Wage Dispute Attorney in Bakersfield

If you believe your Bakersfield employer owes you wages that you have a right to be paid, contact our top-rated wage dispute attorneys for more information. Our Bakersfield employment attorneys have been helping employees who have been taken advantage of by their employers for the last several decades. We understand how devastating it could be to not get wages that you are old and have worked your hard and long hours for. However, there are still employers in Bakersfield that do not provide their employees with the proper wages. 

Our top-rated employment attorneys help those employees recover any wages they are owed and deserve under the California labor code. The California labor code, along with the Fair Labor Standards Act, could hold your employer responsible for violating any wage they are owed.

Unfortunately, thousands of employees in Bakersfield go through a wage dispute with their employer at any given point. Usually, employers violate several different wage requirements, including:

• Unpaid overtime: employees should be paid overtime when they work more than 40 hours a week or more than 8 hours a day. If an employee works over that time period they could recover compensation from their employer. The compensation is time and a half. Employers sometimes do not pay their employees overtime, or may only pay their employees standard hourly wages rather than time and a half.
• Paying less than minimum wage: Employers must pay their employees minimum wage. If an employer pays their employee less than minimum wage, they could be held responsible for violating a wage law.
• Late payments: An employer must pay their employee every couple weeks, or once a month depending on the employment contract. If an employer does not pay their employee on time, the employee could hold the Bakersfield employer responsible under a wage dispute.

What are the different types of employees in Bakersfield?

There are several different types of employees in Bakersfield that are categorized into three different categories. Before you file a wage dispute lawsuit, it is essential that you determine what type of employee you are. For more information and to discuss the category of employment that you fall under, give our top-rated attorneys a call to discuss. The different categories are:

• Exempt employees: Exempt employees are considered to be exempt from federal and state laws. This means that they do not qualify for any labor rights, such as overtime pay, meal breaks, minimum wages, etc.
• Non-exempt employees: Non-exempt employees are those types of employees that are non-exempt from California and federal wage laws. This means that they meet the standard of what an employee is and have the right to file a lawsuit against an employer for any non-paid wages. Usually, non-exempt employees are considered hourly employees.
• Independent contractors: Independent contractors are those that are not considered an employee. Instead, an independent contractor receives a payment from the employer but controls their own type of work. For example, they control their own hours, what they work with, and where they work from. Usually, independent contractors and employers have a different setup of payment than a standard employer and employee payment.

Unfortunately, one of the most common wage disputes is a misclassification of a Bakersfield employee. For example, an employer may classify an employee as an independent contractor or an exempt employee rather than a non-exempt employee. They may do this because they will try to save on any overtime wages that they may have to pay their attorney. For more information, contact our Bakersfield employment attorneys.

Family and Medical Leave Act

The Family and Medical Leave Act is a California labor law that allows employees to take time off work to care for their family members or for their children. One of the most common examples is when a pregnant woman takes time off work for childbirth. An employer must not deny an employee family and medical leave. When they do, they could be held responsible for a wage dispute.

When the employee returns from family and medical leave, an employer must place the employee back in the same position, and pay the same benefits and pay.

Meal And Rest Breaks

Bakersfield, California follows California law when it comes to meal and rest breaks. California law states that employers must provide non-exempt employees 30-minute meal break for every 5 hours that they have worked. This 30-minute break must occur no later than the 5th work hour. If an employer denies the employee their rest and meal break, they could be held responsible for wage disputes.

How much do our wage dispute Bakersfield attorneys cost?

Our Bakersfield wage dispute attorneys offer contingency fees for our clients. Contingency fees are a great way for our clients to hire our attorneys without having to worry about the compensation that they owe our attorneys. We will pay all the upfront costs associated with your wage dispute claim in Bakersfield, and you only pay our attorney’s fees when we win compensation for you. Usually, wage disputes end up being settled because an employer who is being sued does not want to go to trial. Trials could be very costly, and employers are taking chances when going to trial since the jury could award them more.

Call us today to see how you can get a settlement amount that compensates you for the wages that you are owed.

What can our Bakersfield wage dispute attorneys do?

• If you have been mistreated by your employer, then you should hire a highly-rated Bakersfield employment attorney to hold the employer responsible for any wage disputes that you may have.
• Our experienced attorneys will investigate the circumstances of your wage dispute to see what steps we should take to make sure that you get top-rated legal representation.
• Our Bakersfield attorneys will investigate the circumstances of your wage dispute. Usually, when it comes to wage disputes, an employer may deny the wages that an employee is owed. In that case, it takes a highly-rated attorney to look into the circumstances and determine how the wage dispute came about, and how much the employees owed. 
• Our Bakersfield lawyers have decades of experience holding employers accountable for the compensation that the employees are owed. 

Could my employer retaliate against me for asking for my wages?

If your employer has retaliated against you for speaking up and reporting a wage dispute that you may have with your employer, you may be able to file a workplace retaliation claim against them. California law states that an employee cannot be retaliated against, such as reduced hours, termination from work, or transferring assignments simply because the employee spoke up and noticed that there were payments withheld. 

If you suspect that your employer owes you overtime, contact our Bakersfield overtime lawyers for more information on how we could recover those overtime wages that you are owed. There are different types of compensation that you could receive,  and to look into your circumstance further, we recommend that you speak to our highly-rated Bakersfield attorneys for more information.