Wage & Hour Claims

Los Angeles Wage & Hour Claims

Southern California Lawyers Protecting Your Rights

Some employers are known to cut corners to save money, and unfortunately, one of the most common ways they do this is by withholding payment from their employees. Though federal and state laws are put in place to prevent workers from being exploited by their bosses, they’re violated all the time. If you’re being forced to work off the clock or have been prevented from taking your required rest or meal breaks, you may have a possible wage and hour dispute.

The Barkhordarian Law Firm has handled employment-related legal issues for years, and our Los Angeles team has possible solutions for even the most complex issues. We can help you determine whether your employer has violated labor laws and can take action from there to get the justice you deserve.

Common Types of Wage & Hour Disputes

If you’re an employee in California, you’re already in a better position than many workers in other states, as California law is known for being more generous than federal law when it comes to wage and hour protections. In addition to the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), you’re also protected by the California Labor Code sec. 500-558, which covers topics such as minimum wage, overtime, sick leave, and severance pay.

Some of the most common wage and hour disputes our team has handled for clients in the state include:

• Failure to pay employees overtime
• Employee misclassification
• Failure to reimburse expenses
• Meal and rest break violations
• Forcing employees to work off the clock
• Failure to pay wages upon termination
• Paycheck deductions (illegal)
• Failure to pay minimum wage
• Failure to pay tips and sales commissions
• Unpaid vacation hours

You as an employee have the right to be properly compensated for the hours that you work, which was why the FLSA has penalties for employers who refuse to pay their employees.

How Long Do I Have to File a Claim?

As is the case with most legal claims, you have a deadline when it comes to filing wage and hour dispute claims. For most wage violations, including meal and rest break violations and overtime violations, you have three years from the date of the violation to file a claim in California. In some cases, you might have four or even two years to file a claim, which is why it’s crucial that you hire a lawyer that understands our state’s system and filing deadlines.

Some of the information that you should collect and hold onto to show our lawyers includes time records that show how many hours you worked, paystubs, bounced checks, and any written communication from your employer. The sooner you have this information for us, the sooner we can get started on your claim.

Call Our Wage & Hour Violation Attorneys

The amount you can expect to recover from a successful wage and hour dispute claim depends on the nature of your claim. For example, if your claim involves failing to be paid minimum wage, you’re entitled to the difference between the minimum wage and what you were paid. If you weren’t paid overtime, you can recover an extra 50% of your wages for each overtime hour worked.

As an employee, you can also collect penalties from your employer for violations under California law. Some of these penalties include:

• Missed meal and rest breaks:Employers owe one hour of pay at the employee’s regular rate for every workday in which a meal or rest break wasn’t provided.
• Wage statement violations:If your employer neglected providing information to you like your hourly rate or hours worked on your stub, your employer must pay $50 for the first violation and $100 for each subsequent violation up to $4,000 maximum.
• Failure to give paycheck after termination:If your final paycheck came late or didn’t include all of your wages after you were fired, you’re entitled to a full day of wages at your regular rate for every day your employer is late, up to a maximum of 30 days.

Our lawyershave handled countless wage and hour claims for clients before and can make sure your employer is held responsible for any and all violations. We’re knowledgeable about our state and federal laws and can protect you from retaliation, so you don’t have to worry about suffering any more than you have under your employer. Call us to help you get started on your claim.