San Diego Unpaid Overtime Lawyer
Has your employer failed to pay overtime wages in San Diego, CA? You may be able to recover the wages you are owed and other penalties through a wage and hour lawsuit.
Ferraro Vega San Diego Employment Lawyers was founded in 2018 to protect San Diego workers’ employment rights. Our San Diego unpaid overtime lawyers can help you fight to recover the unpaid wages you are owed and hold your employer accountable. Contact our law office today at (619) 693-7727 for a free consultation.
How Ferraro Vega San Diego Employment Lawyers Can Help with an Unpaid Overtime Case in San Diego
Have you discovered your employer has miscalculated your hours or failed to pay overtime? Whether you made this discovery or were informed by the California DLSE, you may be unsure of what recourse you have. Many workers fear speaking up and risking retaliation or termination. You may also be concerned about the prospect of fighting your employer in court and the cost of hiring a San Diego employment lawyer.
Ferraro Vega San Diego Employment Lawyers was founded to help California workers in all industries in seeking the wages and safe workplace they deserve. We will help you file a wage claim against your employer and take them to court if needed to recover the unpaid wages, interest, and penalties they owe you. If your claim is successful, your employer will be liable for your attorney’s fees – not you.
Choose our San Diego, California law firm to help you, and we will:
- Investigate to determine which labor laws your employer has violated
- Help you calculate the amount of unpaid wages you are owed
- Determine if other employees have been affected and whether a class action lawsuit or PAGA claim is necessary
- Help you document your unpaid wages and other labor violations
- Negotiate with your employer and seek the full compensation you are owed
- Represent you in a wage claim with the Labor Commissioner and proceed to a lawsuit if your employer will not pay the wages they owe
- Protect you from illegal retaliation
Ferraro Vega San Diego Employment Lawyers is here to help you uphold your right to the wages you are owed. Contact our law office today to schedule a free consultation with one of our San Diego employment lawyers. We will help you explore your legal options for recovering your unpaid wages.
Overview of California Overtime Laws
California has strict wage and hour laws that govern overtime pay. Labor Code 510 LC specifies when overtime must be paid and how it is calculated.
The general rule for overtime provides that a non-exempt employee receives overtime pay at one-and-a-half times their current rate of pay when they:
- Work more than 8 hours in any workday and
- Work over 40 hours per workweek, or
- Work double time.
You are generally entitled to 1.5x your regular rate of pay for any hours you work between 8 and 12 hours in a workday. You are also entitled to overtime pay for the first 8 hours worked on the seventh consecutive day in one workweek.
California employees are entitled to 2x the regular rate of pay for any hours worked above 12 hours in a single workday and for any hours that exceed 8 hours on the seventh consecutive day in a single workweek.
California law prohibits employers from requiring employees to work off the clock without pay. This can include any type of work, including work performed during rest periods, administrative tasks, and duties before or after a shift.
Your employer may not require you to take paid time off or “comp time” instead of paying overtime. However, you have the right to request comp time instead of overtime in certain conditions. If you are eligible to request comp time, it must be equal to the overtime rate.
California employment law has many exceptions to these overtime rules. Certain classifications of employees are exempt from overtime protection, for example.
Regular Rate of Pay and Overtime Calculation in California
Overtime pay is calculated based on an employee’s regular rate of pay. This is the typical compensation you earn which may be based on hourly wage, commissions, and salary. It can never be lower than minimum wage.
As a general rule, the hours used to calculate your regular rate of pay do not exceed the legal maximum regular hours. This is 8 hours per day and 40 hours per week. There is an alternate method to compute overtime based on a workweek schedule of three 12-hour days or four 10-hour days, but it does not affect your regular rate of pay.
If you are paid hourly, your hourly wage is your regular rate of pay and includes shift differentials. If you are paid a salary, your regular rate of pay is calculated by multiplying your monthly pay by 12 to get an annual salary, dividing this by 52 weeks for a weekly salary, and dividing this by 40 for a regular hourly rate.
Non-discretionary bonuses must be included in the regular rate of pay to calculate overtime. This type of bonus is based on proficiency, production, hours worked, or as an incentive. Discretionary bonuses like holiday bonuses are not included.
California courts do not allow a practice called “overtime pyramiding.” This practice double counts your daily and weekly overtime hours. Your employer does not need to count any daily overtime hours toward your weekly overtime hours. The overtime trigger of 40 hours per week is only reached after you have worked 40 hours at regular time pay or 40 non-overtime hours during the workweek.
Which Employees Are Entitled to Overtime Pay in San Diego, CA?
Some employees are exempt from overtime laws.
You are not entitled to overtime if you are:
- An independent contractor
- An exempt employee under California wage and hour law
- Working under an “alternative workweek schedule”
Sometimes employers misclassify employees to escape wage and hour laws and other forms of employee protection. You may be incorrectly classified as an exempt employee or an independent contractor. If you are misclassified, you may be entitled to unpaid wages and additional penalties from your employer.
Overtime does not need to be authorized for overtime wages to be required. California employers must pay overtime at 1.5x or 2x when overtime is worked, regardless of whether it is authorized. However, violating a company policy of working overtime without authorization can result in disciplinary action from the employer.
Can I Sue My Employer for Unpaid Overtime Wages in San Diego, California?
Under San Diego employment law, you have the right to sue your employer for failing to pay overtime wages as required by law. However, a lawsuit is not necessarily required to recover the unpaid wages you are owed.
You may attempt to resolve the wage dispute informally with your employer with the help of a San Diego employment lawyer. You may also file an unpaid wage claim with the Division of Labor Standards Enforcement or the Labor Commissioner’s Office.
If you suspect your employer committed wage and hour violations against multiple employees, you may be able to join a labor class action lawsuit. Another option is a Private Attorney General Act (PAGA) claim against your employer.
Be aware that you have a limited time to file a claim for unpaid wages in California. The statute of limitations depends on the type of claim. For most wage and hour claims in California, there is a three-year statute of limitations dating from the time of the last violation. You can recover unpaid overtime going back up to three years.
What Compensation Can I Recover in a California Wage and Hour Claim?
An wage and hour claim involving unpaid wages may allow you to recover:
- The unpaid balance of the overtime wages you are owed
- Interest on the unpaid wages (up to 10% per year)
- Reasonable costs of litigation, including attorney’s fees
You may be entitled to double damages if your wage and hour violation was due to intentional underpayment rather than a good faith error.
If your employer failed to pay your overtime, there is a good chance that they failed to pay overtime wages for other employees, too. In this case, you may be entitled to file a class action lawsuit against your employer.
A PAGA claim may also be available if you experienced a workplace violation, such as unpaid overtime and your employer committed other violations. This claim allows you to recover civil penalties but not your unpaid wages. Wages claims through the Labor Commissioner or a lawsuit will still be necessary.
Schedule a Free Consultation with a San Diego Unpaid Overtime Lawyer
Has your employer failed to pay your overtime compensation? If your dispute cannot be resolved through informal processes, filing a wage claim or a wage and hour lawsuit against your employer may be necessary.
At Ferraro Vega San Diego Employment Lawyers, we will help you fight for your unpaid wages in addition to interest and attorney’s fees. We will also help you explore whether you are eligible for a class action lawsuit or PAGA claim. If your claim is successful, your employer will be required to pay your attorney’s fees.
Contact our law office today for a free consultation with a San Diego unpaid overtime lawyer to discuss the best course of action in your case.
