Wage and Hour

San Diego Wage and Hour Lawyer

California wage and hour laws dealing with pay checks, rest breaks, meal breaks minimum wage, misclassification, wrongful termination, discrimination and other areas of the law are fortunately some of the strongest in the entire country. When an employer violates these laws, there are stiff penalties that many times include liquidated damages and attorneys’ fees.

Rist Law Office has a history of fighting for employees in wage and hour cases. We have recovered millions of dollars for clients against employers who have failed to pay our clients correctly, failed to provide proper meal and rest breaks, or implemented strategies that actually result in employees working without being paid at all.

Set up a Free Consultation With a San Diego Wage and Hour Attorney

Our office offers completely free consultations to clients dealing with wage and hour problems. We will take the time to work through all of the problems a client is dealing with and to identify the best path forward for a potential client.

What Should I Bring to a Free Consultation?

When we discuss a case with a wage and hour client, we typically want to look at paystubs, employee manuals, offer letters, and any other documents that a client has in their possession so that we can evaluate a case fully. In many cases a potential client will talk to us about the case can then can email documents that we will review after the consultation. Many wage and hour cases are driven by documents and data, so having this information up front can help.

Minimum Wage Laws in California

The California Labor Code requires employees to be paid a minimum wage for all hours worked. As of January 1, 2021, the minimum wage in California is $13.00 per hour for employers with 25 or less employees and $14.00 per hour for employers with 26 or more employees.

In the City of San Diego, minimum wage is set at $13.00 per hour in 2020 and will increase to $14.00 per hour on January 1, 2021.

In many cases that we handle, we discover that employees have not been paid minimum wage due to employer requirements that essentially end up with an employee working off the clock. Lengthy security checks at the beginning or end of work have led to numerous class actions in California. Also, requirements that employees clock out at a certain time and then finish up something are another example of off the clock work that results in a violation of minimum wage law. Employers requiring employees to answer calls, text messages or emails after work are another example where California minimum wage laws are being violated.

Overtime Laws in California

All non-exempt employees must be paid overtime if they are required to work in excess of eight (8) hours in a day or forty (40) hours in a week. An employee that is required to work more than twelve (12) hours in a single day or more than eight (8) hours on any seventh day of a workweek must be paid double time, or twice the regular rate of pay. The failure to pay overtime or double time can result in damages that include payment of the outstanding wages, plus interest, attorneys’ fees, and costs.

Meal and Rest Break Laws in California

Many wage and hour lawsuits arise out of a failure of an employer to provide proper meal or rest breaks for non-exempt employees. Employees must be provided thirty (30) minute lunch breaks if they work more than five (5) hours in a day. If an employee works more than ten (10) hours in a day, they are entitled to another thirty-minute meal break.

Employers also must provide ten (10) minute rest breaks every four hours that a non-exempt employee works during the day. It is important to remember that a “break” must be uninterrupted, so an employee cannot be required to do any work such as answering phones, emails or text messages during these breaks.

San Diego Wage and Hour Lawyer

The San Diego lawyers at Rist Law Office handle wage and hour cases throughout California. We have recovered millions in damages through verdicts and settlements for our clients. We handle all employment cases on a contingency fee basis, which means there is no fee unless we win compensation for you. To set up a free, confidential consultation or to speak to a lawyer about your case today, call us at (619) 377-4660.