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If your employer leaves overtime unpaid, changes your time records, or claims your salary covers every hour, a San Bernardino employment lawyer can help you determine what you are owed. Call (949) 379-6250 or contact us online for a free consultation with a San Bernardino unpaid overtime lawyer.
Choosing an unpaid overtime attorney in San Bernardino means trusting someone to challenge the company responsible for your income. Aegis Law Firm offers:
Most employees covered by California overtime rules earn premium pay when their hours exceed daily or weekly limits. These employees are called nonexempt, and your employer must apply the rules even if you agree to work extra hours at your usual rate. The general requirements under California Labor Code section 510 include.
The law requires at least “one and one-half times the regular rate of pay” for qualifying overtime. Daily overtime can apply even when your weekly total stays below forty hours. Special rules may cover valid alternative workweek schedules, certain union agreements, and particular occupations.
A Daily Overtime Example
Suppose your regular rate is $24 and you work ten hours in one workday under the ordinary rules. You would earn $192 for the first eight hours and $72 for the remaining two, totaling $264. Paying $240 for all ten hours leaves $24 unpaid.
Your workday can begin at any fixed hour, which may affect overtime calculations for overnight work shifts.
Unpaid overtime can simply be a result of instructions from your boss that sound routine. An employer may tell you to finish closing duties after clocking out or record only your scheduled hours when customer demand keeps you late. Other ways include:
An overtime approval policy also cannot erase wages for work the employer knew or should have known you performed. The company may enforce legitimate scheduling rules, but it still owes compensation for work it permitted.
Your Overtime Rate May Be Too Low
Overtime calculations may need to include shift differentials, commissions, and nondiscretionary bonuses, such as promised production incentives. If payroll multiplies only your base hourly wage, you could receive an overtime line on every paycheck and still be underpaid. A wage and hour attorney can examine the compensation formula and calculate the difference.
Being called a manager or receiving a salary does not automatically remove overtime rights. Employers sometimes classify employees as salaried so they are exempt, but your employer must show that your actual work meets the requirements. For common executive, administrative, and professional exemptions, Labor Code section 515 requires you to be “primarily engaged in the duties” that qualify. This generally means spending more than half your working time performing those duties. You must also regularly exercise discretion and independent judgment and meet the required salary threshold.
For example, if your employer calls you a manager but you spend most of your time stocking shelves or serving customers, you may still qualify for overtime. An attorney can compare your daily tasks, decision-making authority, and salary with the exemption’s requirements. Workers labeled independent contractors may also have overtime rights if California law treats them as employees.
If your timecard leaves out hours you worked, other records may help show when you started, what you did, and when you finished. Gather materials you lawfully possess, such as:
Describe tasks you regularly completed outside your recorded hours. For example, if your manager required you to clock out before cleaning and closing, explain what those duties involved and how long they usually took. Coworkers who worked alongside you may be able to help confirm your account.
An attorney can obtain company records and compare them with your statements. Register activity, computer logins, or delivery records may show that you continued working after your timecard says you stopped. If someone changed your recorded hours, the timekeeping system’s editing history may identify who made the change and what the original entry showed.
You can pursue an unpaid overtime claim while remaining employed. California protects qualifying oral and written wage complaints under Labor Code section 98.6. If you lose hours or are retaliated against in some other way after you report unpaid overtime, save the complaint and any records you have showing what changed. Aegis Law Firm can help you determine whether you have a retaliation claim alongside the wage claim and discuss your options before you resign, accept a transfer, or sign a release.
Bring Aegis Law Firm the records you have and an explanation of your schedule. Our San Bernardino unpaid overtime attorneys can review your circumstances and help you decide a way forward. Call (949) 379-6250 or request your free consultation online.