If you happen to live and work in California, congratulations you work in one of the states with some of the toughest wage and hour laws in the country, which is a good thing if you’re an employee.
Nationwide, the states look to federal law to set the standard for wage and hour laws, however, California has decided to go above and beyond that standard, and thank goodness it has considering the size of the state’s population. California employees need strict laws in place to protect them.
Since California must adhere to two sets of regulations (state and federal), it can make it difficult to obtain compliance from California employers. There are employers who do their best to comply with the laws set in place, but not all employers have honorable intentions.
Some employers simply don’t understand the laws, let alone how to enforce them, while others exploit their employees’ lack of understanding so they can violate them, and hopefully get away with it.
These are the Laws That Count
If you have a wage and hours dispute, you need to know which laws protect you. Below, are the sources for the applicable state and federal wage and hour laws. A Los Angeles employment attorney from our firm can explain how they interrelate and which ones prevail in your case:
- California Labor Code,
- Federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), and
- The wage orders established by the Industrial Welfare Commission.
Filing a Wage Claim
Are you an employee or former employee who has not been paid all the money that is owed to you? Or, has your employer issued you a check with insufficient funds? Has your employer promised to send you your final paycheck, but you never received it?
These are just a few reasons to file a wage claim, and if you have been wronged by your employer, it’s time to make things right. The first step is to contact Alan Burton Newman, PLC to speak with our Harvard attorney for free.
Call (310) 986-2792 today for a FREE consultation.