Santa Rosa, CA asked in Employment Law for California

Q: can I sue my boss for not paying me the correct amount of money?

I am working a 9 and a half hour shift in retail and my boss said that he's going to take the extra hour and a half and put it on another day. Is he doing this so he doesn't have to pay me overtime? is there anything I can do?

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2 Lawyer Answers
Domingo R. Castillo
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Answered
  • Indio, CA
  • Licensed in California

A: The labor laws require that you get paid time your regular hourly rate plus half whenever working over 8 hours. I suggest you speak to your boss and email this to him so it is documented. If he does it anyway, call the Calif Labor Board to file a complaint against him. You may also contact an Labor-Employment Law Attorney for further question in your area.

Nancy J. Wallace
Nancy J. Wallace
Answered
  • Grand Terrace, CA
  • Licensed in California

A: No, the employer is not acting within the law. One remedy is a WAGE CLAIM filed at www.dir.ca.gov and clicking on Labor. Trouble is, when you take the employer to the Labor Commissioner and win, and get the employer to pay the overtime, that employer is going to be upset. You print out the rules for overtime from www.dir.ca.gov and let him know in a friendly fashion that if the Labor Board gets any proof that he is putting overtime on the following day's work time, he could be seriously fined. I wish there was a way to stop a boss from retaliating against a worker making a wage claim...but 99% of the time, the employer is able to prove the poor worker got in late or didn't follow every rule and they let the worker go for 'good cause' and we cannot prove the termination was in retaliation for filing the Wage Claim. SO: before the you file the WAGE CLAIM with the state Labor Board, make certain you can get to work on time and follow every little rule on this job.

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