In a proper employer/employee relationship, your employer should be expected to pay you your earned wages and overtime payments on time. Moreover, your employer should be expected to provide you with proper rest periods during your shift and allow you to report expenditures made out of your pocket on the business’ behalf.
But unfortunately, not every employer is willing to play by these rules. When an employer in California fails to abide by these worker protection standards, they commit what is known as “wage theft.” Through both small and large actions, wage theft can severely impact an employee’s ability to earn their rightful pay as well as work in an environment that respects their work-based contributions.
Wage theft is more common than you might think in California. In fact, you may have already been a victim of wage theft without ever noticing it. That kind of injustice need not stand. Under California law, you are protected from wage theft through special legislation. In addition, victims of wage theft in California have the right to bring legal action against their employer with the support of skilled workers’ rights litigators.
Whatever path you choose, it is important that you fully understand wage theft and the California laws associated with it. Read on to learn more about this pernicious practice and the effects it can have on a worker like you:
What is Wage Theft?
In essence, “wage theft” can be described as the willful denial of wages (or any form of earned payment) or employee benefits that are owed to an employee overtime. Wage theft can take on many forms, including the failure the pay overtime wages and the misclassification of employees. Forcing an employee to work “off the clock” also constitutes wage theft in one of its most pervasive forms.
