Wage and Hour Claims

“Wage and Hour” is the area of law that deals with employee compensation. It includes employees’ rights to be paid for the work that they perform, protects employees by setting limits on working hours, and requires employers to give employees time to take breaks during their shift, among other legal protections.

Employees often have questions about this area of the law. Some important questions to ask yourself that may help determine whether you have a legal claim relating to wage and hour issues include:

  • Does your employer owe you for overtime pay because you are not paid time and a half for extra hours?
  • Does your employer fail to provide you with adequate meal and rest breaks during your shift?
  • Does your employer owe you commissions?
  • Does your employer make deductions from your pay that you haven’t specifically authorized in writing?
  • Has your employer classified you as an independent contractor but yet still exercises a substantial amount of control over how you perform your job duties?
  • Has your employer classified you as “exempt” or “salaried” for overtime purposes, yet you don’t have authority to exercise independent judgment and discretion in over 50 percent of your daily work?
  • Do you want to know if your employer is paying you everything that you’re owed?
If your answer to any one of these questions is YES, then our office may be able to help you with this issue. We can answer any questions that you may have regarding this area of law and help you determinate whether you may have a legal claim for money that is owed to you.

Call us at 888-872-8065

Am I an exempt employee?

When an employer incorrectly classifies an employee as exempt from overtime, overtime pay violations occur if the employee works overtime hours. For employees who are routinely required to work over 40 hours in a workweek, it can be temping for an employer to misclassify the employee to avoid paying overtime premiums.

One common misconception is that an employee who is paid a salary is necessarily exempt from overtime. This is not always the case. Our attorneys have the experience and expertise to help you determine if you have a basis to pursue a wage and hour claim due to a misclassification.

Another common misclassification is when an employer erroneously classifies an employee as an independent contractor when they are treated as an employee.

Wage and hour claims may take many forms, including:

  • Unpaid overtime.
  • Unpaid wages.
  • Misclassifications of nonexempt employees.
  • Misclassification of independent contractors.
  • Unpaid vacation or paid time off.
  • Meal and rest break violations.
  • Off-the-clock work.
  • Unreimbursed expenses, including mileage or cell phone use for work.
Overtime pay is required for nonexempt employees who are required to work overtime hours under the California Labor Code and the Federal Labor Standards Act. In California, the Labor Code requires nonexempt employees to be paid 1½ times her or his regular rate of pay for all hours worked over eight hours in any work day and over 40 hours in the work week.

You have a right to a 10-minute rest break every four hours. Employees also have a right to take timely and uninterrupted meal breaks. Generally, an employer is required to provide a 30-minute, duty-free meal break within the first five hours of work.

Employers are required to reimburse employees for certain business expenses. If you are a driver, salesperson or otherwise required to drive for your employer, you may be entitled to compensation for mileage or parking costs. If you are required to wear a uniform at work or provide use certain tools to use at work, your employer may be required to reimburse those costs. If your employer requires you to use your personal cell phone for work, you may be entitled to some reimbursement.

At Abrolat Law pc, we know wage and hour law, and we know how to obtain the evidence to prove our clients’ cases. We have a record of proven results that is a direct result of our persistence, thorough work, and commitment to achieving superior results. You can rely on us to fight for you. Call us at: 888-872-8065

If you are being required to work off the clock, are not being paid overtime or are not getting your 30-minute duty-free meal breaks within the first five hours of your shift, give us a call at 888-872-8065. Your employer may be committing wage and hour violations. Our last wage and hour class action trial resulted in a verdict of over $1,000,000. We are happy to talk to you about possible wage and hour violations with no obligation. All calls are confidential.

Abrolat Law pc’s Top Ten

Top Ten Things that You Should Known About Your Rights Under California’s Wage and Hour Laws

  1. In California, overtime is computed for each day on an individual basis as well as for hours over forty hours in a given week. You are entitled to time and a half pay for any time worked over eight hours in a day, DOUBLE TIME for any time worked over twelve hours in a day, and time and a half for any time over forty hours worked in a work week.
  2. Even if your employer pays you a salary and even if you have some managerial duties, you may still be entitled to overtime pay depending on your actual duties.
  3. Regardless of any reason your employer may give, you CANNOT be required to work “off the clock” without pay as an hourly employee. This also applies to any mandatory training sessions or any other company function that you are required to attend.
  4. You are entitled generally to take at least one day off each week.
  5. You are entitled to take an uninterrupted half-hour meal break for each five hours that you work.
  6. You are entitled to take a ten-minute break for each four hours that you work. You are entitled to these ten minutes breaks in addition to the meal breaks mentioned above.
  7. Your employer cannot charge you for equipment required to perform your job. You must either be provided with items such as equipment/uniforms free of charge or be reimbursed for these items. In addition, your employer must reimburse you for any other cost you incur in performing your job duties, such as, travel costs (except for commuting expense to from your set place of employment).
  8. If you resign, your employer is required to pay you all wages you’ve earned, including accrued vacation within 72 hours. If you are terminated, this payment must be made in 24 hours.
  9. In general, you must be paid at a rate that is at least equal to the minimum wage for ANY AND ALL HOURS WORKED, including the time that it takes you to prepare for your work. Even if you are paid on piece rate or per project basis, the amount that you are paid, divided by the total number of hours you’ve spent working, must be equal to or greater than the minimum wage.
  10. Whenever you are paid, your employer must provide you with TRUE AND ACCURATE pay stubs with all legally required information (including gross wages earned, total hours worked, an applicable hourly rate for each hour worked, number of piece-rate units and applicable piece-rate, all deductions separately itemized, net wages, dates included in the pay period, your name and social security number or partial social security number, and your employer’s name and address).

We can answer any questions that you may have regarding this area of law and help you determinate whether you may have a legal claim for money that is owed to you.

Call us at 888-872-8065

Unpaid Commissions

If your compensation involves commissions in California, then your employer is required to have a written commission policy under the Labor Code. If your employer then fails to pay you consistent with the terms of that commission policy, you may have a claim for unpaid commission as well as other related claims including claims for penalties. For example, your employer may owe penalties for providing inaccurate paystubs and for failing to pay all compensation due at termination. If you have questions about commissions, call us at 888-872-8065 to discuss your situation and see if we can help.

If you work on commission and have not been paid the amount that you understood would be due, give us a call at 888-872-8065. We are very experienced and can you recover unpaid commission. We are happy to talk to you about your commission concerns with no obligation. All calls are confidential.

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