Compensation May Be Due for Lunchtime Meetings

Q: I have worked for three private local schools, and all of them like to have lunchtime staff meetings for which they do not compensate the staff. These meetings created a lot of resentment among the teachers, many of whom were already using the lunch hour to prepare lesson plans or grade papers.

--K.A., Rancho Santa Margarita

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A: Employers can require “exempt” employees to attend mandatory luncheon staff meetings without additional compensation. Generally, exempt workers are executives, managers or administrators who are paid a salary. On the other hand, “nonexempt” employees must be allowed a half-hour lunch break to use as they please. If attendance at these meetings is mandatory and work is being performed, the requirement not only may be illegal, but the employer would also have to compensate nonexempt employees.

--Don D. Sessions

Employee rights attorney

Mission Viejo

Survey’s Confidentiality in Question

Q: My employer occasionally requests non-managerial professional staff people to complete a survey rating their superiors and the work environment. My responses have generally been negative. Although the instructions say clearly that the comments will be confidential, it has come to my attention that my comments have been given to my immediate supervisor. I have begun to notice retributions and am certain that the survey is the cause of it. What law has my company violated, if any? What remedies can I seek?

--P.C., Glendale

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A: You probably do not have a discrimination claim unless you can establish that your supervisor is retaliating against you on some impermissible basis such as gender, age, race, national origin, religion, marital status, disability, pregnancy, veteran status or sexual orientation.

If you believe you have been unfairly singled out because you are in one of these protected classes, contact the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing or the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.

Otherwise, you might be able to argue that your employer, by promising confidentiality and then revealing your identity and your comments to your supervisor, breached its contract with you. But you would have to prove that you are not an at-will employee, requiring the employer to have good cause to terminate you. You would also have to show that the negative things that have happened to you at work were caused by your statements in the survey, and would have to show how you have been damaged as a result.

You also might be able to argue that your employer violated your right to privacy.

If you are successful with a claim, you may be able to recover lost wages and possibly punitive damages.

--Diane J. Crumpacker

Employment law attorney

Fried, Bird & Crumpacker

Salary Overpayment Must Be Repaid

Q: One month after my last day on my former employer’s payroll as an exempt employee, the company notified me that it had mistakenly overpaid me $2,000. Am I legally responsible for the overpayment?

--E.C., West Hollywood

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A: Yes. If you were mistakenly paid more than you were entitled, your former employer could sue you in small claims court for return of the money.

--James J. McDonald Jr.

Attorney, Fisher & Phillips

Labor law instructor, UC Irvine

How to Deal With Ugly Rumors

Q: I have been working in a professional position with the same firm for about three years. One of my senior colleagues, who holds the same job title as I do but who has much more seniority, is constantly bad-mouthing me to our colleagues.

Although he never has much positive to say about me openly, I have heard some of the terrible untrue things he has said about me behind my back. I am afraid that his ugly rumors about me are hurting my image and may affect my progress in the company. How can I deal with this outside of the legal arena? I have tried to confront him directly, but he either denies any wrongdoing or simply ignores me.

--C.K., Glendale

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A: This is a difficult situation, but it needs to be brought to the attention of your superiors immediately. Approach them in a nonthreatening manner. Tell them exactly what has been happening and convey your concern about the situation and its effect on evaluation of your job performance.

If they do not intervene directly, you need to at least make an effort to ensure that your colleague’s negative comments are not being heeded by those who evaluate your performance and progress.

My guess is that your colleague has done this before with others and that people in your company don’t view him as a very credible source.

--Ron Riggio, director

Kravis Leadership Institute

Claremont McKenna College

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If you have a question about an on-the-job situation, please mail it to Shop Talk, Los Angeles Times, P.O. Box 2008, Costa Mesa, CA 92626, or e-mail shoptalk@latimes.com. Include your initials and hometown. The Shop Talk column is designed to answer questions of general interest. It should not be construed as legal advice.