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Los Angeles Employment Law > Los Angeles Overtime, Wage Theft, & Unlawful Pay
If your Los Angeles employer has failed to comply with these vital workplace protections, the law is on your side. While some breaks may be waived by mutual consent, they cannot be revoked by an employer without your approval.
Los Angeles commissions are earnings based on a percentage of the price of goods or services an employee sells. A written commission agreement determines when the commissions are considered earned. Once the commissions are earned, California’s regular payday laws apply. This means you must be paid at least twice a month, including any commissions that you’ve earned.
Learn More about Los Angeles Commission Pay >>
California enforces strong equal pay protections through the Los Angeles Equal Pay Act. This law guarantees that employees performing “substantially similar work” are compensated equally, regardless of their gender, race, or ethnicity. “Substantially similar work” considers factors like skill, effort, responsibility, and working conditions.
Exceptions to this principle exist only for legitimate, job-related reasons documented by the employer. These reasons might include factors like seniority, qualifications, a merit-based pay system, or a system based on a bona fide factor other than protected characteristics (like gender, race, ethnicity).
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California is a national leader in combating Los Angeles gender pay gaps, thanks to its strong equal pay laws. These laws empower employees and promote fairness in the workplace.
One key element is the California Fair Pay Act. This law ensures that men and women are paid equally for “substantially similar work.” This means the jobs require similar skill, effort, responsibility, and are performed under similar working conditions. Simply put, if you’re doing the same job as a colleague of a different gender, you deserve the same pay.
But California goes beyond just equal pay. Recognizing the importance of transparency, the state also mandates salary range disclosure for certain Los Angeles employers. If a company with 100 or more employees has a job opening, they are required to provide a pay range to applicants upon request. This allows both men and women to enter salary negotiations with a better understanding of the fair market value for the position. This transparency is a powerful tool in closing the gender pay gap.
Learn More about Los Angeles Gender Pay Gaps >>
Los Angeles employers sometimes improperly classify their employees as “managers” or as “independent contractors,” to prevent those employees from receiving meal and rest breaks or overtime. A Los Angeles employee who is classified as a “manager” but required to do non-managerial tasks may be entitled to unpaid overtime as well as compensation for meal and rest period violations. Similarly, an employee who is improperly classified as an independent contractor, but treated like an employee, may be entitled to compensation.
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Work that is “off the clock” is any work performed for a Los Angeles employer that is not compensated at either the regular or overtime rate. “Off-the-clock” work varies by employer and even industry. Essentially, all job-related activities that benefit the employer should be part of the employee’s paid time.
Learn More about Los Angeles Off-the-Clock Work >>
In California, the law guarantees Los Angeles employees overtime pay at a rate of one and a half times their hourly rate if they work more than 40 in a given week or over 8 hours on any given day. An employee is entitled to double their regular rate of pay where they work over 12 hours on any given day. Employees are also entitled to uninterrupted meals and rest breaks during their workday.
Learn More about Los Angeles Overtime Pay >>
“Tip pooling” is the practice of gathering some or all of the tips earned by several employees, and then splitting them up in previously-agreed percentages. In Los Angeles, employer-mandated tip pooling is generally considered legal, as long as certain conditions are met.g, firing, promotions, and job assignments.
Learn More about Los Angeles Tip Pooling >>
California safeguards Los Angeles employee rights with robust wage recovery measures. If you haven’t been paid what you’re owed, California law empowers you to fight for what’s due.
California law grants you the legal right to recover all unpaid Los Angeles wages, including compensation for overtime hours worked, minimum wage violations, or any other accrued and compensable pay you’ve earned. In addition to recouping the unpaid wages themselves, California law may also entitle you to liquidated damages. These liquidated damages are essentially financial penalties imposed on employers to compensate for the harm caused by the wage theft. The amount of liquidated damages can be equal to the amount of unpaid wages owed to you.
Furthermore, if your Los Angeles employer fails to provide your final paycheck on time (after termination or layoff), California law mandates they pay you a waiting time penalty for each day they are late. This penalty can accrue daily until your final paycheck is issued.
California provides two main options to recover unpaid Los Angeles wages, penalties, and interest: filing a wage claim with the California Division of Labor Standards Enforcement (DLSE) or pursuing legal action in court. The DLSE offers a free and relatively streamlined process, while a lawsuit allows you to potentially recover more compensation but involves a more complex legal process.
Learn More about Los Angeles Unpaid Wages >>
An employee who is terminated or laid off must be paid all of his or her earned and unpaid wages, including unused vacation or other paid time off, at the time of termination.
Learn More about Los Angeles Vacation Pay >>
California safeguards Los Angeles employee rights with robust wage recovery measures. If you haven’t been paid what you’re owed, California law empowers you to fight for what’s due.
California law grants you the legal right to recover all unpaid Los Angeles wages, including compensation for overtime hours worked, minimum wage violations, or any other accrued and compensable pay you’ve earned. In addition to recouping the unpaid wages themselves, California law may also entitle you to liquidated damages. These liquidated damages are essentially financial penalties imposed on employers to compensate for the harm caused by the wage theft.
The amount of liquidated damages can be equal to the amount of unpaid wages owed to you. Furthermore, if your Los Angeles employer fails to provide your final paycheck on time (after termination or layoff), California law mandates they pay you a waiting time penalty for each day they are late. This penalty can accrue daily until your final paycheck is issued.
California provides two main options to recover unpaid wages, penalties, and interest: filing a wage claim with the California Division of Labor Standards Enforcement (DLSE) or pursuing legal action in court. The DLSE offers a free and relatively streamlined process, while a lawsuit allows you to potentially recover more compensation but involves a more complex legal process.
Our practices are guided by integrity. We’ll protect what you deserve.
We work tirelessly and fight tenaciously to hold employee rights abusers accountable.
If you’ve experienced a distressing incident related to an issue like this, call us for a free case evaluation.
Legal cases can be lengthy, complicated, and confusing. We understand how difficult it is for an individual to navigate the California courts and legal system to redress violations faced at work. That’s why our experienced Los Angeles employment lawyers will be your partners so you don’t have to take on the system all by yourself. We take the time to understand your predicament, do the legwork to investigate your employer, gather all the necessary information, and advocate for you tirelessly.
If you believe someone has violated your individual rights or the rights of a group of people in your community, we can help you find the right course of action. Our team of Los Angeles wage theft and unlawful pay lawyers will help you understand your rights and take action. At Matern Law Group, we believe in neighbors helping neighbors. Let us put our legal knowledge and experience to work on your behalf.
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