Torrance Wage and Hour

Torrance is located in Los Angeles County, California. The city covers 21 square miles, and was incorporated in 1921. It has 1.5 miles of beaches on the Pacific Ocean. Its population is over 146,000, and the peak daytime population can exceed 250,000 due to people commuting in for work. Federal, state and local laws can govern wage and hour claims in Torrance. Wage and hour laws govern how much your employer must pay you and the hours for which you must be paid. These laws govern issues including minimum wage, overtime, meal and break rules, and child labor laws. If you believe you may have a possible wage claim against an employer, an experienced Torrance wage and hour attorney at the Calderone Law Firm can help you determine your legal options.

The primary federal wage and hour law is the Fair Labor Standards Act. While some states defer to the FLSA, California has its own wage and hour laws. Employers need to comply with both federal and state wage and hour laws, and where there is a conflict, the employer is supposed to follow the law that most benefits the employee. In 2019 in California, employers are required to pay a minimum hourly wage of $12 if they have at least 26 employees. They must pay $11 per hour if they have 25 or fewer employees. However, the minimum wage is going to be adjusted on an annual basis through 2023 according to a particular schedule until it hits $15/hour.

Nonexempt employees must be paid for all hours worked, which means all the time an employee is under an employer's control and all the time an employee is permitted to work regardless of whether working in a requirement during that time. The hours should be counted regardless of where work is performed.

Torrance employers are required to pay most nonexempt employees overtime wages when they work more than a certain number of hours in a workday or workweek, and if they fail to do so, a skilled Torrance wage and hour lawyer can help employees hold them accountable. In California, a nonexempt employee over age 18 and any minor 16- or 17-years-old who isn't required by law to go to school is not to be employed more than 8 hours in a workday or over 40 hours in a week unless overtime is paid.

Overtime is paid at one and one-half times the regular rate of pay for all hours worked over 8 hours in one day up to and including 12 hours in a workday, or over 40 hours in a work week for the first 8 hours worked in the seventh consecutive day of work in a workweek. For hours worked over 12 hours in a workday and hours worked over 8 on the seventh day, double pay is owed. Certain employees are exempted from the overtime law. There are also employees to whom overtime is paid differently.

In California, employees must be compensated for hours they are suffered or permitted to work, which means they have to be compensated for work an employer knew or should have known about. An employee can't stop the employer from knowing about unauthorized overtime, but likewise, an employer is supposed to keep accurate time records and pay for any work that it allowed to be performed and from which it benefits.

In California, nonexempt employees are supposed to get a 30-minute meal break if they work over 5 hours in one workday. If they work more than 10 hours in a day, they are entitled to a second 30-minute meal break. Rest breaks are also required for nonexempt employees, where the nonexempt employees work at least 3 1/2 hours in a day. Employees are entitled to 10 minute rest breaks for every four hours worked in a day.

In addition to employers simply failing to pay minimum wage or overtime, employees sometimes have other reasons for wage and hour litigation, and a Torrance wage and hour lawyer can help you determine into one of these additional categories. In some instances, workers are misclassified as independent contractors or exempt employees by employers that are eager to avoid paying overtime or paying for breaks, or to deprive workers of the protections that employees are due under employment discrimination laws. When an employer doesn't pay overtime or minimum wage, you can collect unpaid amounts. If you were paid less than minimum wage, and not in good faith, you may also be able to recover liquidated damages in an amount equal to the amount of the unpaid wages and interest.

In other instances, an employer may encourage off-the-clock work. Sometimes employers require employees to work during mandatory rest breaks. When an employer fails to provide requisite rest or meal breaks, it may be possible to obtain one hour's pay at your regular hourly rate for every break you didn't get.

If your employer is not following wage and hour laws in Torrance, a skillful attorney at the Calderone Law Firm may be able to provide aggressive representation. Call us at (424) 348-8290 or contact us through our online form.