As a hardworking employee in California, you have rights under state and federal law. These include rightful compensation for every hour you spend on the job, adequate breaks for meals and rest, sick leave, and overtime pay. However, many employers choose to ignore these laws. Instead, they withhold money that their employees have rightfully earned (a practice known as wage theft), don’t pay for employee breaks, won’t grant periods of leave, or make them do “off-the-clock” work without compensating them for it.
As a result, hundreds of thousands of employees are unaware that they’re not receiving the full and fair compensation, rest periods, or medical leave to which they’re entitled. For example, a recent study found that the workforce in the Los Angeles metropolitan area loses between $1.6 billion and $2.5 billion due to minimum wage violations. If you believe this is happening to you, or you are finding your co-workers are experiencing similar treatment, you could have grounds for a wage and hour violations lawsuit.
At Moon Law Group, PC, our Los Angeles wage and hour violation attorneys can review your case, advise you on your rights, and represent you if your claim requires going to court. Since 2007, our law firm has focused solely on employment-related issues — many of which are legally complex and labor-intensive — that affect workers throughout California. We have a solid track record of courtroom victories, with millions of dollars recovered for tens of thousands of employees who are cheated out of their lawfully earned pay.
Contact Moon Law Group today for a free, no-obligation consultation and case review. Your meeting is fully confidential, and if we can take your case, you won’t be charged anything unless we successfully resolve it.
Why You Need a Wage and Hour Lawyer for Your Case
Making a claim against your employer for unfair or unpaid wages, denying time off, or making unreasonable work hour demands can seem overwhelming and intimidating. You may believe that they have the upper hand because they can afford a team of defense lawyers. In addition, because they’re the ones employing you, it’s easy to believe that they could fire you in retaliation for speaking up.
An experienced Los Angeles wage and hour attorney from Moon Law Group can take the stress off you by handling all the legal matters, which involves the following:
- Investigating all elements of your claim — such as paychecks, time logs, and expense reimbursements — to understand what happened and identify everyone liable for it
- Calculating all back pay, overtime pay, and work-related expenses to determine the full compensation you’re entitled to
- Handling all the legal paperwork involved and filing your claim within the required deadline
- Supporting you throughout the process by advising you of your rights, explaining your options, and only taking actions that would serve your best interests
- Filing your case as a collective action or class action if other employees are experiencing similar treatment as you
- Negotiating with your employer and their defense attorneys for full and fair compensation
- Taking your matter to trial if litigation becomes the best way to assert your rights and get you the money and justice you deserve
- Never charging you anything unless we reach a satisfactory resolution
Contact us today to schedule your free, confidential consultation. We can review your case, answer any questions you have, and explain your legal options.
For a free legal consultation with a wage and hour violations lawyer serving Los Angeles, call 213-232-3128
What Are My Wage and Hour Rights?
Many of your wage and hour rights are governed by the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). This is a federal law that mandates your rights to a minimum wage, overtime pay at one and a half times the regular rate for each hour of work over 40 hours in a single workweek, and required breaks. FLSA laws apply to employees of businesses that bring in annual income of over $500,000 or engage in interstate commerce (such as making interstate phone calls, handling interstate transactions, or shipping goods across state lines).
California law also enforces workers’ rights, such as a minimum wage of $16.50 per hour, regardless of how large the company you work for is; at least 40 hours of paid sick leave; and the ability to file a complaint for an Equal Pay Act violation or for an employer retaliating against a worker for speaking up about a workplace violation.
If your employer is found to be in violation of FLSA and state wage and hour laws, they could be subject to an investigation from state regulators. These agencies include the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and the U.S. Department of Labor.
Los Angeles Wage And Hour Violations Lawyer Near Me 213-232-3128
What Are Common Wage and Hour Violations and Disputes?
You may have a wage-related complaint if your employer is doing any of the following:
- Paying you less than the minimum wage of $16.50
- Paying you late or too infrequently
- Miscalculated your overtime pay
- Taking out or withholding unusual or vague deductions
- Denying commissions, bonuses, and other incentive pay, or failing to include them when calculating your overtime rate
- Withholding your pay as punishment or for poor performance
- Failing to pay you and your co-workers separately and hourly for rest, meal, and lactation breaks
- Rounding off hours worked to be lower than they actually were
- Not providing you with a final paycheck if you’re leaving the company
- Not paying you for job-related training
- Paying you through a separate entity in an attempt to hide from liability for wage theft
- Not reimbursing you for on-the-job expenses, such as uniforms, equipment, and other necessary gear, as well as work-related cellular and travel service
- Making you work “off the clock” and without pay, such as for the time you spend going through security and putting on a uniform before clocking in or by requiring you to answer work-related emails after clocking out
- Stealing your tips or requiring you to share your tips with other employees who do not typically receive them
- Filing for bankruptcy but still owing wages to you and your co-workers
Your employer could be violating time-related regulations if they are doing any of the following:
- Failing or refusing to provide meal breaks, required rest periods, and time for nursing mothers to lactate
- Misclassifying workers as independent contractors instead of employees in order to skirt around requirements for breaks, pay, sick leave, and other job-related matters
- Denying outdoor workers adequate water or shade during hot weather
- Requiring employees to remain “on duty” during meal breaks and rest periods or restricting what they can do and where they can go
- Refusing maternity and paternity leaves
- Refusing to grant time off under the Family Medical and Leave Act (FMLA), which provides up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave from work for health-related matters
If any of these examples sound like things that are happening to you, reach out to Moon Law Group today. Our Los Angeles wage and hour violation lawyers can assess your case, advise you of your rights, and provide the next steps.
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What Compensation Could Be Available in a Wage and Hour Dispute Case?
Depending on your wage and hour case and its particular set of facts, you could qualify for compensation that covers any or all of the following:
- Back pay, overtime pay, bonuses, commissions, and other unpaid wages
- Out-of-pocket expenses
- Emotional harm and mental anguish
- Job reinstatement
In some cases, our clients have been awarded punitive damages. These types of damages are meant to punish the company and its management for its egregious behavior and to deter similar behavior in the future. They also serve as a warning to other businesses that such illegal workplace activity will not be accepted.
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What Can I Do if I’m Not the Only Employee Experiencing Wage and Hour Issues?
Often, when our Los Angeles wage and hour violation lawyers meet with someone who suspects illegal workplace behavior, we discover that they’re not the only ones experiencing it at their job. If you believe there’s a pattern and that your employer is harming your co-workers, you could be able to file a class action lawsuit.
A class action is a lawsuit addressing wage and hour violations that multiple employees claim to have experienced in a similar manner. These lawsuits make it possible to efficiently fix widespread workplace injustices, sending the message that what the company is doing is illegal and they cannot continue to violate the law.
These suits are also more cost-efficient than individual lawsuits, as the expenses could outweigh the overall benefit of a single-worker case. Individual lawsuits often result in some employees losing their cases and others winning theirs despite the same legal issue being in dispute. With a class action, the class members would receive similar and consistent awards such as back pay, paid time off, and expense reimbursements.
Class actions can expedite the legal process, as these lawsuits enable the court to resolve a dispute once, rather than hundreds of individual cases clogging the system and taking years to resolve.
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