CALIFORNIA EMPLOYMENT LAWYERS
Girard Gibbs LLP represents clients in class action employment lawsuits where employees’ rights are violated. Class actions are procedures that allow many employees to join together to bring legal claims against their employers. These procedures are commonly used where employers have engaged in illegal activities that have caused similar problems for a large number of employees. For example, an employer may fail to pay overtime to all employees on a particular shift. By combining many claims, individual employees can be more successful in receiving compensation for common problems suffered as a result of their employer’s illegal conduct.
Class actions can often be brought for violations of employment laws, where a group of employees were all subjected to the same illegal practice. Our attorneys specialize in class action litigation representing employees for overtime pay violations, misclassification and other wage and hour violations. Some common wage and hour violations include failure of employers to provide the following:
• Adequate Breaks and Meal Periods;
• Proper compensation for overtime worked;
• Earned Vacation Time;
• Compensation for time spent “donning and doffing” gear;
• Prompt payment at the time of termination.
If you and your co-workers have experienced the same problems at work, and these problems seem to be the result of your employer’s unlawful activities, then you may be able to bring a class action or a collective action against your employer. If you think your employer may have violated your rights, please contact us for a free and confidential consultation.
Important Note: This summary is intended to provide a basic overview of the typical types of employment cases handled by our firm. It is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice.
Wage and hour claims arise when employers fail to pay employees for all hours worked. These can include claims that the employer does not pay employees the federal or state minimum wage, or that an employer forces employees to work without mandated breaks, meal periods, or "off the clock." For more information on wage and hour violations under California employment law, visit California Wage and Hour.
California Breaks and Meal Periods
California employment law requires employers to provide paid rest periods and unpaid meal breaks to non-exempt workers. Both types of break periods are based on the total number of hours worked in a day. For more on the duties of employers to provide meal and rest breaks, visit California Breaks and Meal Periods.
Under California overtime laws, certain types of employees are legally “exempt” and are not entitled to earn overtime pay. In order to legally qualify as “exempt” from overtime pay under California law, employees must fall within one of the following three categories: management, professional, or administrative. All other employees are considered “non-exempt,” meaning they must receive regular breaks and overtime pay.
Employers sometimes misclassify workers as “exempt” and fail to pay employees their rightful overtime pay or other benefits that the employees are legally entitled to. This is often done by giving an employee a managerial or professional job title that mischaracterizes his or her actual role. Only if an employee spends more than half of his or her work time engaged in intellectual, managerial or creative work and satisfies several other elements dictated by California law, that employee may rightfully fall under an exemption. For more on the distinction between exempt and non-exempt employees, visit California Overtime Pay.
For more on the distinction between exempt and non-exempt employees, visit Exempt v. Non-Exempt
Vacation time (either paid or unpaid) is not guaranteed by law. Many employers do, however, provide such benefits to their employees. Under California employment law, vacation time is considered a wage and once it is earned, that vacation time cannot be taken away. Any vacation benefits accrued but not used at the time of termination are owed to employees in their final paychecks. For more on the rights of employees to collect on vacation time accrued, visit California Vacation Time.
California Itemized Statements
California employment law requires employers to provide an itemized statements to all employees in conjunction with the distribution of their paychecks. The statements, or “pay stubs,” must include the following information:
• Dates included in the pay period
• Gross wages, net wages and all deductions
• Total hours worked in that pay period
• Total wages paid in that pay period
• Employee’s name and social security number
• Name and address of the legal employer
For more information on the requirements of employers to distribute itemized statements, visit California Itemized Statements.
California Prompt Payment at Termination
When an employee leaves a job, California law dictates strict requirements for final payment. An employee who is discharged must be paid all of his or her wages earned up to that point, including payment for accrued vacation time; those payments are due immediately at the time of termination. Former employees may be eligible to receive compensation in the form of penalties paid by the employer for failure to provide final payment. For more information on the requirements of employers to provide discharged employees with final payments, visit California Prompt Payment at Termination.
California law prohibits supervisors and employers from taking any portion of their employees' tips. Contrary to federal law, California law requires employers to pay tipped employees at least the state minimum wage. For more information on California tip law, visit California Tipped Employees.
California Independant Contractors
Employers sometimes incorrectly classify their employees as "independant contractors" to avoid paying them overtime and other benefits. In order to correctly classify a worker as an independant contractor, an employer must establish that an employer-employee relationship does not exist. For more information on the classification of independant contractors, visit California Independant Contractors.
Federal wage-hour laws subject employers to liability for failure to pay employees for time spent performing preliminary and/or post-shift activities, also referred to as “donning and doffing.” Payment may be required if (1) the activity is an integral part of the work activity and (2) the amount of time spent donning and doffing is not minimal. Although there is no set amount of time that may be denied compensation as being minimal, the Ninth Circuit takes several factors to take into consideration when determining whether otherwise compensable time is overly minimal. For more information on the requirements of employers to provide compensation for time spent “donning and doffing,” visit Donning and Doffing.
Girard Gibbs LLP is a law firm based in San Francisco, California. Our employment lawyers are highly knowledgeable about employee rights under federal and California employment law, and actively pursue claims on behalf of employees whose rights have been violated. If you believe you are owed overtime pay, have not been compensated for vacation pay, meal and break time, or that your employee rights have otherwise been violated, please fill out the form below or call us toll free at (866) 981-4800 for a consultation without charge.