California Wage and Hour Laws: Know Your Rights as an Employee
California employees have to follow state and federal laws to deal with their wages, benefits, and working hours. When you are working in California, you should know about the updated wage and hour laws to practice your rights. If you are ignorant of the basic labor laws, you will not be able to speak for yourself in case of violation of rights. That is why employees must be aware of their rights. This article will provide an overview of California wage and hour laws so that you can address the situation and act accordingly.
What are the provisions of California wage-hour laws?
Minimum wage laws
California employees have the basic right of getting paid a minimum salary according to state law. Current law states that the minimum wage should be $15.50 per hour for all nonexempt employees. These laws apply only to nonexempt employees who are not independent contractors in California.
Overtime laws
California state laws enunciate that employers should provide overtime pay for work done over eight hours in a day and forty hours in a week. The overtime salary should be one and a half times the regular pay. Employees should get double their regular pay if they work over 12 hours a day and over 8 hours on the seventh successive day of the work week.
Meal and rest break laws
The nonexempt employees in California are entitled to get a minimum of 30 minutes of unpaid meal breaks for consecutive five hours of work. If you work for more than 10 hours a day, you will gain the right to get two meal breaks of 30 minutes. Other than that, an employee is entitled to get a paid 10 minutes rest break for every four hours of work.
What can you do in case of wage and hour law violation?
Consult an employment attorney
If you feel that your employer is making you a victim of wage discrimination, you should talk to an expert attorney regarding the issue. The employment attorney will tell you the best approach to fight for your rights.
Go for an employment lawsuit
After consulting an employment attorney, you may file a lawsuit against your employer in court. You must be patient to fight against discrimination since the procedure may take a while. You must be present at the court hearing and complete the formal processes as your attorney suggests.
Ask for compensation
You can seek legal remedies in court against wage discrimination in your workplace. If you win the case, you will get compensation for loss of income, benefits, emotional distress, and attorney’s fee, if awarded by the court.
Final Words
California wage and hour laws are regulated properly to preserve the employee rights of the state. If you face any difficulties regarding your wage and working hours, you can talk to the supervisor of your company to resolve the issue. If you still do not see any result, you should inform a law firm about your matter. Hopefully, this article will help you in such a scenario.
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