A uniformed security officer working a night shift checks a tablet in front of camera monitors

Practice area

Unpaid wages and overtime

If you worked it, you should be paid for it. California has some of the strongest wage laws in the country, including daily overtime and paid break rules.

Overview

Wage theft is common and often quiet: pre-shift meetings that are not paid, security checks after clocking out, meal breaks that get interrupted, or a salaried title used to avoid overtime.

In California, overtime can be owed after eight hours in a day, not only after 40 in a week. Missed meal and rest breaks can add premium pay. Many wage laws also let a worker who wins recover attorney fees from the employer.

Usually contingency, and many wage laws require the employer to pay attorney fees if you win.

This may apply to you if

You work before or after clocking in or out
You are called 'salaried' or 'exempt' but do mostly routine work
Your meal or rest breaks are often cut short or skipped
You are paid a day rate or a flat rate with no overtime
Your final paycheck came late or was short

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One or two of these is enough to ask. Most people are not sure.

Rough overtime math

A quick way to see what unpaid overtime can add up to. This is simple arithmetic, not a claim value: real cases add or subtract for break premiums, penalties, defenses and records.

Your regular hourly rate ($)

Unpaid overtime hours in a typical week

Weeks this went on

Rough math only

Rate × 1.5 × hours × weeks

Not a claim value and not a promise. Break premiums, daily overtime, penalties, time limits and your employer's defenses can all change the real number.

How we handle it

Rebuild your hours From pay stubs, schedules, texts and your memory. Records do not need to be perfect to start.
Run the numbers Overtime, double time, break premiums and possible penalties, calculated before we recommend a path.
Pick the forum Labor Commissioner claim, a lawsuit, or a group case if coworkers were affected the same way.
Collect what is owed We negotiate and, when needed, litigate. Many wage laws shift attorney fees to the employer.

What to save

Every pay stub you can find
Schedules, time-clock screenshots and app records
Texts asking you to come in early or stay late
Your offer letter and job description
A simple notebook of your real hours from now on

Keep copies of your own records. Do not take company files you are not allowed to have.

Deadlines

Wage claims have limits that can stretch back a few years, but each pay period that passes can fall outside the window. The sooner you act, the more of your pay stays within reach.

We tell you your deadlines in writing after the free review, even if we do not take the case.

Example outcome Unpaid wages and overtime

Unpaid pre-shift briefings for a group of security officers

The situation: Officers at several sites were required to arrive early for unpaid briefings and gear checks, pushing many shifts past eight hours.
What we did: We rebuilt hours for the group from sign-in sheets and texts, then negotiated with the company's lawyers over how far back the records went.
How it ended: Settled for most of the back pay we calculated. Penalties were compromised because some early records were missing.

Partly successful

Example outcomes are illustrations written for this sample website, not real clients or cases. Every case is different. Past results do not guarantee or predict a similar result, and some cases do not succeed.

See all example outcomes

Questions people ask

My boss says I am salaried, so no overtime. Is that right?

Not necessarily. Being paid a salary is not enough to be exempt. The job duties and the pay level both matter, and many jobs are misclassified.

I am paid in cash. Can I still bring a claim?

Yes. Cash pay does not remove your rights. We help rebuild your hours from whatever records you have.

Talk to a lawyer about unpaid wages.

Tell us what happened in a few minutes. A lawyer reads every inquiry and you hear back within one business day, with your deadlines explained either way.

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