WORKERS’ COMPENSATION

Moreno Valley Overtime Dispute Lawyer

With more than 30 years of experience, our accomplished attorneys are here to guide you through these difficult times and get the compensation you deserve.

Moreno Valley Overtime Dispute Attorney

If you need to pursue overtime payments you’re owed, you need evidence to prove the hours you worked. However, many employees don’t have the ability to access their timekeeping records and need help from a Moreno Valley overtime dispute lawyer to help with their claim for overtime compensation. An experienced employment attorney can help you build your case and answer any questions you may have.

How Is Overtime Calculated in Moreno Valley, California?

Overtime in California is a higher rate of pay, which is sometimes used to entice employees to work more hours than they normally do. Pursuant to federal law, employers must pay employees at the overtime rate of 150 percent of their usual hourly rate once an employee works more than eight hours in a workday or forty hours in a given workweek. Thus, employers typically oversee their employees’ schedules to make sure they don’t accrue excessive or unplanned overtime compensation.

If you’ve worked more than your usual full-time schedule, your employer is prohibited from denying overtime compensation or interfering in any other way with the supplemental pay you should have earned.

Who Is Exempt from Overtime Pay?

In California, every single employee – even a salaried worker – has a legal right to overtime pay. This is true unless they are considered an “exempt” employee. Exempt employees include:

Professionals
Executives
Attorneys
Supervisors
Managers
Administrative employees

Some employers “promote” their employees to managerial positions to avoid overtime pay. If you feel as though you’ve been inappropriately misclassified as being “exempt” from overtime pay, or if you are considered a manager but spend a lot of time each day doing the same job tasks as your employee subordinates, you may not be an exempt employee. If that’s the case, you could be owed overtime pay. An attorney can help discuss this with you during an initial consultation.

Can I Sue When I’m Not Paid for My Overtime Work?

As an employee in California, if your work aligns with overtime eligibility, you can expect your employer to honor your employee rights and provide you with fair overtime pay. Under applicable state and federal laws, if your place of work fails to pay overtime or refuses to pay what’s owed, you can consult with an overtime dispute lawyer.

Your overtime dispute lawyer can help you decide the next steps to positively resolve your overtime issues. Sometimes, formally demanding the owed overtime payments is sufficient; however, it could be necessary to work with an attorney to resolve the issue.

Some claims are filed by an individual employee against their employer and sometimes many employees owed overtime pay join into a class action claim against their employer in California.

How Do I Prove My Unpaid Overtime Wages?

To prove a claim for unpaid overtime wages, you need to have documentation demonstrating the number of hours you worked.

It’s important to keep records about your employment, including correspondence, pay stubs, and any other documents you might have that can support your claim. You may find it useful to ask your coworkers if they’ve had any issues with not being paid for their overtime work.

An attorney can help you figure out where to search for supporting documentation. They might be able to gather:

Pay stubs
Witness statements from other employees (especially if anyone else had overtime issues)
Information from your employer’s time clock

If you need to take action to protect your employee rights and obtain unpaid overtime, contact an experienced lawyer in Moreno Valley quickly so you can start building a strong claim.

FAQs

Q: What Are Liquidated Damages for Overtime Pay in Moreno Valley, California?

A: Liquidated damages are defined by the California Fair Labor Standards Act as the amount of any unpaid wages for overtime work. They are essentially double the overtime compensation owed, and they’re meant to compensate for any harm caused by the theft of wages. In addition to getting liquidated damages, you might have a right to your attorney’s fees, costs, interest, penalties, and more.

Consult with a knowledgeable attorney for further information about the damages you’re entitled to as an employee.

Q: What Are My Employee Rights for Overtime?

A: As an employee, you have rights for overtime work. Once you have satisfied the full-time work requirements, and if you then work any additional hours, by right, you must be paid for the overtime work at a rate higher than your usual full-time rate. If you work more than the forty-hour threshold in a specific week, you must be paid at the overtime rate. An attorney can discuss your options for collecting compensation for any unpaid overtime.

Q: Can I Be Fired for Refusing to Work Overtime in California?

A: Yes, you can be fired for refusing to work overtime in California. An employer sets employee work hours and may discipline employees for refusing to work an overtime period on their schedule. Disciplinary action can include termination. However, a California employer can’t discipline an employee for refusing to work on the seventh consecutive day of a workweek without a day of rest. An employee who understands they are entitled to a rest day can choose not to take it.

Q: How Long Do I Have for an Overtime Dispute?

A: The deadline, or statute of limitations, for an overtime dispute is two years. If you believe your employer owes you overtime pay, you’ll need to bring a claim within two years. This might seem like a long period of time, but the faster you begin building your claim, the better. An attorney familiar with cases like yours can ensure you meet relevant filing deadlines.

Contact an Experienced Overtime Dispute Attorney in Moreno Valley Today

An attorney can help you secure the overtime pay you’re rightfully owed and can address any questions you might have about employment law in general. If you’re a California employee ready to take action to get the overtime payments you are owed, speak with the attorneys at English Lloyd & Armenta.

With the right attorneys by your side, you can start building your claim and recover the compensation you deserve. Contact our office to schedule a free and confidential consultation right away.