WHAT WE DO
When something goes wrong at work, it rarely comes with a clear label attached. You may just know that you were treated unfairly, pushed out, passed over, or paid less than you should have been.
Matta Law helps employees throughout California connect what actually happened to them with the legal protections that may apply, and then pursue the outcome they deserve.
PRACTICE AREAS
DISCRIMINATION
California and federal law prohibit employers from treating employees unfairly in hiring, pay, promotion, discipline, or termination because of a protected characteristic, including race, national origin, sex, age, disability, religion, sexual orientation, and gender identity.
Discrimination isn’t always an isolated incident; it often shows up as a pattern over time. We help you identify that pattern, understand your rights, and hold your employer accountable.
WRONGFUL TERMINATION
Not every unfair firing is illegal, but when the real reason behind a termination is discrimination, retaliation, or a violation of public policy, you have options. We look closely at the timing, your employer's stated reason, and the broader pattern of conduct leading up to your termination to determine whether your rights were violated, and to build the strongest possible case if they were.
WAGE & HOUR VIOLATIONS
Wage and hour law covers far more than your paycheck amount. It includes unpaid overtime, missed meal and rest breaks, off-the-clock work, unreimbursed business expenses, wage statement violations, commission disputes, and final pay penalties, including claims brought under the Private Attorneys General Act ("PAGA") and the California Labor Code. We help employees, including those in single-plaintiff, multi-plaintiff, and representative actions, recover the wages and penalties they are owed.
HARASSMENT
Workplace harassment can be overt or it can build gradually through comments, conduct, or a pattern of behavior that makes your job impossible to do. This includes sexual harassment as well as harassment based on race, national origin, disability, sex, sexual orientation, and other protected characteristics. We help you evaluate whether what you experienced crosses the legal line into a hostile work environment, and what your options are from there.
EQUAL PAY VIOLATIONS
California's Equal Pay Act and related laws prohibit paying employees less than their colleagues for substantially similar work because of sex, race, national origin, or other protected characteristics. Pay disparities are often hidden, discovered only after employees compare notes or after a promotion is denied without explanation. We help you investigate, document, and pursue a claim for the pay you were owed.
CONTRACT & SEVERANCE NEGOTIATIONS
Whether you're negotiating the terms of a new role or evaluating a severance package on your way out, the language in your agreement matters. We regularly represent executive-level and other employees in negotiating and drafting employment agreements, severance agreements, and separation packages, working to secure terms, protections, and compensation that reflect your true value and protect your future.
RETALIATION
It's unlawful for an employer to punish you for reporting misconduct, opposing discrimination or harassment, requesting a reasonable accommodation, taking protected leave, or otherwise exercising your workplace rights. Retaliation can look like a sudden negative review, a demotion, reduced hours, or termination that follows suspiciously close on the heels of your complaint. We help you show the connection between what you did and what your employer did in response.
ACCOMMODATIONS
Employers are required to provide reasonable accommodations for disabilities, pregnancy, religious practices, and lactation, among other protected needs, and to engage in good faith in the interactive process to identify one. When an employer fails to accommodate, drags out the process, or punishes you for asking, we help you hold them to their legal obligations.