Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Q. What are damages incurred by an employee?

These are the wages that have not been paid.

Q. What are the penalties for employers for committed missed meals and rest breaks?

In California, an employer is supposed to grant a ten-minute rest for every 4-hour work ( part of 4-hour period). An employee must get an unpaid meal break for 30 minutes after the five-hour duration.

An employer must pay a penalty of one hour pay at the standard rate for every workday when meal breaks are not there. Similar rules will apply other breaks.

Q. When is an employee eligible liquidated damages for minimum wage claims?

If an employee was being paid lower than minimum wage, they are eligible to get liquidated damages. The amount is equal to the lost wages.

Q. Which law helps workers collect unpaid wages?

S.B. 588 signed in 2015 is aimed to help employees to collect unpaid wages. In case the employer fails to pay the judgment for unpaid wages, regulators are empowered to take possession of the property and bank accounts.

Q. What should a new hire get?

Employers have to go according to wage notice norms. Thus, under California Wage Theft Act,

employers need to serve a written notice to new hires on wage inform ion.

How UELG (United Employees Law Group) Can Help Employees

Employees should take the help of UELG thanks to the complexity of the law, various other issues like tame lags, etc. In most case, employee necessitates an attorney, to fight the case to get the unpaid wages. UELG will make it easy by offering the necessary professional help and advice to employees. They will help clear every doubt and concern of employees. With their, so many years of experience in dealing with employer-employee wage-related cases can easily get settled.

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California takes serious care of their employees. This means that employees in California enjoy a wide array of employee protection like overtime pay when work exceeds 8 hours per day, rest breaks and meal breaks to name a few. California’s labor code can be mind-boggling for many, but this article is going to help you clear things by enumerating some of the common wage-related violations of the state. More importantly, this article is going to provide you with an idea on what to do in case you are a victim of such violations.

Common Wage Violations In California

* Minimum Wage Violations – After January 1, 2016, the minimum wage in California is set at $10 per hour. Some cities have an even higher minimum wage, like San Francisco’s $12.25 per hour. If you are receiving less than the required minimum wage, then you may be a victim of wage violations.

* Tip Credit – in some states, employers are allowed to pay less than the minimum wage just as long as the employee can make more than the prescribed minimum when factoring the employer’s wage plus tips. This is also known as a tip credit. However, in California, this does not apply. An employer must pay the minimum wage. This also means that the employees get to keep the tips.

* Overtime Violations – employees in California have the right to overtime pay. In fact, California has two kinds of overtime pay. There’s the one and a half overtime pay and double overtime pay. The specifics about the overtime pay can be confusing. Thus it’s best that you consults with a professional.

* Rest and Meal Break Violations – according to California’s labor code, employees are entitled to a rest and breaks. After the first 5 hours of working, an employee is entitled to a 30-minute unpaid break. After working 10 hours, an employee is entitled to a second meal break. Furthermore, for every hour hours, an employee is entitled to a 10-minute paid breaks.

Keep in mind that this is just a fraction of the common wage-related violations in California. If you think you are a victim of such violations, here’s what you can do.

What You Can Do About It

If you are a victim of a wage violation, then you can either submit a report through this website https://dir.tfaforms.net/53, or you can download this form https://www.dir.ca.gov/dlse/DLSE1_BOFE.pdf, fill it up and submit it to the Labor Commissions Office.

However, the best thing you can do is to consult with a California labor attorney. Don’t worry if you think you don’t have money to file a lawsuit. In most cases, if you have a strong case, you are not obliged to pay upfront. If you need help in this area, let us know.

Photo Credit: Shutterstock/Billion Photos

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