Employment Law
Click to hear the audio versionWage and Hour Violations
If you or your fellow employees have been asked to work off the clock, been denied minimum wage or overtime pay, or denied meal and rest breaks, then you may have the right to file a lawsuit for labor and wage claims. Other claims include underpayment of wages due to rounded time entries versus actual time entries, failure to raise overtime compensation to account for bonuses, shift differential, or commissions above hourly pay, failure to reimburse business expenses, failure to compensate workers for time donning and doffing protective gear, walking to and from workstations, and clocking out, and failure to pay prevailing wages on public works projects.
Unpaid commissions
There are many ways employers fail to comply with California law in paying commissions and minimum pay to sales employees. It is generally improper to fail to pay commissions earned but uncollected at the time an employee leaves the company. It is also generally improper for companies to fail to pay earned commissions during so-called probationary periods. For example, no commissions paid until an employee has been with the company for six months. Sales employees who do not work in excess of 50% of the time in outside sales work must be paid at least minimum wage and minimum overtime wages for all hours worked. If an employee makes no sales and therefore earns no commissions, the employer is required to pay minimum wage and overtime for the hours worked. Failure to pay commissions or other wages owed at termination subjects an employer to additional liability for waiting time wages of a full day's pay up to 30 days until the amount is paid in full.
Expense Reimbursements
An employer who fails to reimburse employees for expenses incurred in carrying out their employment is liable to the employee for the amount of all necessary expenses, interest, attorney's fees, and costs. For example, employees who use their automobiles in carrying out job functions must be provided a mileage or other reimbursement to cover all driving expenses, including gas and insurance. This requirement covers all expenses incurred in the scope of employment. Employees may not be required to pay for uniforms or laundering of uniforms. The purpose of this law is to protect employees from suffering any expense as a direct consequence of the performance of the employee's duties. Employees are entitled to recover expense reimbursements dating back up to four years with interest. Some examples of covered expenses include training costs, webinar costs, telephone charges, mailing costs, postage, subscriptions, and office supplies.
Wrongful termination
Wrongful termination laws outline the rules for people who have been fired illegally. California is an at-will state, meaning employers can discipline or terminate employees at will. In many cases, a terminated employee must file a complaint with the Department of Fair Employment and Housing or the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, the federal organization that investigates employment complaints, before filing a wrongful termination lawsuit.
Misclassification
As employers learn that their salaried employees have been misclassified as exempt from overtime pay, they are reclassifying workers from exempt to non-exempt. This means they are now eligible for overtime pay. Many companies with in-house IT or IS departments, as well as many other types of companies, are converting their employees department by department. Often these workers carry some of the longest hours of all, devoting nights, weekends and long on-call periods to do their jobs. Employees who have been reclassified to overtime eligibility are generally entitled to back pay for the overtime hours they have worked, dating back four years under the applicable statute of limitations in California. If your company has reclassified you from salaried-exempt to hourly-commissioned piece rate or other overtime-eligible position, contact our employment lawyers about recovering the back pay you may be owed.
Improper deductions
Have your wages been unfairly reduced? Employers may not deduct any sums from an employee's wages to pay salaries, bonuses, or wages of other employees. Also, companies are not permitted to make deductions from commissions or other wages to pay for uniforms, cash shortages, failure to clock in or out, or other penalties for employee conduct. Employees are entitled to recover improper deductions dating back up to four years with interest.
Discrimination and Harassment
Examples of unlawful employment discrimination include age, race, gender preference, and mental and physical disability. Our employment lawyers also fight all forms of workplace harassment, including racial, sexual, and gender preference. Employees with disabilities are protected by a combination of state, federal, and local regulations. These anti-discrimination laws provide important rights to employees, including the right to take medical leave, to reasonable accommodations, to work without being forced to take leave, to privacy, and to be free from discrimination. Schedule a free consultation with our employment law attorneys.
