Wage Claims

Employee Rights - Wage & Hour Issues

Both large and small employers often take advantage of their workers by violating their employment rights concerning how they are paid. Employees may not realize that federal, state and in some cases, local laws protect them by requiring employers to pay Minimum Wages and Overtime and provide Meal and Rest periods. These laws also provide employees other rights concerning how their paychecks are calculated.

Hersh & Hersh represents employees whose rights have been violated and seeks compensation on their behalf. If you or your co-workers believe you may have been injured by your employer you can speak confidentially with an attorney with the expertise to advise you on your rights and evaluate whether your employer has failed to comply with the rules and regulations that protect you. Please contact Hersh & Hersh at 800-441-5544 for a free consultation with an attorney.

Minimum Wage/Overtime

The Federal Minimum Wage is $5.85 an hour, but the State of California's Minimum Wage is $8.00 an hour. Cities may impose their own minimums as well, such as San Francisco's $9.36 Minimum Wage. Often employers ignore employees right to over time pay or ask that they work "off the clock". All employees, including undocumented workers, are entitled a Minimum Wage and generally to overtime when they work more than 8 hours a day or 40 hours a week.

The rules on how much or for how long a person can be asked to work and the minimum wage requirements are intended to protect you. If you believe your employer is not paying the correct amount of wages or following the rules on the hours you can be required to work to keep your job, please call our offices at 800-441-5544 to consult with an attorney.

Meal & Rest Breaks

Generally, employees are entitled to meal and rest breaks. If an employer is not providing breaks, the employee is entitled to penalties and the employer is prohibited by law from retaliating against employees that assert their rights.

If you are not receiving the meal and rest breaks that the law provides, Hersh & Hersh has the expertise to help you not only understand your rights, but to help you secure them. Your employer cannot penalize or terminate you for taking steps to secure your rights.

Management Status/Exempt

Some employers try to avoid paying employees their appropriate wages by claiming that an employee is supervising himself or herself!

This is not permissible and the employer can be stopped from continuing this treatment of its employees. If your employer tells you that you are exempt from overtime pay or other benefits because you are "management" or in "sales" this may be an attempt by your employer to avoid appropriate pay.

There are specific requirements that must be met for you to be deemed an exempt employee and your employer cannot avoid paying you overtime by saying you hold a position you do not really hold. These requirements are for your protection.

If you are concerned that you are not being paid for overtime, call our office to talk with an attorney so that your situation can be evaluated and a determination made as to your rights to this important category of wages. You might be entitled to wages that are rightfully yours and should be paid by your employer.

From our offices in San Francisco, California, the employee rights litigation attorneys of Hersh & Hersh represent employees throughout the nation.