At SAW Law Group, our employment lawyers are well-versed in wage and hour laws. We are dedicated to safeguarding the rights of California workers, ensuring they receive proper pay and mandated breaks. Numerous protections are in place for employees—contact us for a free consultation to discuss your situation.
Is Your Employer Violating Your Rights?
Common Wage and Hour Violations
Wage and hour violations can take many forms, some obvious and others requiring thorough investigation to uncover. Common violations by employers include:
- Failing to pay employees for all hours worked
- Failing to pay minimum wage
- Denying legal rest breaks
- Denying legal meal breaks
- Providing inaccurate paystubs
- Failing to pay all due wages upon termination
- Misclassifying employees as exempt to avoid paying overtime
- Not reimbursing work-related expenses
- Withholding bonuses, commissions, tips, or gratuities
- Failing to pay earned overtime or double time
- Incorrectly calculating overtime or double time pay
- Misclassifying employees as independent contractors
Has Your Employer Failed to Pay You for All the Time You Have Worked?
Employers must pay employees for all time worked, including every minute worked. Under California law, any time an employee is under the employer's control, they must be compensated. This includes time spent in mandatory activities such as security screenings, putting on and taking off protective gear, and cleaning gear during unpaid breaks.
Has Your Employer Failed to Pay You Minimum Wage?
California Labor Code § 1197 mandates that employers pay no less than the minimum wage set by the California Labor Commissioner. Some cities have higher minimum wages within their boundaries, and employers must comply with these local laws as well.
Has Your Employer Failed to Provide Legal Rest Breaks?
California laws require employers to authorize and permit nonexempt employees to take a 10-minute paid rest break approximately in the middle of each four-hour work period. Failure to provide these breaks is a violation of the law.
Has Your Employer Failed to Provide Legal Meal Breaks?
Employers must provide nonexempt employees with a 30-minute meal break for work periods longer than five hours. Employers often use practices like meal period auto-deducts to conceal violations of these break requirements.
Has Your Employer Failed to Provide Legal Paystubs?
Employers are required to provide itemized wage statements with specific information each time wages are paid. These statements must include:
- Gross wages earned
- Total hours worked (for non-exempt employees)
- All deductions
- Net wages earned
- Pay period start and end dates
- Employee’s name and last four digits of their SSN or employee ID number
- Employer’s name and address
- All applicable hourly rates and hours worked at each rate
Did Your Former Employer Fail to Pay All Wages Due at the End of Employment?
California law requires prompt payment of all wages due upon termination of employment. If an employer fails to pay all wages due immediately upon termination or within 72 hours if the employee quits, the employer is liable for penalties and unpaid wages.
Have You Been Misclassified as an Exempt Employee and Denied Overtime Pay?
Most employees must be paid overtime for hours worked over 8 in a day or 40 in a week. Some employees are exempt from this requirement if they meet certain pay and duty conditions. Misclassification of employees to avoid paying overtime is illegal.
Has Your Employer Failed to Reimburse You for Work-Related Expenses?
Employers must reimburse employees for expenses incurred in performing their job duties. Failure to do so is a violation of California law.
Has Your Employer Withheld Bonuses, Commissions, Tips, or Gratuities?
Bonuses and commissions are considered wages and must be paid on the established payday. Employers are prohibited from keeping any portion of tips or gratuities left for employees by customers.
Has Your Employer Failed to Pay Earned Overtime or Double Time?
Employers must pay overtime for hours worked over 8 in a day or 40 in a week at a rate higher than the regular rate of pay. They must also pay double time for hours worked over 12 in a day.
Even If Your Employer Has Paid Overtime, Have They Paid at the Correct Rate?
Overtime pay must be calculated correctly, including all non-discretionary bonuses in the regular rate of pay. Failure to do so is a violation of wage and hour laws.
