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Category: Blog

California Caregivers Take Legal Against Their Employer for Wage Violations

Caregiving can be a very hard profession. Many work their eight hours and end up staying later because they struggle to leave. There is always someone that needs to be taken care of, and there may not be anyone else to do it. Some caregivers work ten to twelve-hour days so that they don’t have […]

Employees Forced to Remain On-Call without Pay

California law is very strict when it comes to overtime, being on call, and the wages that employees need to be paid. Any employer who doesn’t follow these guidelines could find themselves in legal trouble. Any employee who feels like they aren’t being paid properly should consult with an experienced employment lawyer to make sure […]

Transgender Discrimination In The Workplace In California

Discrimination is nothing new. Many people feel like they are treated unfairly due to their religion, sex, color, and much more. Sexual orientation is another reason why someone may feel like they are treated differently. Transgender people feel the same way. They are often treated unfairly. In fact, discrimination in the workplace has recently made […]

Am I Entitled to Paid Sick Leave In California?

Employers used to be able to decide how they wanted to proceed when it came to giving their employees sick leave. While most employees were happy to give their employees some time off to use when they weren’t feeling well, this didn’t apply to everyone. Many employees had to take unpaid time off when they […]

I Am a California Domestic Caregiver. Are My Rights Being Violated?

California is not like all states when it comes to the legal framework for domestic caregivers. This is a good thing! California law is working hard to ensure that domestic care workers rights are protected as they serve their clients. If you are such a worker, what does that look like for you? My employer […]

I Think My Employer is Messing With My PTO. Is That Legal?

Paid time off in California is a luxury, not a requirement. If a job wants to try and look more appealing, then they’ll include a nice, appealing paid time off deal in their job offer. If you receive paid time off (PTO) in the state of California, this also means that you never lose those […]

Is Your Bag Check Stealing Your Pay Check?

There has recently been a rising debate about the legality of employee bag checks. Not whether bag checks are legal (they are) but whether bag checks should be conducted on or off the clock. This may seem like a trivial manner unless you are one of the thousands of California employees standing in line for […]

California Delivery Drivers Have Rights Too

Delivery drivers have a pretty hectic work life, and the last thing that they need is to be treated as though they have no rights while on the job. In fact, delivery drivers do have rights. Two important ones rights for drivers are: To Be Paid Overtime The federal rule about overtime is that if […]

California Domestic Caregivers Rights to Minimum Wage & Overtime Pay

The state of California takes a close interest in employee rights, especially when it comes to proper pay. There are a few exceptions, but you have a right to get paid at least the minimum wage for domestic work. As a domestic caregiver, you’re entitled to overtime pay and all the other rights associated with […]

Contact Our Oakland Workplace Discrimination and Harassment Lawyer

If you believe you are a victim of workplace discrimination, harassment, or retaliation, contact Aiman-Smith & Marcy for a free consultation. Our Oakland workplace discrimination and harassment lawyer can help you understand your rights and determine the best option for pursuing justice. Let us help you fight for your rights and preserve your dignity.

Address

7677 Oakport Street Suite 1000
Oakland, California 94621

Telephone

(510) 760-7005

Email

[email protected]

Lisseth Bayona

Attorney

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Education and Background

I am a Los Angeles native and daughter of Salvadorian immigrants. From an early age, my parents instilled the value of hard work and education in me and my two siblings. Their perseverance enabled each of us to graduate from college and earn professional degrees.

My interest and commitment to workers’ rights have roots in my parents’ experiences as undocumented workers in Los Angeles. Witnessing the challenges they faced inspired me to pursue a career where I can help individuals confronted with similar struggles. To help someone in those moments is very satisfying. I love connecting with people and learning about their stories. I believe that dignity in the workplace is a right of all workers, not a convenience or privilege reserved for employees of a certain race, gender, age, sexual orientation, or gender identity.

Legal Experience

I received my J.D. from the University of Southern California (USC) Gould School of Law. While there, I served as a judicial extern to the Honorable Patrick J. Walsh of the United States District Court for the Central District of California. Also, while at Gould, I served as an extern for the United States Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California, Criminal Division. As an extern, I worked closely with a trial team of Assistant U.S. Attorneys in prosecution of a web-based platform used to promote human trafficking.

I am a member of Aiman-Smith & Marcy’s class action litigation group. As part of that team, I have successfully fought high-stakes legal battles against well-resourced and highly competent defense firms. See, e.g., Cal. Labor & Workforce Dev. Agency ex rel. Raymond v. CompuCom Sys. (E.D.Cal. Mar. 9, 2023, No. 2:21-cv-02327-KJM-KLN) 2023 U.S.Dist.LEXIS 40710.

Personal Interests

In my free time, I enjoy urban vegetable gardening, traveling, and spending time with my nephew and niece. I also love to spend time at San Onofre Beach learning to surf, although admittedly, I am not very good.

Education

 

Hallie L. Von Rock

Attorney (SBN 233152)

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Education and Background

I moved to the Bay Area from Washington after graduating high school. I had been accepted to UC Berkeley through a program where I could defer for two years while getting my California residency and attending community college, which was significant since I was paying for college on my own. I began working for Randall Aiman-Smith and Reed Marcy in 1996 as an office manager while taking night classes. My first foray into the legal world was soon after starting at the firm when I was ready to transfer to UC Berkeley. Rather than accepting my resident status, the Board of Regents took the position that California residency required a student to be in California “two calendar years.” Randall and Reed took up my case with the same verve as they helped their actual clients and I got the chance to comb through the UC Berkeley library to read their codes and regulations to support my position. In that experience, I learned what is was like to feel helpless against a big organization and then to have dedicated attorneys in my corner to take up my cause.

After a break to pursue my major in art history, I went to UC Hastings College of Law and continued working with Randall and Reed. Having worked together now for over 25 years, we have a unique ability to work collaboratively and finish each other’s sentences. I have strived throughout my career to make a difference in the lives of our clients. At the end of the day, if I am helping someone to get compensation for losses they suffered, then I know that all the work put into a case has been worth it.

Legal Experience

I have extensive experience in civil litigation and class action cases, including conducting discovery and depositions, calculating damages analysis, preparing motions for certification, writing appellate documents, and overseeing claims administration. We have handled several class actions against retailers where plaintiffs claimed they were forced to purchase clothing to wear to work and were not compensated for these purchases, including against Abercrombie & Fitch, Hugo Boss, Armani Exchange, Uniqlo, Dollar Tree, and Ross. Recently, I was trial counsel in a defamation claim against Bank of America on behalf of a former employee who claimed the Bank blacklisted her with future employers. The jury found Bank of America liable, including for punitive damages.

Personal Interests

Aiman-Smith & Marcy has sponsored me in the Boston Marathon and New York Marathon. When I race, I often wear a “Rockstar Ronan” shirt to support research for childhood cancer through The Ronan Thompson Foundation.

Education

University of California, Berkeley, B.A., 1999

Hastings College of the Law, University of California, J.D., 2004

Randall Aiman-Smith

Abogado (SBN 124599)

Aiman-Smith & Marcy. Oakland consumer fraud attorneys.
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Educación y antecedentes

Fui afortunado. A pesar de no haber terminado la escuela secundaria o la universidad, pude -aunque con mucho trabajo- ser admitido y sobresalir en una de las mejores escuelas de derecho del país: La Facultad de Derecho de la Universidad de Berkeley. Mientras estuve allí, tuve el privilegio de ser editor de la California Law Review y miembro del Moot Court Board, asesorando en la redacción de escritos y en la defensa de apelaciones a otros estudiantes. Después de salir de la escuela de derecho, en mis primeros años de práctica, enseñé la escritura legal y la defensa de apelación en la Universidad de California, Hastings College of the Law. También, a lo largo de los años, he sido presentador en eventos de educación legal continua.

Experiencia legal

He sido abogado durante 35 años. He dedicado mi práctica exclusivamente a representar a empleados, consumidores e inversores en los tribunales estatales y federales de primera instancia y en los tribunales de apelación. Me gusta ir a los tribunales por mis clientes y he llevado muchos casos con jurado en los tribunales estatales y federales.

¿Ejemplos? En 2010, fui la abogada principal, junto con los otros abogados del bufete, en el caso Williams v. Union Pacific Railroad donde, después de cuatro años de preparación, el bufete obtuvo un veredicto del jurado de 1.670.000 dólares para una empleada afroamericana. En Rivero v. Surdyka, fui el abogado principal en el juicio y la apelación de un caso de derechos civiles que duró 15 años, incluyendo un juicio completo y tres apelaciones al Noveno Circuito, concluyendo finalmente con una sentencia para los demandantes de más de 2.300.000 dólares. Estos casos ilustran el lema del bufete: compromiso – resultados. Hay que comprometerse con un caso, a veces durante mucho tiempo, para obtener el resultado que el cliente merece.

No siempre ganamos en el juicio. Cuando eso ocurre, el compromiso significa llevar el caso al siguiente nivel y recurrirlo. En el caso Rivero, antes mencionado, eso fue lo que ocurrió: el tribunal desestimó el caso -habíamos perdido- pero apelamos y conseguimos una victoria para nuestros clientes que mantuvimos a través de dos apelaciones más. Desde entonces, el bufete ha conseguido muchas victorias en apelación que reivindican los derechos de los empleados y los consumidores.

A lo largo de los años he sido abogado de los demandantes en numerosos casos individuales y acciones colectivas. Puede sonar cursi, o difícil de creer, pero después de todo este tiempo, y después de todas las grandes experiencias que he tenido, mi parte favorita de ser abogado es cuando consigo dar un cheque a mi cliente.

 

Educación

Facultad de Derecho, Universidad de California, Berkeley, J.D., 1986