Wage & Hour Violations Attorneys

California has some of the strongest overtime protections in the country. Under the California Labor Code and applicable IWC Wage Orders, non-exempt employees earn 1.5x their regular rate for hours worked beyond 8 in a day or 40 in a week, and 2x their regular rate for hours beyond 12 in a day or beyond 8 on the seventh consecutive day of work. New York follows the federal FLSA standard: overtime at 1.5x kicks in after 40 hours per week, with no daily overtime threshold. However, New York has specific overtime protections for residential employees (who earn 1.5x after 44 hours). In both states, misclassification as 'exempt' is one of the most common ways employers illegally avoid paying overtime.

California uses the ABC test under AB 5, which presumes you are an employee unless the hiring entity proves: (A) you are free from control and direction in performing the work; (B) you perform work outside the usual course of the hiring entity's business; and (C) you are engaged in an independently established trade or business of the same nature. This is one of the strictest tests in the nation, and many gig workers, freelancers, and subcontractors are actually employees under this standard. New York uses a similar but slightly different multi-factor test that examines the degree of control the employer exercises over your work. Misclassification deprives you of overtime pay, meal and rest breaks, workers' compensation, unemployment insurance, and employer-provided benefits.

Penalties are substantial in both states. In California, employers owe waiting time penalties of up to 30 days' wages for late final paychecks (Labor Code Section 203), one hour of premium pay for each missed meal or rest break (Labor Code Section 226.7), liquidated damages equal to the unpaid wages for minimum wage violations, and statutory penalties of $100 per employee per pay period under PAGA (Private Attorneys General Act). New York's Wage Theft Prevention Act imposes liquidated damages equal to 100% of the unpaid wages, plus interest, attorneys' fees, and civil penalties. Willful violators in New York face potential criminal prosecution. Class actions and PAGA representative actions can multiply these damages across an entire workforce.

Yes. Your right to minimum wage and overtime does not depend on how you were paid or whether your employer kept proper records. Under both the FLSA and California law, the burden of proving hours worked shifts to the employer when it fails to maintain accurate time records. You can use your own records, text messages, calendars, testimony from coworkers, bank deposit records, or any other evidence to establish the hours you worked. Undocumented workers have the same wage-and-hour rights as any other worker under California and New York law — immigration status is irrelevant and cannot be used against you in a wage claim.

In California, you can recover unpaid wages going back three years under the Labor Code, or four years if you add an unfair competition claim under Business and Professions Code Section 17200. Waiting time penalties and meal/rest break premiums have a three-year lookback period. In New York, the NYLL allows recovery of six years of unpaid wages — one of the longest lookback periods in the country. Under the federal FLSA, the lookback is two years for non-willful violations and three years for willful violations. Because each state has different rules, an attorney can determine which combination of federal, state, and local claims maximizes your total recovery.