California Law

24 Mar Attorney’s fees and overtime cases

Posted at 10:43h in Attorney's Fees, California Labor Code, California Law, Legal Assistance, Overtime, PAGA - Private Attorney's General Act, Wages

People often ask about attorney's fees and overtime cases. The California law that allows you to sue your employer for unpaid overtime has a one-way fee shifting provision. If your employer doesn't pay you overtime you've earned, you can sue them. If you win, you may be able to collect attorney's fees from the employer in addition to the unpaid overtime. But if you lose, your employer cannot go after you for attorney fees. That's how the one-way fee shifting works. One-way shifting of attorney's fees and overtime cases There's a simple logic behind the one-way fee shifting provision. It is California public policy that employees should get paid for the work that they've performed. Because most unpaid overtime claims are not that large, lawyers would be hesitant to take them if all they could only collect part of their client's recovery. Accordingly, allowing employees to collect fees to pay their attorney makes these claims worthwhile for attorneys. But the possibility of paying for defendant's attorney's fees would deter employees from suing. Therefore, this rule only goes one way to further incentivize employees to sue for unpaid overtime. Attorney's fees and the Private Attorney General Act There is also something called the Private Attorney General Act or PAGA. The PAGA basically deputizes citizens to recover penalties on behalf of the state of California. If you win, you can keep 75% of the penalties. You then pay the state the remaining 25%. The PAGA covers many types of claim under the labor code, including overtime and minimum wage. If you have a claim that doesn't include attorney's fees, be able to sue under the PAGA and get fees that way. If you believe you have a claim for unpaid overtime, contact the Khadder Law Firm today for a free consultation. For more, follow us on Twitter and Instagram....

20 Mar Paying for overtime claims

Posted at 10:38h in California Labor Code, California Law

Many people express concern about paying for overtime claims. Unfortunately, it often doesn’t make economic sense for a lawyer to take on wage and hour claims. Such claims generally smaller and cost more than they are worth. But there is still hope. Fortunately, there are a few ways you can still vindicate your rights, even if your claim is not that big. The first, is that you can go directly to the California Labor Commission to file a wage claim with them. It’s an expedited process so it’s usually faster than going to court. Moreover, it doesn’t cost you anything and you don’t need a lawyer. Pursuing a class action claim is another option. When there is a class action claim for overtime of minimum wage or other wage and hour issues, then lawyers have much bigger economic incentive to get involved. Consequently, that would be a way to go vindicate your wage and hour rights. Another possible avenue is if you have additional claims against your employer. For example, you may may have claims for discrimination, harassment or retaliation along with your wage and hour claims. In that case, the lawyer would probably be more likely to get involved because the harassment, retaliation or discrimination claim would make the case more lucrative. Obciously, this provides an incentive for the lawyer to take on the case. While they’re at it, they’ll just add on the wage and hour violation claims as well. Finally, the the labor code provides for attorney's fees for some overtime claims. If you prevail on such a claim, the employer will have to pay for your attorney's fees. This incentivizes attorneys to take your case. If you believe you have a wage and hour claims, contact the Khadder Law Firm today for a free consultation. For more, follow us Twitter and Instagram....

20 Mar Unscheduled Work Days and Overtime

Posted at 10:37h in California Labor Code, California Law, Employment Categories, Exempt, Non-Exempt

People often ask about unscheduled work days and overtime. How do unscheduled work days and overtime work. Does working an unscheduled shift entitle you to overtime pay? The answer depends on your schedule. Unfortunately, the mere fact of working an unscheduled day does not, by itself, entitle you to overtime pay. But, if that unscheduled shift pushes you over a certain threshold, you will be entitled to overtime pay. California law considers any work more than 8 hours in a day to be overtime. So if you work 9 hours in a day, you're entitled to 1 hour of overtime pay. Likewise for more than 40 hours in a week. So if you work 41 hours in a week, you're entitled to 1 hour of overtime pay (more if you worked more than 8 hours on any day). If you have worked 40 hours, Monday through Friday, and then you are required to come in on Saturday, and you are a non-exempt employee, then you're entitled to overtime pay for Saturday. This isn't because you worked a day you weren't scheduled tow work. Instead, it's because you worked over 40 hours in that week. But, if you haven’t worked 40 hours in week, from Monday through Friday, and you have to come in on a Saturday, then as long as it’s under 8 hours or has not exceeded 40 hours in a week, total, then you would just be entitled to your standard pay. If your employer has failed to pay you overtime pay that you've earned, contact the Khadder Law Firm today for a free consultation. For more, follow us on Twitter and Instagram....

17 Mar Work Breaks and Meals

Posted at 10:33h in Accomodations, California Labor Code, California Law, Failure to Accommodate

California law provides for work breaks and meals for non-exempt employees. Your employer must provide rest and meal breaks depending on how long you work. The labor code provides for a paid 10 minute break for each 4 hours of work. Additionally, the labor code provides for a 30 minute meal break. This kicks if you're working at least 8 hours. Critically, the meal break doesn't count as a rest break. For example, let's take the typical 8-hour shift. Because you work for 8 hours, the law requires your employer to give you a 30 minute meal break at some point. Additionally, you still get two paid rest breaks of ten minutes each, one for each 4 hours you work. Unfortunately, employers regularly fail to abide by these requirements. This is particularly true in the service industry. For example, during the holiday shopping seasons, retail managers may push employees to work through breaks or meal periods during busy times. If you have questions about work breaks and meals, you should contact an employment attorney. You may have a claim against your employer if it has not provided you with breaks and meal periods as required by law. If your employer has failed to provide you with meal or rest breaks, contact the Khadder Law Firm today for a free consultation. For more, follow us on Twitter and Instagram....

06 Mar What’s an Exempt Employee?

Posted at 10:28h in California Labor Code, California Law, Employment Categories

What's an exempt employee? It simply means that an employee is exempt from certain wage and hour laws. We've written a few posts about the difference between employees and independent contractors. But there are also two kinds of employees: exempt and non-exempt. What does it mean for an employee to be exempt? Both federal and California law have lots of laws governing employment. For example, laws that set a minimum wage or require overtime pay. But some of these laws don't apply to all employees. For instance, the law doesn't require overtime pay for some salaried employees. These employees are exempt from the overtime law. How do I know if I'm exempt? California law presumes that an employee is non-exempt. Accordingly, the employer bears the burden to show that an employee is exempt. To do so, the employer must show that the employee fits plainly and unmistakably within the exemptions’ terms. It is a mixed question of law and fact, but again, the burden is on the employer. Additionally, California law is more protective than federal law on this issue. California wage and hour laws address several categories of exempt employees. Employees must satisfy certain criteria to fall within each exemption. All of them use what is called the “primarily engaged in” test. Under this test, your employer may consider you an exempt employee if you're primarily engaged in work that qualifies for exemption. You're primarily engaged in exempt work if more than 50% of the work that you do falls within the exemption. So if more than 50% of your work is of the type that qualifies for a specific exemption, your employer can consider you exempt. Types of exemptions One of the more common exemptions is the executive, administrative and professional employees' exemption. To be exempt under this category, you have to be primarily engaged in duties that meet the test of the exemption, which are established by a wage order. Under this rule, you have to customarily and regularly exercise discretion and independent judgment in performing those duties. Also, you have to earn a monthly salary that is equivalent to at least twice the state minimum wage for full time employment. The idea is this: If you are an employee working at a restaurant, or working in a job that pays you by the hour, and you don’t make more than twice the minimum wage, then you don’t really manage people, and you don’t exercise independent judgments - you basically have a supervisor or manager that tells you what to do - California wage and hour laws should protect you. You should be able to get minimum wage pay and overtime pay, and other protections under the California labor code. There are other exemptions as well. If you believe that your employer has wrongfully classified you as an exempt employee, contact the Khadder Law Firm today for a free initial consultation. For more, follow us on Twitter and Instagram....