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Consumer & Employment Lawyers

California Labor & Employment Lawyers

Labor and employment laws exist to prevent companies and employers from taking advantage of employees by not paying them properly, stealing wages or overtime, or otherwise not complying with the Labor Code. Unfortunately, many companies try to work around these legal protections and exploit their employees for profit.

That’s where we come in.

Consumer & Employment Lawyers is here to fight for you. We are an experienced and hardworking firm, and we make it our job to fight against those taking advantage of you.

Click to schedule a free consultation

Labor and employment laws exist to prevent companies and employers from taking advantage of employees by not paying them properly, stealing wages or overtime, or otherwise not complying with the Labor Code. Unfortunately, many companies try to work around these legal protections and exploit their employees for profit.

That’s where we come in.

Consumer & Employment Lawyers is here to fight for you. We are an experienced and hardworking firm, and we make it our job to fight against those taking advantage of you.

Click to schedule a free consultation

“It was clear from the get-go that Consumer & Employment Lawyers was well experienced in employee-employer disputes. My lawsuit indeed prevailed, so I heartily recommend this firm to anyone facing any irregular employer acts against them!”

- David Brian H.

Labor & Employment Law in California

Labor and employment law covers a wide range of protections against the mistreatment of employees. Both federal and state regulations exist to protect workers’ rights in any workplace.

Some examples of labor laws and protections in California include:

  • Minimum wage
  • Overtime pay
  • Mandatory meal and rest breaks
  • Reimbursement of work expenses including cell phones, uniforms, tools, and equipment
  • Prohibiting discrimination and retaliation
  • And more

Types of Labor Disputes in California

All employees should be aware of the following types of labor disputes in California.

Unpaid Wages

All workers, regardless of immigration or work status, are required by law to receive adequate compensation for the work they performed. Labor disputes arise around unpaid wages when employers don’t pay their employees in full for the work they perform, and employees may be entitled not only to the unpaid balance but also to interest, reasonable attorney’s fees, statutory damages, liquidated damages, and/or civil penalties.

Minimum Wage Violations

Under California law, most employees must be paid at least the applicable minimum wage for each hour worked. Some cities, including Los Angeles, San Francisco, San Jose, and Oakland, have minimum wages that exceed the state minimum wage, and employees are entitled to the higher of the two minimum wages.

Unpaid Overtime

Nonexempt employees in California are generally entitled to overtime for: (1) any work in excess of eight hours in one workday; (2) any work in excess of 40 hours in a workweek; and (3) the first eight hours worked on the seventh day of work in a workweek. If part of your pay includes commissions, nondiscretionary bonuses, or more than one hourly rate of pay, those payments must be factored in to your overtime rate of pay.

Off-The-Clock Work

Employers are legally required to pay employees for work performed if the employer knows or should have known that an employee was working off-the-clock, or performing duties for an employer without compensation. This can include:

  • Working before a shift begins, such as gathering supplies and equipment, performing safety checks, or organizing the workplace.
  • Working after a shift ends, such as cleaning up, transferring equipment to another site, or returning supplies to a company warehouse.
  • Completing required paperwork before or after a shift.
  • Correcting mistakes or redoing a project as requested by the employer.
  • Work that is performed by an employee during their meal or rest breaks.

Meal Breaks

According to California law, during meal breaks, an employee is to be relieved of all duties and must be free to leave the premises.

Anytime an employee works more than five hours in a workday, he or she is entitled to a 30-minute unpaid meal break. Employees who work more than 10 hours during a workday are also entitled to take a second 30-minute unpaid meal break, which must begin before the end of the employee’s tenth hour of work.

When an employer fails to provide an employee with a compliant meal break, the employee is entitled to one additional hour of pay. Each day that the employer fails to provide a compliant meal break counts as a separate violation of the law.

Rest Breaks

Employees are also entitled to a 10-minute rest break for every four hours worked. This means that if you work more than six hours in a workday, you are entitled to two rest breaks. If you work more than 10 hours in a workday, you are entitled to a third rest break.

Unlike meal breaks, rest breaks are paid at the employee’s regular rate of pay. As with meal breaks, when an employer fails to provide an employee with a compliant rest break, the penalty is one additional hour of pay for every day a rest break is denied.

Unreimbursed Expenses

Businesses often try to pass operating expenses onto their employees, but California law requires employers to reimburse employees for all necessary expenses or losses they incur doing their duties. This includes reimbursements for any of the following:

  • Using personal cell phones including clocking in/out, being on call, communicating with supervisors or co-workers
  • Required uniforms
  • Safety equipment
  • Tools
  • Mileage
  • Other equipment including laptops and tablets
  • Home office expenses

Employers are required to reimburse employees for not only expenses, but also interest, attorney fees, and other costs to obtain reimbursement.

Misclassification

​​A common tactic employers use to deprive employees of wages and other benefits to which they are entitled is to misclassify them.

Independent Contractors

Under California law, there is a presumption that a person rendering service for another is an employee. As such, workers generally must be classified as employees unless the company can prove otherwise. If your employer classifies you as an independent contractor when you are performing the duties of an employee, you may have a legal claim.

Exempt Employees

Employees can be classified as either exempt or nonexempt. Exempt employees are exempt from the protections and rights afforded by various wage and hour laws, whereas nonexempt employees must receive these protections. Classification is not based on job title, but rather the job duties the individual actually performs. As a general rule, in order to be properly classified as exempt, an employee must:

  • Be primarily engaged in executive, professional or administrative duties;
  • Earn a salary equivalent to at least twice the California minimum wage rate for full-time work; and
  • Regularly and customarily exercise discretion and independent judgment at work.

Although it is unlawful for an employer to willfully misclassify an employee, misclassification is often intentional on the part of the employer in an effort to avoid providing benefits afforded to employees under California law.

Harassment and Discrimination

Both federal and state laws protect employees from harassment and discrimination based on protected characteristics, including:

  • Race
  • Religion
  • Age
  • National origin
  • Ancestry
  • Mental or physical disability
  • Sexual orientation
  • And others
Harassment including sexual harassment, or harassment based on the categories above. Such harassment might be committed by a manager, co-worker, or non-employee, such as a contractor, vendor, or customer. The victim can be anyone affected by the conduct, not just the individual to whom the offensive conduct is directed.
Discrimination typically takes the form of adverse decisions related to promotions or demotions; training, pay, and discipline disparities; wrongful termination; and other employment terms and conditions.

Wrongful Termination

Most California jobs are at-will, and employees can be fired at any time, for any reason, and with or without notice.

However, this does not allow employers to terminate employees based on protected status, such as race, religion, age, national origin, ancestry, mental or physical disability, sexual orientation, or in retaliation, etc.

The law protects employees by making it unlawful to terminate an employee for any reason that violates a “fundamental public policy.”

How Consumer & Employment Lawyers Can Help

What is bad for one employee can likely be a detriment to all employees. But a class action lawsuit unlocks the power of people and maximizes strength in numbers.

Here at Consumer & Employment Lawyers, we have experience working with many employees, filing both class actions and individual cases.

Contact Consumer & Employment Lawyers today

It’s time to correct corporate greed. Employees are more than a means to an end or a bottom line – and they should be treated legally and with respect. If you, or someone you know, was underpaid, not given proper breaks, forced to use their own equipment or phones, harassed, mistreated, wrongfully terminated, deprived of workers’ benefits, or otherwise unlawfully treated by your employer, then Consumer & Employment Lawyers can help.

Contact us now for a consultation, and let us start the fight for your rights.

Click to schedule a free consultation
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