Wage and Hour Violations

Wage and hour violations generally pertain to any violation of California wage and hour law. This can include things such as not being paid the amount you earned, being denied overtime pay after working the overtime, and refusal to honor mandated employee breaks. Employers have many ways of trying to cover their tracks and make it difficult to determine how much employees actually earned. One of the most common tactics is not providing wage statements along with paychecks. This makes it almost impossible for the employee to know what they were and were not paid for, what was deducted, and what hourly rate was applied. For people continually getting paychecks lower than expected, and hitting a wall each time they try to get more detail, it can feel like working endlessly in a void. Luckily, there is help. At the Law Offices of David M. Boertje we are experienced in fighting to get employees what they deserve.

Below are some of the most common wage and hour violations. This list is not intended to be comprehensive, but rather, to give you a starting point. If you do not see your situation represented on this list, but feel you have been wronged, schedule a free consultation with our office so that we can fully assess your unique situation and determine the best course of action for retribution.

• Underpayment.
• Inaccurate wage/payment calculation, illegal deductions, or other “errors” that negatively and illegally impact the employee’s take-home pay.
• Late, delayed, or failure to make promised or expected payment of wages.
• Denial of earned benefits. For instance, refusal to pay an employee for vacation time, when they used paid vacation time.
• Failure to pay California’s minimum wage. In California, minimum wage is $11 or $12 per hour depending on how many employees the company has. This violation is particularly relevant to service workers, such as restaurant employees, who are paid a very low hourly wage and expected to average out to minimum wage due to tips or with the help of a tip-share. However, if the total average hourly wage does not meet California’s minimum wage, the employer must pay the difference.
• Denial of legal breaks and/or meals.
• Denial of severance pay.
• Denial of sick leave, jury duty leave, voting leave, or any other legally required time off.
• Failure to reimburse an employee for employment-related expenses. For instance, a supervisor might send a subordinate out for coffees or photocopies on the promise that they will be reimbursed, only to later ignore or deny the request, often brushing it off as “not a big deal,” or making a shame-based joke such as “What? We don’t pay you enough already?”

If you are not being paid fairly for the work you completed, you have held up your end of the bargain, and it’s time to make sure your employer does the same. Contact our offices today, serving San Diego County, and all of greater Southern California. If you have an issue with your employer or former employer in California, we can help you solve it. We offer free consultations by phone and online 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.