Los Angeles Wage & Hour Lawyer

You deserve compensation for every hour you worked. If your employer is refusing to pay you what you deserve, you can (and should) hold them accountable. Our Los Angeles wage and hour lawyers will fight for every cent you earned. 

Call KJT Law Group today for a free consultation: (818) 651-9688.

Wage and Hour Issues Our Team Covers

KJT Law Group can assist with all types of wage and hour disputes, including: 

• Failure to pay minimum wage
• Failure to pay overtime
• Failure to pay wages entirely
• Only paying a portion of your wages
• Failure to pay tipped employees properly 
• Failure to tip out
• Misclassifying you as an independent contractor
• Misclassifying you as exempt

We can help you, regardless of how your employer violated your right to a fair wage.

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What Can I Recover in a Wage and Hour Claim?

Our team will fight for every dollar your employer took from you. This may include:

• The time you worked instead of being allowed to take your meal or rest breaks
• The time and a half for any overtime hours you worked (1.5 times your regular hourly wage)
• Any gap between what you were paid and LA’s minimum wage
• Any gap between what you were paid and your contracted hourly wage

Wage and Hour Violation Results We’ve Obtained

Our team has dedicated our careers to fighting for California employees who have been mistreated by their employers. We are proud of that work—and of our results. Here are some of the results we’ve achieved: 

• We recovered $6.9 million for a group of people employed by a nationwide department store for unpaid wages and overtime and meal and rest breaks.
• We recovered a $1.8 million class action settlement on behalf of employees for overtime and rest and meal period claims.
• We obtained a $1.4 million class action settlement for employees for overtime and meal and rest period claims. 
• We obtained $1 million for employees who were not paid for off-the-clock work. 
• We recovered $1 million for employees of a janitorial service company who were consistently underpaid and denied meal breaks.

While we can’t guarantee results, these and other results we’ve obtained can show you how dedicated we are to getting what you deserve.

What a Wage and Hour Attorney Can Do for You

A wage and hour lawyer in LA can handle every aspect of your case for you. Facing your employer can be difficult, but we’ll manage the entire process for you. That may involve any of the following: 

• Determining whether your employer violated your right to a fair wage or overtime pay
• Establishing that you were misclassified as exempt or as an independent contractor
• Gathering evidence that establishes how your employer failed to properly pay you
• Building a strong case establishing how your employer violated your rights
• Identifying your damages
• Determining a value for your case
• Representing you during arbitration or mediation if that’s what your contract requires
• Representing you in negotiations or trial

Filing a Work and Hour Violation Claim

If your employer is refusing to pay you for your time, you have three options: 

• You can file an unpaid wage claim with a Labor Commissioner. 
• You can seek compensation through arbitration or another alternative dispute resolution.
• Our team can file a claim on your behalf, fighting for everything you deserve.  

If you choose either of the first two options, you may need to handle everything on your own. With the third option, we manage every task for you.

Can I Get Fired for Filing a Wage and Hour Claim?

It is illegal for your employer to fire you for reporting a wage and hour law violation or filing a wage and hour claim. Our team can help you recover your lost wages and hold them accountable for retaliation and wrongful termination. Your damages could differ in this case. You could be entitled to: 

• Front pay (e.g., wages you would have earned

• Back pay (e.g., work that your employer did not pay you for, wages or benefits you were denied)
• Lost benefits
• Any out-of-pocket expenses related to your firing
• Legal fees
• Injunctive relief, such as getting your job back
• Pain and suffering
• Emotional harm

If you believe your employer fired you in retaliation for filing a wage and hour violation claim, we recommend that you begin gathering any evidence you may have to support your claim.

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The Fair Labor Standards Act Protects Your Right to Receive a Fair Wage

The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) was passed to establish and protect workers’ rights to minimum wage and overtime pay. Refusing to pay you minimum wage or overtime is a FLSA violation.

It’s important to note that the minimum wage in California is more than twice the national minimum wage. The minimum wage in Los Angeles is also higher than the statewide minimum wage. 

Your employer must pay you at least the minimum wage, regardless of whether or not you receive tips. For people employed in the city of Los Angeles, this means $16.78 per hour. Employers in Los Angeles County must pay $16.90 per hour.

The “Exemption” Defense

Some employees are classified as exempt from the minimum wage and overtime under the FLSA. There are several types of exemptions, per the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division: 

Executive Exemption

For an employer to use the executive exemption, the following criteria must be met: 

• The employee must be compensated with a salary of at least $684 a week. 
• The employee’s “primary duty” must be managing the company or a subdivision of the company.
• The employee must supervise and direct the work of two or more full-time employees.
• The employee must have the authority to hire and fire employees. If they do not have this authority, their say in whether an employee should be hired, fired, or promoted must have “particular weight.”

Administrative Exemption

For an employer to use the administrative exemption, the following must be met: 

• The employee must receive a salary or fee of at least $684 per week. 
• The employee’s primary duty must be the completion of office work (or “non-manual” work) that directly affects the management or operation of the company or its clients. This primary duty includes the “exercise of discretion and independent judgment with respect to matters of significance.”

Professional Exemption

There are two types of professional exemptions. 

To use the learned professional exemption, employers must establish the following criteria:

• The employee must be salaried at at least $684 a week.
• The employee’s primary duty must be performing work that is “predominantly intellectual in character” and “requires advanced knowledge” and “consistent exercise of discretion and judgment.” 
• The advanced knowledge must be “in a field of science or learning” and must be acquired through specialized instruction. 

To use the creative professional exemption, employers must establish the following: 

• The employee must have a salary of at least $684 per week. 
• The employee’s primary duty must be doing work that requires “invention, imagination, originality, or talent” in a recognized artistic or creative field.

Computer Employee Exemption

The computer employee exemption requires employers to establish the following criteria: 

• The employee must receive a salary or fee of at least $684 per week or an hourly rate of at least $27.63.
• The employee’s job title must be computer programmer, computer systems analyst, software engineer, or an equivalent. 
• The employee’s primary duty includes: 
• Applying systems analysis techniques and procedures (e.g., working with users to determine their system’s functional specifications), or
• Designing or otherwise helping to create, test, or fix computer systems, or
• Designing or otherwise helping to create programs related to machine operating systems, or
• A combination of the above duties, so long as the combination demonstrates the same level of skills.

Outside Sales Exemption

Employers can only classify a sales employee as exempt if they meet the following: 

• The employee’s primary duty must be making sales. 
• The employee must frequently be away from the office or place of business.

Highly Compensated Employees

Employees who perform office or non-manual work, receive a salary of over $107,432 per year (must be at least $684 per week), and regularly perform at least one job duty for an executive, administrative, or professional identified above are exempt.

Blue-Collar Workers

The above exemptions only apply to “white-collar” workers.

First Responders

The above exemptions do not apply to most first responders, regardless of rank or pay. 

If you believe you were misclassified as exempt, our team can help you fight for the wages you lost. Call KJT Law Group today to learn more: (818) 651-9688.

See What Our Los Angeles Wage and Hour Attorneys Can Do for You

You deserve to receive every cent you earned. Let us help you get it. We can help exempt and non-exempt employees fight for what they deserve.

Call KJT Law Group to get started recovering the money you earned: (818) 651-9688. Our employment law attorneys can help you in English, Spanish, and Armenian.