Wage and Hour Attorney in Bakersfield

Our top-rated Bakersfield wage and hour attorneys make sure that our clients get the compensation they are entitled to. We have heard of several different circumstances that occur each year in Bakersfield where an employer fails to pay their employee the wages that they deserve. Our experienced Bakersfield lawyers understand that it could be a devastating and stressful situation to not have your wages paid out by your employer. Not only could this affect you, but your family as well.

A wage and hour attorney represents employees who have been a victim of their employer. This means that an employer has denied paying their employee or has withheld their employee. Under California and federal law, this is considered a violation of labor laws, and it could be reported by filing a claim or by filing a lawsuit.

Our Bakersfield lawyers pursue compensation against Bakersfield employers to make sure that every employee is paid out properly. The different laws that establish employee rights are the Federal Fair Labor Standards Act and the California Labor Code. Under these laws, employees have the right to stand up and fight for justice by holding their employers accountable for failing to take such measures.

Our attorneys care for our clients, and want to make sure that our clients get the top-rated care they deserve. Some cases may be complex, and we understand that it could also be very difficult to prove a wage and our dispute that you may have with your employer if there is no paper trail. We will work tirelessly to make sure that we have strong evidence that backs up our claim, and that you can get the top-rated care you deserve.

If you have experienced a wage and hour dispute, we recommend that you contact our lawyers immediately to schedule a one-on-one consultation and to review the different circumstances of the wage and hour violations. The good news is that our consultations are completely complementary and confidential, and are risk-free. This means that you can trust our attorneys when discussing what next steps you should take.

Bakersfield Minimum Wage Laws

• All California employers have a responsibility to pay their employees minimum wage. Minimum wage means that all employees after January 1, 2023, should be paid $15.50 an hour, regardless if the employer has 26 or more employees or 25 or fewer employees.
• If an employer fails to pay the minimum wages that the employee deserves, the employee could hold the employer responsible for their wage dispute.

Bakersfield Overtime Pay Laws

All non-exempt employees in California are also afforded overtime wages if they work more than 8 hours a day or more than 40 hours in a week. But, employers still find a way of going around these laws and fail to pay their employees the amount that they deserve. 

What are the different ways wage and hour disputes may start?

• A wage and hour dispute starts when an employer engages in tactics that could be considered illegal in California. For example, different circumstances may:
• Altering the employees’ timesheets. An employer may alter the employees hours to pay the employee less than their owed. Surprisingly, this is more common than you think.
• Making the employee work off-the-clock hours. An employee should only work the hours that they are hired to work. An employee cannot work overtime, in the event that they do work overtime, they should be afforded overtime pay.
• An employer cannot automatically clock employees out for meal breaks. The employees have their own right to take their own meals or rest breaks.
• An employer cannot deny an employee from taking a meal or rest break.
• An employer must pay an employee for any travel or business-related expenses if they were to go out of their workplace location

If you have been involved in any of the above circumstances with your employer, or a circumstance that is not mentioned above, we recommend that you give our attorneys a call to discuss further. Usually, many employees are not aware that they may have a wage and hour dispute against their employer. Others may be too afraid to come forward and report the dispute.

Can an employer retaliate against me?

A Bakersfield employer cannot retaliate against you for bringing up a wage and our dispute claim or lawsuit against the employer. An employee is afforded wages and should be getting those wages from their employer on time.

Wage And Hour Class Actions In Bakersfield

Sometimes, employees as a whole may experience a wage and hour dispute against their employer. In that case, you are not alone. But, a class action lawsuit could be filed against the employer on behalf of all the employees who have been wronged. Class action lawsuits are very common within wage and hour disputes by holding an employer responsible for their actions.

But, class action lawsuits are different from a standard lawsuit. Class actions have their own rules and requirements that an attorney must have to show. It is important that you have a class action lawsuit representing you that has the necessary experience. Make sure that you hire a class action lawyer who has dealt with class actions in the past.

Besides wage and hour disputes, our attorneys have also worked and represented victims of:

• Age discrimination
• Workplace discrimination
• Racial discrimination
• LGBTQ discrimination
• Disability discrimination
• Gender discrimination
• Whistleblower discrimination
• Breach of contract
• Fraud
• Sexual harassment
• Wrongful termination
• Workplace retaliation 

Each employment incident differs. That is why you should talk to our employees as soon as possible to hold the employer responsible for violations of California labor laws. You should not have to suffer through violations of a labor law. Give us a call today to discuss your specific case. You most likely have the right to file a lawsuit to earn compensation that you should be afforded. 

Which employees are afforded rights?

Only certain employees have the right to wage and our disputes. Non-exempt employees have the right to get compensated and hold their employer responsible for any wages that they should be owed. This means any overtime wages, minimum wage, rest and meal breaks, etc. should be provided to non-exempt employees. Exempt employees and independent contractors cannot hold their Bakersfield employer responsible for wage and hour violations. 

Sometimes, many employees do not even know what category they fall under. To determine exactly what type of employee you are, give our top-rated attorneys a call to discuss today. 

Can I report violations of wage and hour laws?

Under Bakersfield law, employees can report violations of wage and hour laws under the labor code. We recommend that you speak to our highly-rated employment lawyers for more information on how you could hold the parties responsible for your injuries.

Contact our wage and hour dispute attorneys in Bakersfield for more information on how we can help you. Our attorneys have several decades of combined experience to make sure that you get the top-quality legal care that you deserve. We also offer complimentary case evaluations.