If you work overtime, you should be compensated for the extra effort you’ve put out on behalf of your employer. When you’re denied that pay, you naturally feel frustrated and undervalued. California’s laws are clear on this, but it’s still not uncommon for an employer to try to get around them. A labor law attorney in Burbank, California, understands the laws and all your options and can help you fight for your rights.
How a Burbank, California Labor Law Attorney Can Help You Deal With Denied Overtime Pay
Educating You On Your Rights
In most situations, someone denied overtime pay has already tried simply asking for it. If you’ve done this, then your employer has obviously come up with some excuse for telling you no, and it could be very convincing. It might sound like they really have all the power on their side. What you need is a good understanding of the law, and one of the most important things that your lawyer will do for you is empower you with knowledge.
All employees are entitled to one and a half times their regular pay rate for any hours they work beyond eight hours in a day, 40 hours in a week, or more than six days consecutively. For any hours that an employee works beyond 12 in a single day (or beyond eight if it’s the seventh consecutive day they’ve been working), they are entitled to double pay. There are only some exceptions to this, and your lawyer can help you understand how the Labor Code, Industrial Welfare Commission Wage Orders, and other California laws apply to your case so you have clarity on what you’re owed and confidence to pursue it.
Investigating Your Claim
Once you’ve talked with your lawyer to get a good understanding of how the law applies in your case, your lawyer can get to work doing an in-depth investigation of the details of your situation. There are various things that employers do to get around overtime laws. Sometimes, they deliberately misclassify an employee so they can claim they are exempt. In other situations, they don’t keep accurate records, thinking that it will become “impossible” to prove that you actually worked overtime hours.
A lawyer with experience in labor law knows about these tricks and exactly how to dig up the evidence needed. Your lawyer will take a look at pay stubs, your employment contract, time cards, get testimony from you and your coworkers, and even look for evidence like emails that show you were working late. Your lawyer will also look for any patterns in the employer’s history that show regular unpaid overtime or a history of putting pressure on employees to work off the clock.
Negotiating with Your Employer
Once the evidence has been gathered, your lawyer can then put it together to show how strong your case is. With this done, your lawyer can approach your employer to start negotiating a settlement. Many times, these overtime disputes get resolved without any need to go to court. Your lawyer will present all the evidence and demand that you be given fair compensation, including interest and whatever penalties California law allows. Your employer is more likely to take this demand seriously when you’ve got a lawyer involved because they know the next step is a labor board complaint and costly litigation.
Filing a Wage Claim or Lawsuit
If negotiations don’t yield fair results, your labor law attorney can escalate your case by filing a formal wage claim or lawsuit. They’ll guide you on the best path here. In some cases, the right choice is to start with the California Labor Commissioner’s Office. In other situations, it may be best to take a lawsuit to state or federal court. A wage claim is often simpler and less costly and may be better for a smaller dispute, but it may also limit the damages you can recover.
A lawsuit takes more time and is more stressful, yes, but it allows you access to more remedies, especially if your employer violated the rights of several workers. The court may very well award you not only all your overtime pay and interest, but also your legal fees and possibly even other damages, depending on how egregious your employer’s behavior was. If you’re part of a larger group of underpaid workers, your lawyer might recommend a class-action lawsuit.
Maximizing Your Compensation
One of the most important reasons to get a lawyer is to maximize your claim. California allows you to recover damages and penalties in these cases, and without a lawyer’s input, you may not be aware of what you’re entitled to claim. If your lawyer can show that your employer knowingly withheld your overtime pay, you could be entitled to liquidated damages in the same amount as your unpaid wages, for example.
If you resigned from your job or were fired, and you were not promptly paid, you might also be owed waiting time penalties of up to 30 days’ wages. If you’re fired, you must be given your final paycheck on the spot. If you resign, so long as you give a minimum of 72 hours’ notice, you must be given that final paycheck on your last day. If you quit suddenly without giving notice, your employer has 72 hours to get that check to you. It’s important that your lawyer fight for this because waiting time penalties are steep. You’re entitled to an entire day’s wage for every day that your employer delays in getting you what you’re owed.
Your lawyer will also calculate things that you might have overlooked: not only interest, but also related violations that could bump up your settlement. There might be missed meal breaks, which have penalties, for example. And if you faced retaliation, you may have a case for wrongful termination, and your lawyer can pursue it aggressively. Your lawyer will not let you leave any money on the table.
Protecting You from Retaliation
Speaking up about unpaid overtime can be risky. If you haven’t spoken about it already to your employer, you might be afraid to because it is common for employers to intimidate employees into giving up their claim to overtime pay. Your employer might threaten to fire you, reduce your hours, or just make your workplace a hostile environment for you.
The law forbids all of this, and if you’re concerned about any of it, or if you’ve already experienced it, your lawyer can fully help you to understand your rights and how to pursue them. Your lawyer will also advise you on how best to document these actions so you can show that you’re being retaliated against. Retaliation is illegal under the California Fair Employment and Housing Act and the Labor Code Section. If you experience retaliation, you may be able to get compensation for your lost wages, for emotional distress, and even have your job reinstated if you’ve been fired and want it back.
Contact Our California Employment Lawyer Today
Contact the experience team of attorneys of Haig B. Kazandjian Lawyers APC today. We proudly serve clients across California. Visit us at our Glendale office at:
Haig B. Kazandjian Lawyers APC
801 N. Brand Blvd., Suite 1015,
Glendale, CA 91203
Phone: (818) 696 2306
