California's wage protections are some of the strongest in the country
California law goes well beyond federal minimums. If your employer shorted your pay, denied your breaks, or pushed work off the clock, you may be owed far more than the unpaid wages alone — including penalties and interest.
Common wage & hour violations
- Unpaid overtime — time-and-a-half is owed for hours over 8 in a day or 40 in a week, and double time over 12 in a day
- Missed meal and rest breaks — a 30-minute meal break before the fifth hour, and paid 10-minute rest breaks every four hours
- Off-the-clock work — being told to clock out and keep working, or to cap the hours you report
- Misclassification — being labeled "exempt" or an "independent contractor" to avoid overtime and breaks
- Wrong pay rate or unpaid commissions — being paid less than you earned, for years in some cases
What you can recover
A successful wage claim can include your unpaid wages and overtime, premium pay for missed breaks (often one hour of pay per day per violation), waiting-time and other penalties, interest, and your attorney's fees and costs. These add up quickly over months or years.
You're protected for speaking up
It is illegal for an employer to fire or punish you for raising a wage complaint. If that happened, you may have a retaliation claim on top of your wage claim.
How I handle your case — at no cost to you
I take wage and overtime cases on contingency. You pay nothing up front and nothing out of pocket, and you'll work directly with me — in English or Spanish. If there's no recovery, you owe me nothing.