Since 2005, employment attorney, Brad Nakase, has protected thousands of employees in individual lawsuits and class actions. Please get in touch with Brad Nakase for a free consultation with a California overtime lawyer to get your unpaid overtime money.
Author: Brad Nakase, Attorney
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If an employer fails to pay an employee the wages that he or she has rightfully earned, then according to federal and California labor laws, the employee has the legal right to recover those wages in addition to damages. These damages are meant to punish the employer for wage violations. Also, the victimized employee may possible be entitled to attorney fees and court costs.
In California, workers have the right to fair employment, as well as the right to get the wages for house they have worked, as well as overtime pay. Specifically, they have the right to get these wages on time. They also have the right to file a wage claim lawsuit against their employer if the employer violates these rights. Regardless of where an employee is located in the state of California, he or she enjoys employment law protections that can help them get the wages they have been unlawfully denied.
In California, workers who are employed on an hourly or salary basis are protected to make sure they get the right payment for their hours worked. Their pay includes sales commissions, bonuses, overtime, as well as normal compensation.
Wage theft, as a concept, covers a broad range of wrongdoings within an employer-employee relationship. It refers, by definition, to when the employee did not receive the correct compensation for the time that they worked.
Wage theft is present in every industry. The most common form of wage thefts are:
The state of California takes the issue of employee wages very seriously, and its laws are designed to protect the worker at all costs. Any individual who has fallen victim to wage theft can hire an attorney to make these violations known and receive justice and compensation through a wage claim.
An employer in California has numerous responsibilities that he or she needs to fulfill in order to avoid wage theft and follow the state’s labor laws. Employees most often seek the help of wage theft lawyers regarding the following categories:
The regular paycheck that an employee earns for their work is referred to as wages. Employee wages may include the hours that they worked or a salary. Overtime pay is money earned for additional hours worked past the normal workweek hours.
An employer is required to pay both wages and overtime. They must provide these payments on time. Employers in California must also pay at least the minimum wage for job positions that fit the minimum wage guidelines. Every employee has the right to get a wage statement with every pay period; this should outline both their normal and overtime wages.
If an employer does not follow the state’s minimum wage laws, or they do not submit timely and accurate payments of wages and overtime, they can receive penalties for these violations.
According to California law, employees who work for five hours are required to have a 30-minute break. The employer is responsible for paying on-duty break period, which are when employees are not allows to leave their workplace.
If an employer fails to follow the individual meal and rest break laws, then an employee can get compensation in the form of one hour’s worth of pay for each day they did not get a required meal or rest break.
Sometimes, employers may ask their employees to do work before clocking in or out for the day. For instance, an employer may ask an employee to send emails, answer the phone, or file paperwork for an extra hour at home without clocking into work. Such off-the-clock duties are not allowed under California law.
An employee’s work should be trackable so that pay records may include them for both the employer’s and employee’s benefit. If an employer asks an employee to work for free or work without clocking in without having a payment agreement in place, the employer is violating labor laws.
Prior to accepting a job offer from a company, an employee should know their employment conditions, which includes whether he or she will work for commissions or bonuses, as well as what the payment structure is. Commissions are usually meant for individuals in sales positions, while bonuses apply to any company employee.
When workers do not get their commissions and bonuses as agreed before beginning their job, the law can help. A California employee can file an unpaid wage claim or lawsuit against the employer if they believe the employer did not deliver rightfully earned commissions and bonuses.
When an individual quits a job or is terminated, he or she still retains the right to get their wages for all hours worked, which includes commissions, bonuses, as well as meal breaks and paid rest. Employers need to provide a final paycheck to an employee right as they are terminated. This paycheck needs to include all wages and earned vacation time.
If an individual gives at least 72 hours’ notice of quitting and does not have a contract that details the quitting process, then the employer must have the final paycheck ready at the worker’s time of quitting.
If an employer has not paid an employee all the money he or she earned, the employee is entitled to file a lawsuit against the employer over unpaid wages. However, under California law, there are limits to how far back an employee can recover unpaid wages. Depending on the particular scenario, an employee has up to four years to file a claim for unpaid wages.
The relevant timelines in California are listed as follows:
If an employee does not file a claim within the relevant timeline, he or she may be permanently unable to recover the wages he or she is owed. If an employee suspects that he or she may be entitled to unpaid wages, they should contact an employment law attorney for advice and guidance.
When an employee files an unpaid wage claim, he or she should be sure to include the wages themselves. This may be calculated by multiplying the hourly wage by the hours worked.
However, other forms of pay may be included in the claim, including:
In California, independent contractors are unable to file an unpaid wage claim. However, if they are not paid in a timely manner, independent contractors may sue for breach of contract.
An employee should contact an experienced employment law attorney to determine all the pay that qualifies as unpaid wages.
An employee who files an unpaid wage claim should hire an attorney to help prove the case with testimony and documents. Certain documents can be used as evidence of unpaid wages. These include the following:
If an employee works under a Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA), then he or she will need to provide a copy of that document.
However, an employee should not worry if he or she does not have access to all these records. An experienced employment lawyer can help an employee get copies of these documents from the employer via a process called discovery.
After an employee files a wage claim against their employer, he or she will then need to collect and submit supporting paperwork. This documentation is helpful in proving the claim for unpaid wages.
After the submittal of documentation, both parties will engage in a settlement conference. If the employee who files the claim does not show up at the settlement conference, the unpaid wage claim will be dismissed. Often, the settlement conference results in an agreement and the matter does not proceed to trial.
However, if no agreement is reached, then a wage claim hearing is held. If the employee who files the claim does not show up at the wage claim hearing, the unpaid wage claim will be dismissed. An experienced employment attorney can help an employee collect and present documents as evidence during the wage claim hearing. If successful in proving unpaid wages, the employee will be able to recover a monetary settlement.
Believe it or not, every year, employees in California lose millions of dollars to some form of wage theft. Wage theft impacts all industries, including IT workers, service technicians, sales representatives, installers, nurses and healthcare workers, retailers, tipped workers, agricultural workers, call center employees, personal bankers, and mortgage brokers. All of these individuals can fall victim to some kind of wage theft.
If an employee was denied overtime pay or otherwise not paid as they should have been, then he or she may be able to file a lawsuit. In fact, he or she may file a collective action lawsuit on behalf of other employees if the wage theft was widespread at a company. Every employee should remember that they have the right to be paid for their time spent working.
Many law firms offer a contingency fee basis, which means that a client does not pay expenses out of pocket. They will also not pay attorney’s fees until the case has been settled or won. If the case does not end in a settlement or have a positive outcome then the client does not owe any attorney’s fees. At the end of a case, an unpaid wages lawyer will receive a percentage of what is recovered.
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