WAGE THEFT

The term wage theft refers to a number of illegal employment practices which have the result of the employer getting the employee to work for free. Wage theft actually results in the employer stealing the employee's wages when they take their tips. When an employer claims they are paying the employee prevailing wage, but fails to do so the action is similar to a taking of the employee's wages because the employer gained the contract with the third-party public entity because the employer agreed to pay prevailing wage.

Besides actually taking the employee's wages, the term wage theft is also used to refer to employers failing to pay double time wages, minimum wage, or overtime. Wage theft is also used to refer to employers who fail to allow their employees to take meal or rest thereby gaining an unfair competitive advantage against employers whose employees actually work fewer hours per shift because they are allowed to take meal and rest breaks. Wage theft refers to any employment practice that deprives an employee of wages. These practices include failing to pay the employee to be on call, not paying commissions, a bonus, or the full amount of wages due.

Our experienced wage theft lawyers have handled virtually every type of wage theft matter against virtually every type of employer. Call (323) 525-1600 to start a wage theft claim

During the earlier part of the 21st Century the term wage and hour came into common parlance. Wage and hour relates to the non-payment of wages. It generally relates to the non-payment of wages for nonexempt employees who are entitled to meal and rest breaks as well as overtime. However, wage and hour violations exist for exempt employees if they are not reimbursed for travel expenses, other reasonable job related expenses, are not paid a bonus, commission, a stock option, or they are paid a lesser wage than they contracted to be paid. Employers in all industries, of all sizes, engage in wage theft. Lead Counsel, Karl Gerber has achieved the following recent results in wage and hour cases:

• $800,000 for a small class of emergency service workers who were on-call and not paid to be on-call
• $750,000 for a class of sub-minimum wage janitorial workers who were cheated small sums on each paycheck
• $450,000 for 2 low voltage electricians on-call
• $400,000 in Private Attorney General (PAGA) violations for a group of healthcare workers who worked off-the-clock and were denied meal and rest breaks
• $350,000 for prevailing wage violations for laborers and heavy equipment operators
• $260,000 for nurses on-call
• $250,000 in a case involving a few nonexempt property managers
• $200,000 in PAGA penalties for missed meal rest breaks for a small group of fast food restaurant workers
• $200,000 for two heavy equipment operators for prevailing wages

Wage and hour violations may involve the violation of multiple California Labor Codes. Given the number of California Labor Codes at issue, and the potential existence of Private Attorney General (PAGA) penalties employees who believe they have been subjected to wage and hour violations need to consult a serious wage and hour law firm capable of dealing with individual wage and hour cases as well as multi-employee wage and hour lawsuits and class actions. PAGA penalties create a short statute of limitations. So do certain violations for paystubs. Call us today at (323) 525-1600 to start your wage and hour case.

Our experienced payroll attorneys are able to look at a paystub and determine whether California Labor Code violations exist. Besides the underpayment of wages California employees may be entitled to up to $4,000 in penalties if their paystubs are not compliant. California paystubs must include:

• The right name of the employer
• The employer's address
• The employer's address
• The gross amount of wages earned
• The net amount of wages paid after the payroll taxes are properly itemized
• The pay period the check pertains to

• The number of hours being paid in the payroll check
• All hourly rates paid during the pay period
• How many hours are worked in each hourly rate

Missed meal and rest breaks must be paid at one hour of pay for each missed meal and/or rest break up to two hours of pay per shift. A failure to allow nonexempt employees to take meal or rest breaks, and then a failure to show the payment for those missed meal and rest breaks is a paystub violation. Other issues with California payrolls include private employers must pay their employees twice a month. If an employer has misclassified its employees as independent contractors and failed to pay them twice a month the employee may be able to collect $50.00 per pay period through Private Attorney General (PAGA) penalties. Right now our office is prosecuting a case in which the employer misclassified the employees as independent contractors in order to avoid overtime payments, and now it is apparent they owe PAGA penalties due to their failure to pay the employees at least twice a month. The $100.00 penalty, up to $4,000, for each paystub violation has a short statute of limitations. If you believe your paystubs are wrong you need to contact an experienced payroll lawyer immediately. Our law firm has offices in Bakersfield, Boston, Los Angeles, Oxnard, Riverside, and Tustin. We handle complex wage and hour cases throughout California. Firm Founder, Karl Gerber, has handled wage and hour cases, including Federal collective actions throughout the country. We only take employee cases on a contingency and are only paid when and if we are able to collect money from the employer.

Call (323) 525-1600 for a confidential consultation with an experienced employee attorney