Selma Wage and Hour Claims Defense Attorney

Wage and hour claims are among the most common forms of employment law litigation. If you are an employer facing this type of claim from a worker, speak with a Selma wage and hour claims defense attorney sooner rather than later.

California labor law grants employees many protections, including against discrimination and harassment, among other rights regarding mandatory breaks, scheduling time, minimum wage, compensation for overtime, and more. While workers are entitled to these safeguards, employers are not always made fully aware of the extent of their obligations despite their compliance being legally enforceable.

At Fishman, Larsen & Callister, our professional team of defense attorneys have represented employers and company owners against class action lawsuits, labor code Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA) filings, and other employment law cases. Consulting with us will ensure you receive smart, experienced legal advice.

The state labor code states that non-exempt employers are required to provide their employees with the state minimum wage, which is $16 per hour worked, to be paid at a regulated frequency. However, some cities and counties in the state have higher minimum rates. Employers are required to designate specific paydays ahead of time. Applicable employees must be paid all earned wages at least twice a month on regular paydays that were designated in advance.

Additionally, the payment of wages is to be in the form of cash or checks that can be cashed in full and without any fees at an established location within the state; direct deposit is allowed only if the employee voluntarily authorizes it, chooses the financial institution, and that institution has a branch in the state. Employers must supply workers with an accurate, itemized written pay statement each time that wages are paid.

The paycheck/stub must contain gross and net wages earned, total amount of worked hours, all deductions, inclusive dates of the pay period, any overtime pay from a previous pay period expressed as a correction and with inclusive dates of the pay period when overtime was earned, the employee’s name and last four digits of their Social Security number or employee ID number, and the employer’s name and address.

Non-exempt employees must be provided with a paid 10-minute rest period for each four-hour working period. These breaks should be given as close to the midway point of the work period as possible, and employees are entitled to one hour of pay for each workday when their rest break is not given.

Employers are required to provide workers who work more than five hours in a workday with a meal period lasting no less than 30 minutes, and employees who work more than 10 hours in a single workday must be given two meal breaks total, each one lasting 30 minutes at minimum. Workers are entitled to one hour of pay for each shift that a meal period is not provided.

Employees are entitled to overtime pay for all hours worked beyond 40 hours in a workweek or exceeding eight (up to 12) hours in a workday; for employees who work a seventh consecutive workday in one workweek, their employer must also provide them overtime pay for the first eight hours on that workday.

Overtime, in these instances, constitutes pay that is one and a half times the worker’s regular rate. For all hours of work that surpass 12 hours in a single workday or beyond the first eight hours on the seventh consecutive workday in a workweek, the employer must pay the worker double their regular rate. Overtime must be provided by the next designated payday in the payroll period that follows the payroll period in which overtime wages were earned.

Reporting time pay, also referred to as show-up pay, is a state law that comes into play when an employee reports to work but either is not put to work or is not given sufficient assignments/tasks to complete (less than half their usual or scheduled day’s work). If, after either of these circumstances, an employer sends the worker home, they are legally entitled to reporting time pay.

Employers are required to pay workers who reported to work but had minimal to no work to do with wages for at least half of their scheduled shift, between a minimum of two hours pay and not exceeding a maximum of four hours pay. Employees who are called to show up to work for a second time in one workday but are provided with less than two hours’ worth of work during the second shift are entitled to payment of two hours’ worth of wages.

Show-up pay does not count toward nor affect overtime pay. Reporting time is not worker compensation but rather meant to protect workers from erratic job schedules as well as penalize employers for having employees show up to work and not be compensated for it, not taking the correct steps to efficiently staff their business, and place the burdening costs of shortened shifts onto the company owner rather than the workers who rely and are counting on their full wages.

There are scenarios where an employer may send a worker home, but it does not meet the criteria for the employee to receive reporting time pay. For example, if the business is unable to open or has to close early because of a threat to the business’ property and/or the workers themselves, the employer is not required to provide reporting time payments.

Additionally, if a civil entity has recommended businesses not to open or not to remain open, if there’s a public utilities problem (e.g., electricity, water, gas, or sewer system issues), or if there’s an unforeseen catastrophe that is beyond the employer’s control, no workers who were sent home are entitled to reporting time pay. If a worker leaves of their own accord for personal reasons before the halfway point of their shift, the employer does not need to pay for reporting time.

If an employer or business owner in Selma, or anywhere in California, fails to uphold or fulfill any of the obligations listed above, it is possible that an employee may file a wage and hour claim against them. It is a worker’s right; they are legally entitled to file a claim against their employer, but this leaves employers often falsely or inaccurately accused, whether motivated by malice or the claim coming from a place of misunderstanding. Frequently seen wage and hour claims employees bring against their employers include accusations of:

• Failing to use the regular rate of pay instead of the hourly rate of pay when calculating earned overtime wages.
• Giving incorrect and/or incomplete itemized wage statements (paychecks, pay stubs).
• Conducting unpaid off-the-clock work, which is a violation of state labor laws concerning overtime pay.
• Failing to reimburse the employee for work expenses.
• Underpaying wages or failing to provide minimum wage pay.
• Inaccurately classifying a worker as an exempt employee or independent contractor, depriving them of paid overtime, mandatory breaks, and other protected rights.
• Infringing upon an employment contract, such as terms expressing that workers will be provided hazard pay, but no hazard pay has been distributed.
• Being punished or professional retaliatory action for filing a wage and hour claim.
• Failing to provide employees with required meal or rest periods or asking them to continue working through their break time without appropriately compensating them.

Hiring an experienced and qualified employment law attorney, especially one who’s familiar with representing employers in wage and hour claims specifically, is an invaluable resource to have. Wage and hour claim cases are prone to take a long time to settle, litigation often dragging out for lengthy periods of time and costing the business owner a lot in expenses. With a capable wage and hour lawyer, the proceedings are likely to be streamlined and potentially end early on.

Because claims tend to take a long time to resolve — at least a year for standard wage and hour cases — the employer’s business overall is at risk of losing profits and suffering damages, particularly to the company’s reputation and integrity.

An attorney can also assist the accused business owner with managing the claim case, as keeping track of evidence, deadlines, and court dates can already be difficult to handle effectively, let alone when you’re someone who runs their own company day to day. In addition to helping an employer with their claim litigation so they can operate their business, employment lawyers can also review the company’s current policies and employee contracts.

While any company can face employee claims of labor code violations or other misconduct, such as discrimination and harassment, there are some approaches that assist in preventing your business from enduring excessive litigation. One way to lessen the likelihood of claim filings is by submitting your employee contracts and other company rules and regulations to review by a legal professional, namely a lawyer trained in employment law and labor codes.

By auditing a business’ written procedures, an attorney can include clarifications, safeguard policies, and precautions that will prevent future litigation from occurring as often. One helpful method is to make sure your business’ manner of time-keeping is accurate, appropriate, and ideally logged into a computer-based software system. Records should be maintained for at least four years; this ensures accessible evidence and minimizes incorrect pay stub issues.

Other prudent approaches include crafting an accurate and up-to-date employee handbook to help deter potential issues that may result in a claim filing and developing strong documentation practices. Documentation isn’t just important if you need detailed evidence, but it’s generally a good business practice and helps employers with daily operations, inventory, employment records and more.

It is certainly not as common for a worker to file a claim against their employer, but there are some instances where a business owner may elect to take legal action against an employee. For example, an employer may file against their employee for violating a term specified within their employment contract, such as non-compete clauses, non-solicitation agreements, no-raid provisions, breaching a fiduciary duty, and stealing trade secrets.

Another applicable scenario would be if a business owner suspects or finds a worker guilty of embezzlement or employee theft. Additionally, if an employee were to defame the owner and/or the business, conduct acts of negligence, or fail to give reasonable notice of their resignation, the employer would be well within their right to take legal action against them.

There may be several viable defenses an employer and their legal team may have against a wage and hour or other employment law claim. One straightforward defense strategy is to prove through supporting evidence that the employer acted in good faith, known as the good faith defense, such as when a disgruntled worker accuses them of willfully not providing proper wages. The goal is to prove that the business owner was not intentionally breaking any laws.

Another simple defense is for the defendant to argue that the worker’s claim has exceeded the statute of limitations for wage and hour claims in California, which is three years. Any employees who try to file a claim once the statute of limitations has passed can be barred and legally rejected, no matter the circumstances or available evidence.

At Fishman, Larsen & Callister, our qualified and experienced legal team is passionate about representing clients with small- and medium-sized businesses. Our employment attorneys are ready to support and litigate for the company owners as they exercise their rights to defend themselves against claims of misconduct and work violations. Schedule a meeting with us to learn your options and begin building an effective litigation defense.