Many California employees are covered by the federal Fair Labor Standards Act. This requires that they be paid at least the federal minimum wage and be paid an overtime wage. The overtime wage begins after an employee has worked 40 hours in a given workweek. If companies do not pay at least the prevailing minimum wage or provide overtime pay, they may have committed wage theft.
From 2010 to 2014, the state of California returned more than $1 billion in wages to workers. Employees who are covered by FLSA and don’t receive a proper wage can file a wage and hour complaint report. This report will contain the details of the violation and when it occurred. It should also have an employee’s personal data as well as the name of the company that is being reported for a violation.
The report is sent to the Wage and Hour Division of the Department of Labor, and an investigation will commence after the report is received. If the employee in question doesn’t want to file a report, one may be filed by another party on that person’s behalf. If an employee does complain about a potential wage violation, his or her identity will not be revealed. Furthermore, employers cannot retaliate against workers who call them out for not paying wages as required.
Employees who are not compensated as the law requires may have grounds to file a lawsuit. Alternatively, an overtime dispute or other issues related to compensation may be resolved through a complaint with state or federal labor authorities. An attorney may be able to assist a person who wants to report a wage violation. Having an attorney may also be worthwhile if an employee is retaliated against for filing such a claim against an employer.
