As a non-exempt employee working in California, you must understand how the wage and hour laws of the state apply to you. The state mandates a minimum hourly rate for non-exempt workers for regular, overtime, and double-time work. You are also entitled to receive regular breaks for meals and rest during the workday. If your employer fails to provide the required wages and breaks, you can show them a record of your work hours and ask for proper compensation.
Some employers may not be aware of the law and correct the issue once you bring it to their notice. If they are deliberately trying to withhold your wages from you, it amounts to wage theft. You may need to search online for “wage and hour attorney Los Angeles” and find a competent lawyer in your area for legal consultation.
The vital basics – wage and hour issues
The vital basics that you need to know about wage and hour issues are:
Non-exempt employees receive minimum wages
Non-exempt employees work on an hourly basis and receive a state-mandated minimum hourly wage for every hour they put in for their employer. The minimum wage you can receive per hour depends on how many people your employer has worked for them. At present, employers with 25 or fewer employees have to pay them a minimum hourly wage of $14. The minimum hourly wage is $15 for employers with more than 26 employees.
The minimum hourly wage is likely to increase in the coming years. To keep up with the increase, check the rate with the California Labor Commission’s Division of Labor Standards Enforcement (DLSE) department. The lawyer you find by searching for “wage and hour attorney Los Angeles” can also inform you about the current rate.
Overtime
Overtime works mean the work you do after the standard eight hours workday or 40 hours per week. If you work for eight hours on the seventh consecutive workday in the same week, it is also overtime work. As per the law, employers must pay one and one-half times their regular wage in overtime pay.
Double-time
Double-time work is the work you do beyond the standard eight hours and overtime four hours. That is the work that exceeds 12 hours per day. The rule also applies if you work more than eight hours on the seventh consecutive day in the same week. Employers are legally required to pay twice the regular hourly wage for double-time work.
Rest breaks
In California, you are entitled to ten minutes of paid rest breaks for every four hours you work. So, in an eight-hour shift, you will have one ten-minute rest break. If your employer does not want you to take these breaks, they must pay you for an extra hour of work.
Meal breaks
As per the law, if you are a non-exempt employee, you can take a 30-minute meal break after five hours of work. If your work shift is for more than ten hours, you are entitled to a second meal break of 30 minutes. The employer must pay for an extra hour of work if they refuse to let you have these meal breaks.
Breastfeeding breaks
If you are a nursing mother, your employer is legally obliged to provide you with reasonable breaks and locations where you can safely breastfeed your baby. You can take these breaks at the same time as the existing break times. The employer does not have to pay for the breaks if you decide to take them separately. If these breaks interfere with business operations, the employer is allowed to refuse them.
Legal options for wage and hour issues
If you experience wage and hour issues, the lawyer you find by searching online for “wage and hour attorney Los Angeles” can help you to file an independent lawsuit. You can also team up with your fellow employees to file a class-action lawsuit against your employer. You may be able to recover compensation for unpaid wages, interest on pay, disallowed rest and meal breaks, and legal expenses by cash, cheque, or transfer. However, you cannot ask your employer to pay for any emotional distress you suffered while working for them.