Goldstein, Borgen, Dardarian & Ho is one of the leading plaintiffs’ firms in the country litigating class and collective actions under federal and state wage and hour laws. We have won hundreds of millions of dollars in back pay for employees throughout the country and the state.
State and federal laws provide protection for employee wages and benefits in a number of different ways. Many employers misclassify their employees as “exempt” and unlawfully deprive them of overtime pay. Without a legal consultation, many salaried employees are unaware that they are entitled to overtime (time and a half after forty hours of work per week or, in California, after eight hours of work per day).
Employers may also fail to pay for all hours worked (including pre and post shift work, for instance), fail to provide required meal and rest breaks, or institute illegal tip pools. Employers may also fail to pay for all of an employee’s work expenses, such as work related mileage, cellphone, or marketing expenses.
Under California law, vacation pay is considered wages. Employers with “use it or lose it” vacation pay policies or vacation pay policies that require employees to work until the end of the calendar year before they have the right to take paid vacation time may be in violation of California law.