Below, our California labor and employment lawyers discuss the following frequently asked questions about lawsuits for unpaid wages for California employees:
Under California law, an employer who does not pay their employees for work performed may owe the employee money for unpaid wages.
If you have further questions about wage violations after reading this article, we invite you to contact us at Shouse Law Group.
California wage and hour law provides for a minimum wage and mandatory overtime for work over a certain number of hours for non-exempt employees in California. An employer who does not pay their employees for work performed may owe the employee money for unpaid wages. 1
It is against the law for California employers to pay employees less than the minimum wage. If your employer violates California’s minimum wage laws, you can recover the money owed in a wage/hour lawsuit or a wage and hour class action lawsuit. 2
In 2024, the statewide minimum wage in California is $16.00 per hour. 3 However, many cities and counties in California have a minimum wage that is higher than the state minimum. If you work in a city or county with a higher minimum wage, your employer must pay the higher local minimum wage. 4
Under California overtime law, employers are required to pay non-exempt employees overtime pay for work over the maximum number of hours of work. 5
Non-exempt employees who do not have an alternative workweek schedule are entitled to overtime pay if they work:
Employees are entitled to minimum overtime pay at one and one-half (1 ½) times their regular hourly rate of pay.
In addition, work in excess of twelve (12) hours in a single workday, or in excess of eight (8) hours on the seventh day of a workweek is paid at double the regular hourly rate of pay. 7
Even if the employer does not require overtime work, employers may owe employees overtime pay as long as the employer permitted the employee to perform the extra work. 8
Non-exempt employees are entitled to meal breaks and rest breaks. Under California wage and hour law, employees must receive a thirty (30) minute meal break if they work more than five (5) hours in a day.
Employees who work more than ten (10) hours in a day are entitled to a second 30-minute meal period. 9
Under California labor law, rest breaks are required for non-exempt employees who work three and a half (3 ½) or more total hours in a day. Employees are entitled to a ten (10) minute rest period for each four (4) hours, or substantial fraction thereof, worked in a day. 10
If an employer does not allow employees to take meal breaks or rest breaks, the employer will owe the employee one hour’s wages for each break the employee was denied. 11
Employers in the state of California may not require employees to work “off the clock” without compensation. 12
Off-the-clock work may include:
Work done off the clock is compensated at the employee’s regular hourly wage. If off-the-clock work is performed in excess of the maximum number of work hours, the employee is eligible for overtime pay.
Also see our related articles on state laws for sick leave, wage theft and vacation pay.
Employees are generally classified as exempt or non-exempt to California wage and hour laws. Non-exempt workers include
“persons employed in professional, technical, clerical, mechanical, and similar occupations whether paid on a time, piece rate, commission, or other basis.” 13
Exempt employees may not be subject to wage and hour laws, including overtime and lunch break laws. Exempt employees may include:
“White-collar workers” may include persons employed in administrative, managerial, executive, or professional capacities. 14
In order to be an exempt white-collar worker under California employment law, employees must meet the following requirements:
Independent contractors in California may also be exempt from California wage and hour laws. In general, an independent contractor in California labor law is someone who performs services for another, under the following requirements:
However, even if a worker is hired as an independent contractor, the worker is still an employee if the parties act like they are in an employer-employee relationship. As an employee, the worker enjoys protections by California wage/hour, lunch break, and labor laws. 17
When an employer fails to follow California wage and hour laws, you may be able to recover the unpaid wages by filing a wage claim with the labor commissioner or filing a lawsuit against your employer.
In many cases, an employer may have violated California labor laws against multiple employees. Successful wage and hour class action lawsuits often involve unpaid wages for overtime or missed meal breaks or rest periods.
Sometimes it may be advisable to issue a demand for unpaid wages before taking legal action. See our sample demand letter for unpaid wages in California. 18
In most cases, the statute of limitations for California wage and hour lawsuits is three (3) years from the date of the most recent violation. 19
In a lawsuit for unpaid wages related to overtime or wages under the minimum wage, you may be able to collect:
If your employer failed to provide mandatory meal breaks or rest breaks, you may be eligible for one hour’s wages for each break you did not receive. 21
If your employer’s violation of California labor laws was not due to a good-faith error, you may be eligible for double damages (liquidated damages). 22
California workers cannot face retaliation for exercising their rights under California wage and hour laws. 23
An employer cannot take retaliatory action, including termination, against an employee for citing wage and hour violations or filing an unpaid wages lawsuit. Firing an employee for filing an unpaid wage claim is “wrongful termination”.
If an employer retaliates against an employee for bringing a wage/hour lawsuit, the employee may have an additional cause of action against the employer.
