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Can you Sue Your Boss in Los Angeles or Just the Company?

Can you Sue Your Boss in Los Angeles or Just the Company?

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What are the Los Angeles Labor Codes that Establish Individual Liability for Overtime Claims?

SO your employer owes you money but they went bankrupt, you might have recourse against the management directly, not to mention any real assets remaining in the company.

The relevant California Labor Code provisions which establish individual liability are §§18, 558, 1197.1 and 1199. These sections provide as follows:

  • California Labor Code §18 “’Person’ means any person, association, organization, partnership, business trust, limited liability company or corporation.”
  • California Labor Code §558: (a)  “Any employer or other person acting on behalf of an employer who violates, or causes to be violated, a section of this chapter or any provision regulating hours and days of work in any order of the Industrial Welfare Commission shall be subject to a civil penalty as follows: (1) For any initial violation, fifty dollars ($50) for each underpaid employee for each pay period for which the employee was underpaid in addition to an amount sufficient to recover underpaid wages.(2) For each subsequent violation, one hundred dollars ($100) for each underpaid employee for each pay period for which the employee was underpaid in addition to an amount sufficient to recover underpaid wages. (3) Wages recovered pursuant to this section shall be paid to the affected employee.
  • California Labor Code §1199, 1197.1 :  “Every employer or other person acting either individually or as an officer, agent, or employee of another person is guilty of a misdemeanor and is punishable by a fine of not less that one hundred dollars ($100) or by imprisonment for not less than 30 days, or both, who does any of the following: (a) requires or causes to be paid to any employee a wage less than the minimum fixed by an order of the commission; (b) Pays or causes to be paid to any employee a wage less that the minimum fixed by an order of the commission or (c) Violates or refuses, or neglects to comply with any provision of this chapter of any order or ruling of the commission.”“Employer” means any person as defined in Section 18 of the California Labor Code, who directly or indirectly, or through an agent or any other person, employs or exercises control over the wages, hours, or working conditions of any person.”
  • If an employee is seeking overtime wages, it is wise to have as many “arrows in the quiver” i.e. name as many relevant defendants as possible, to perhaps get a higher and sometimes faster settlement.
  • In addition to the above California Labor Code sections, provisions of the California Industrial Welfare Commission, (IWC) orders,  have a bearing on individual liability. IWC Orders 4-2001 § 2(H)

Labor codes and lawsuit rulings can be very confusing, but United Employees Law Group is here for you, CALL TODAY for your FREE case review and answers to your questions.

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