Everyone deserves to be paid fairly for the work that they do. That includes receiving overtime for working more than eight hours in a day or forty hours in a week. The overtime premium is usually 1 ½ times your regular rate of pay, but the premium can be twice your regular rate of pay; for example, when you work more than 12 hours in a day, or you work more than eight hours on the seventh straight day in a workweek.
Paying overtime is expensive for employers, so it’s not surprising that they try to avoid it. Sometimes they do so legally, by making sure employees aren’t scheduled to work long shifts or too many shifts in a week. Unfortunately, sometimes employers resort to illegal strategies to avoid paying overtime. Those strategies can include misclassifying employees in a category that is not entitled to overtime.
When an employer uses one of these tricks to avoid paying you overtime, it is called wage theft, and it is a crime. Some studies suggest that American workers lose more than $1 billion a year to employers who use a variety of tactics to steal employee wages.
While California employees are entitled to overtime pay as a general rule, the California Labor Code does offer some exemptions from that rule. For example, a top executive who oversees a large number of employees and spends most of her time making important policy decisions for the company would usually be exempt from receiving overtime. The law also has rules about specific professions. For example, doctors are generally exempt from overtime, but nurses are entitled to overtime.
Even if some of your work falls within one of these narrow categories, you are still usually entitled to overtime pay unless you spend at least 50% of your working time performing tasks that qualify for the exemption. For example, we often talk to store managers or restaurant managers who have a title that looks like they might be exempt from overtime, but these workers actually spend the majority of their time doing the same jobs as the frontline hourly employees. At The Graves Firm, we have extensive experience fighting to recover overtime for employees in this situation.
Typically, it is not just one employee who is misclassified, but an entire group. For example, a retail chain might treat all of its store managers as exempt from overtime, but impose rules that leave those managers doing hourly work just so the restaurant can operate. That multiplies the injustice. But it also increases the power of employees to push for change. The law presents multiple ways that just one employee who has been subject to an illegal practice can bring a lawsuit to address that problem for all of the California employees who have been victimized by the same employer in the same way.
If you believe you are unfairly being denied overtime, you may think that there is nothing you can do about it. In fact, your employer may be counting on you thinking that. The truth is that you have more power than you think.
California and federal labor laws exist to protect workers and uphold their rights. The laws also establish penalties for employers who violate them. For example, under California law, misclassified employees may be entitled to restitution of four years’ back pay. Unfortunately, justice doesn’t just happen. It often takes a lawsuit — teamwork between employees who have a claim and an attorney who understands how to pursue it.
Taking legal action against salary misclassification does two things: it gets fair treatment for hard-working employees, and discourages employers from taking advantage of workers going forward.
At The Graves Firm, we have decades of experience in California and federal labor law. Attorney Allen Graves spent the first years of his career at Paul Hastings, a large national law firm that represents corporate employers. During this time Graves worked exclusively defending large companies in employment lawsuits. Graves Firm attorney Chris Peterson has 13 years of experience working at large national law firms defending the country's largest employers from employment claims, experience that most employee-side attorneys lack. We believe that having attorneys who know our opponents from the inside out gives us a big advantage in fighting for your rights.
That experience shows in our results. The Graves Firm has secured over $100 million from lawsuits against California employers. We have an exceptional track record of success for our clients for several reasons. We deliberately maintain a smaller caseload than many other firms so that we can give each client and each lawsuit the proper attention. Because we are selective about the cases we take, we look for cases that can make a difference in how workers are treated. We bring cases that make strong claims, and we partner with clients who want to make a difference in the workplace.
And while almost all cases settle, we will never sacrifice an optimal settlement in favor of a quick one. We understand the value of our clients’ hard work; we are willing to work just as hard to ensure that they receive the maximum possible settlement.
If you believe that you have been misclassified as an employee, or that you are not being paid overtime to which you are entitled, it is likely that you are not the only one. If you take action, you may help others as well as yourself. It can also be difficult to know for certain if your employer is violating the law. You don’t have to figure it out on your own. We invite you to learn more about our attorneys, our services, and our track record, and to contact The Graves Firm to schedule a consultation.
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