Exempt

02 Apr Overtime claims and record-keeping

Posted at 10:49h in California Labor Code, California Law, Employment Categories, Employment Classifications, Exempt, Non-Exempt, Overtime, Remedies, Wages

A common issue arises regarding overtime claims and record-keeping, or the failure to keep records. Both California and federal law require employers to pay overtime to eligible employees. If your employer hasn't paid you overtime to which you're entitled, you can bring a lawsuit against your employer to recover that pay. In most cases, you can prove your claim using your employer's records. But what if your employer hasn't kept records of your overtime? Proving overtime claims and record-keeping It's more difficult to prove your claims if your employer doesn't have adequate records of your hours. Fortunately, California has laws regarding overtime claims and record-keeping. California law requires employers to keep and maintain records on the hours that their non-exempt employees work. If they fail to do so, they can be liable for penalties under the California labor code. Therefore, if your employer is complying with the law, you should be able to prove your claim with their records. But even if they don't, the law still allows you to pursue your claims. Proving claims without your employer's records Ideally, your employer has records that accurately reflect how much overtime you've worked. But this isn't always the case. While this can make things more complicated, it's not fatal. For example, suppose an employee sues her employer for failure to pay overtime and the employer hasn't kept records of that overtime. Typically, the court will allow the employee to estimate the amount of overtime they have worked. The court will take that into consideration in determining how much the employee can recover. The more precisely you can estimate the overtime, the better. If you believe that your employer has failed to pay you overtime that you have earned, contact the Khadder Law Firm today for a free consultation. For more, follow us on Twitter....

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....

02 Mar Different Employment Classifications

Posted at 10:24h in California Labor Code, Employment Categories, Exempt, Non-Exempt

There are three different employment classifications. Two of them fall within the employee classification. The other one falls into the independent contractor classification. Different employment classifications: Two types of employees The first are a exempt employees. An exempt employee is an employee that the labor code exempts from minimum wage and overtime requirements. The labor code sets out certain requirements to be exempt. Employees that meet those requirements are exempt. The second are non-exempt employees. Under the labor code, minimum wage and overtime pay requirements apply to non-exempt employees. This is the default classification for employees. Therefore, courts presume an employee is non-exempt unless the employer can affirmatively show they fit into one of the exempt categories. Non-employee classification: Independent contractors Lastly, there are independent contractors. Independent contractors are not employees. Any person an employer pays for work who is not an employee, is an independent contractor. Much of state and federal labor and employment law does not apply to independent contractors. For example, there is no minimum wage for independent contractors. Furthermore, employers need not provide benefits to independent contractors. But California law presumes employee status, so employers must prove someone is eligible to be an independent contractor if it comes before a court. These are the different employment classifications. If you have a job, you fall into one of these three categories. Unfortunately, employers regularly misclassify workers to save money. For example, your employer may classify you as exempt to avoid paying you overtime. But the law is independent of your employment agreement. As such, the law may still consider you non-exempt, even if your employer treats you as exempt. Instead, it simply means that your employer has misclassified you. Fortunately, the law provides remedies to victims of misclassification. Therefore, you should not assume that you are stuck with your classification even if you believe it is wrong. If you have question about how your employer has classified you, contact the Khadder Law Firm today for a free initial consultation. For more, follow us on Twitter and Instagram. And like us on Facebook....

12 Dec What if I’m afraid of making the overtime claim because I might lose my job?

Posted at 10:57h in Accomodations, California Labor Code, California Law, California Supreme Court, Damages, Employment Categories, Employment Classifications, Employment Discrimination, Exempt, Failure to Accommodate, Legal Assistance, Litigation - Suing Your Employer, Overtime, PAGA - Private Attorney's General Act, Remedies, Retaliation, Wages

This is a legitimate concern that many employees have, and unfortunately, there is no perfect protection against an employee who seeks to enforce their rights to overtime and other pay laws. The good news is that California law prohibits retaliation against an employee who asserts their rights under the wage and hour laws. California labor code 1102.5 (see below) is a particularly powerful tool for going after employers that retaliate against you for asserting your rights under the labor code. There are other provisions in the labor code that also prohibit retaliation, and provide that the person can sue on those claims, but labor code section 1102.5 is the most commonly used. In addition, because Section 1102.5 falls within the California labor code, an employee may also be able to sue under the Private Attorney General Act and recover attorney’s fees for any retaliation that he or she experienced because they sue to enforce their rights to overtime pay. < California Labor Code 1102.5 > Labor Code - LAB DIVISION 2. EMPLOYMENT REGULATION AND SUPERVISION [200 - 2699.5] ( Division 2 enacted by Stats. 1937, Ch. 90. ) PART 3. PRIVILEGES AND IMMUNITIES [920 - 1138.5] ( Part 3 enacted by Stats. 1937, Ch. 90. ) CHAPTER 5. Political Affiliations [1101 - 1106] ( Chapter 5 enacted by Stats. 1937, Ch. 90. ) 1102.5. (a) An employer, or any person acting on behalf of the employer, shall not make, adopt, or enforce any rule, regulation, or policy preventing an employee from disclosing information to a government or law enforcement agency, to a person with authority over the employee, or to another employee who has authority to investigate, discover, or correct the violation or noncompliance, or from providing information to, or testifying before, any public body conducting an investigation, hearing, or inquiry, if the employee has reasonable cause to believe that the information discloses a violation of state or federal statute, or a violation of or noncompliance with a local, state, or federal rule or regulation, regardless of whether disclosing the information is part of the employee’s job duties. (b) An employer, or any person acting on behalf of the employer, shall not retaliate against an employee for disclosing information, or because the employer believes that the employee disclosed or may disclose information, to a government or law enforcement agency, to a person with authority over the employee or another employee who has the authority to investigate, discover, or correct the violation or noncompliance, or for providing information to, or testifying before, any public body conducting an investigation, hearing, or inquiry, if the employee has reasonable cause to believe that the information discloses a violation of state or federal statute, or a violation of or noncompliance with a local, state, or federal rule or regulation, regardless of whether disclosing the information is part of the employee’s job duties. (c) An employer, or any person acting on behalf of the employer, shall not retaliate against an employee for refusing to participate in an activity that would result in a violation of state or federal statute, or a violation of or noncompliance with a local, state, or federal rule or regulation. (d) An employer, or any person acting on behalf of the employer, shall not retaliate against an employee for having exercised his or her rights under subdivision (a), (b), or (c) in any former employment. (e) A report made by an employee of a government agency to his or her employer is a disclosure of information to a government or law enforcement agency pursuant to subdivisions (a) and (b). (f) In addition to other penalties, an employer that is a corporation or limited liability company is liable for a civil penalty not exceeding ten thousand dollars ($10,000) for each violation of this section. (g) This section does not apply to rules, regulations, or policies that implement, or to actions by employers against employees who violate, the confidentiality of the lawyer-client privilege of Article 3 (commencing with Section 950) of, or the physician-patient privilege of Article 6 (commencing with Section 990) of, Chapter 4 of Division 8 of the Evidence Code, or trade secret information. (h) An employer, or a person acting on behalf of the employer, shall not retaliate against an employee because the employee is a family member of a person who has, or is perceived to have, engaged in any acts protected by this section. (i) For purposes of this section, “employer” or “a person acting on behalf of the employer” includes, but is not limited to, a client employer as defined in paragraph (1) of subdivision (a) of Section 2810.3 and an employer listed in subdivision (b) of Section 6400. (Amended by Stats. 2015, Ch. 792, Sec. 2. Effective January 1, 2016.) If your employer has retaliated against you for making an overtime claim, contact an employment lawyer today at the Khadder Law Firm for a free initial consultation....