Employment Law FAQs - Keller Grover

Meal and Rest Break

Is my employer required to allow me to take a break for meals or rest during my workday?: The state of California wage and hour laws require that any employee that works more than five hours in a workday be entitled to an unpaid meal break of at least a half hour. If an employee works more than 10 hours they are entitled to a second meal break.
Do CA wage and hour regulations require that an employee receive break time?: California wage and hours law requires that employees covered by the Industrial Welfare Commission Wage Orders must receive a rest period, which is to be taken in the middle of each work period, whenever that is feasible.
How long must the break period be?: According to California wage and hours law, breaks must be ten minutes long for each four-hour period worked, or for any period that is more than two hours long. Rest time is not required for any employee that works less than three and a half hours per day.
If my employer does not allow me to take meal breaks or rest breaks during my workday does that mean they are guilty of wage and hour violations? Is there a penalty for denying meal breaks or rest breaks?: Unless you are an exempt employee, failure to provide breaks by your employer does mean that they may be guilty of wage and hour violations. If your employer fails to provide break time as required, they must pay you one hour’s wage for every day that they fail to provide a break.
What should I do if my employer fails to allow me to take meal breaks or rest breaks?: You can file a California Labor Commissioner wage claim or you can file a lawsuit in court to recover the additional pay you are owed, which is equivalent to one hour’s pay at your regular rate of pay for every day that you were denied your break periods.

Overtime

What is overtime in California?: According to California labor laws overtime pay is compensation to non-exempt employees for any time that is worked beyond 8 hours in a single workday or more than 40 hours in a work week. Some classes of employees, like managers, may be exempt from the general overtime law mentioned above.
When do the wage and hour laws require overtime pay in California?: When an hourly employee works more than 8 hours in a day or 40 hours in a week, the employer must pay them 1½ times their hourly rate for all hours worked beyond 8 hours and up to 12 hours per workday. They must be paid double overtime pay for hours worked in excess of 12 hours per workday or more than 8 hours on the seventh successive day in a work week.
How can I prove that my California overtime pay calculation is accurate and that I actually worked the hours that I spent working overtime?: Your employer is responsible for keeping accurate records of all employee time spent performing work-related activities. Failure to maintain these records may require your employer to pay overtime based on your reasonable estimate of how many hours of overtime you worked.
Am I entitled to overtime pay in California if I didn’t get approval from my employer to work the additional hours?: California wage and hour rules entitles an employee to overtime pay if their employer knows or should reasonably know that they are working overtime, even without prior approval.
According to the rules for overtime pay in California, how long do I have to file an overtime pay claim?: California labor laws on overtime typically allow a recovery of overtime pay for up to 4 years before the filing of a wage and hour lawsuit.

Wage and Hour Issues

Do I need a California wage and hour lawyer?: If you believe that you have been denied the ability to take meal breaks, you should contact a California wage and hour lawyer to clearly define your rights and to determine whether or not you have a valid claim, so that you can seek a legal remedy such as a wage and hour lawsuit.
How long do I have to file my California wage and hour claims?: The statute of limitations allows for you to file your California wage and hour claims for your additional pay for a period of three years from the date of the meal period wage and hour violation.
What do I do if my employer mistreats me or fires me because I ask about overtime, meal breaks or rest breaks, other wage and hour issues, or file a claim about these or other wage and hour issues?: If your employer mistreats you or fires you for filing wage and hour claims, or even if you ask about not being paid for breaks, you may be able to file a complaint for wrongful termination in California or for discrimination.

Wrongful Termination

What is Wrongful Termination in California?: Los Angeles wrongful termination attorneys define wrongful termination as the firing of an employee without cause, when the employee had a written, oral or implied agreement not to be terminated without good cause. An employee may be able to sue for loss of past and future wages when wrongfully terminated. Feeling that you have been fired unfairly does not mean that it was wrong in the eyes of the law. Advice from a wrongful termination attorney can inform you of your rights.
When Can An Employee Initiate a Wrongful Termination Case?: Employees can bring wrongful termination lawsuits against their employer when they have been discharged without reason and there are ample reasons for them to believe that their employment could only end for good cause. The reasons can be the existence of an employment contract or a verbal agreement at the time of hiring. Even if an employee is what the law calls an “at-will” employee, a wrongful termination lawsuit can also be initiated when an employee has been fired in violation of the law, for example because of their race, gender or disability.
Do I need a wrongful termination lawyer?: If you believe that you have been fired without cause, in violation of your employment agreement or have been the victim of employment discrimination, you should contact a wrongful termination lawyer to clearly define your rights and to determine if your discharge was lawful or not, so that you can seek a legal remedy such as a wrongful termination lawsuit.
Does my employer have to pay the fees for my wrongful termination lawyer?: California’s anti-discrimination laws allow employees to recover reasonable attorneys’ fees if they have been the victim of unlawful harassment, discrimination or retaliation. Keller Grover will take your case on a contingency basis, which means our fees are deducted from the recovery that we win in your case.