and then I think before you run off to HR I would absolutely call an attorney, because you want to find out is this a Worker’s Comp stress situation, or is this a true, hostile work under Employment Civil Rights.

So that’s what separates it from a possible stress case in Worker’s Comp versus an Employment Civil Rights case is in order to sue for harassment in employment law you only need to have one employee, versus five employees for discrimination under California’s act. But what makes the distinction is for a protected class, and a protected class includes those that are being harassed or discriminated based on their race, their religion, their age, their disability, their sex, which includes their gender, their gender identity, their pregnancy status, if they are trying to take leave to take care of themselves or another, veteran status, any others like that.

Sometimes people will write an e-mail. They’ll take notes. I’ve had clients, if they’re like in the service industry and they have a work schedule, when it was continuous harassment they would write down on their work schedule what was said, you know, maybe little bits and pieces of names they were called, people who were around, anything of that nature.

A reasonable accommodation could be restructuring of your job, restructuring of your physical situation; maybe you need an ergonomic, maybe you need a stool because you have a back injury and you can’t stand, maybe you need less hours, like part-time work, or maybe you need leave, which could be intermittent leave, or it can be leave for some time. And the other option is maybe you need another open position, because you can no longer perform your position.

So, if you’re not an exempt employee, which means you’re not salaried, you’re an hourly employee, if you work more than 8 hours in one day, more than 40 hours in one week, or 7 days a week, you are owed overtime. And on the seventh day every hour of that day would be time and a half. After 8 hours, up to 12 hours you would be owed time and a half. Anything after 12 hours in one day would be double time, and anything over 40 hours a week would also be time and a half.

The moment you feel you can’t do your job without a reasonable accommodation.

So this is very similar to the last issue of, you know, what can you wear, and again, if it’s not an undue burden on the employer they have to try and accommodate it. Sometimes it means taking off the entire day. Certain religions allow for prayer on Saturday. Some religions allow for prayer on Sunday. Employers, if they can, should not schedule you on those days. They should schedule around that. If it’s prayer within your workday, possibly there’s a way you can structure it such that you could do it during your break.

Well, the very first thing I would do is not say anything disparaging against your employer. Do not post anything on Facebook. Any of that stuff would come in if you later on wanted to bring a claim. I would file for unemployment, even if you quit. You are sometimes entitled to it. There are exceptions.

So, if you have a contract in place through your union about what your rights are, and anything that’s listed in there the union is not following, your action would be either the union to bring it on your behalf, or for you to file a claim against the union. The National Labor Relations Board would provide that for you if you wanted to bring a claim against the union.

Yes, unfortunately. Most people are surprised by this. There is a case called Ross v. Ragingwire. It is a United States’ Supreme Court Case that says even if your state, and in this the state in question was California, allows for you to have medical marijuana, if the employer does drug testing, it is still an illegal substance in the United States. And since we are United States and federal law preempts it, you can be lawfully terminated for that.