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Wage and Hour Lawyer in Los Angeles
"Putting an employee on salary, or giving an employee a management title, doesn't necessarily mean that
he or she is not entitled to overtime pay."
--- James W. Johnston, Esq.
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California law requires all employers to provide proper compensation to
their employees, and to provide meal and rest breaks. If an employer violates
any of these obligations, it has
committed what is generally referred to as a "wage and hour"
violation. The Johnston law firm represents employees in a variety
of wage and hour matters, including overtime pay violations and meal
break / lunch break and rest period
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Meal Breaks / Lunch Breaks / Rest Breaks
All non-exempt employees in California are entitled to a 10 minute rest
break for every four hours worked. Furthermore, non-exempt employees must
be given a lunch break of at least 30 minutes for any work period of more than 5
hours during a workday. During a rest or lunch break, the employee must be
relieved of all job duties. With certain exceptions, an employee is
generally considered non-exempt unless he or she is in a management,
administrative or professional position. It also is important to note that
the determination of whether or not an employee is exempt or non-exempt is based
on his or her duties, not on how the employee is paid. Therefore, even
salaried employees can be non-exempt. Also, job titles are irrelevant to
determining if an employee is exempt or non-exempt. For example, just
because an employee has been designated as a "manager," doesn't
necessarily meant that that employee is exempt. Again, it is the actual
job duties that are important.
Overtime Claims
In California, overtime compensation must be paid to to non-exempt employees who
work more than 8 hours during any workday, or more than 40 hours during any
workweek. California law further provides that for all hours worked in
excess of eight hours, up to and including 12 hours during a single workday, or
for the first eight hours worked on the seventh consecutive day of work, the
employee shall be paid 1 1/2 times his or her regular rate of pay.
For any time he or she works in excess of 12 hours during a single workday, or
for any time worked in excess of 8 hours on the seventh consecutive day of work
during a workweek, an employee must be paid double their regular rate of
pay. For more detailed information on this subject, see our overtime
pay page.
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Want to Find Out Right Away if You Have a Valid
Meal Break or Rest Break Claim?
Click
Here
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Penalties for Failure
to Provide Meal Breaks or Rest Breaks
Failure to provide a meal or rest break can subject an employer to
penalties equaling one hour of pay for each workday that a meal or rest
break was not provided. If you believe that you were wrongfully
deprived of meal or rest breaks, please click
here to contact us about your claim. |
Retaliation
If an
employee is terminated in retaliation for demanding meal or rest breaks to which he or she is legally entitled, that employee may have a
right to sue the employer for wrongful termination.
The above information is provided as a courtesy of The
Johnston Law Firm, and constitutes only a brief summary of some general
employment law, discrimination issues and related legal rights under California law.
As such
it does not constitute legal advice, and you should contact an attorney to
discuss any specific employment issue you may have. For further questions,
please contact our office on the forms provided.
333 S. Grand Avenue, 25th Floor
Los Angeles, California 90071
(213) 291-6977
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