Local business owners are searching for experienced California wage and hour employer defense lawyer with effective, proven strategies for resolving disputes, lawsuits and PAGA actions. Ideally, the Watkins Firm will also help to reduce your company’s exposure to similar issues in the future.
Key Takeaways About a California Wage and Hour Employer Defense Lawyer:
- Plaintiffs attorneys are heavily advertising for disgruntled current and former employees who may be the key to unlocking a lucrative PAGA action or other employer-related lawsuit against your business.
- The Watkins Firm has more than 40 years of experience in wage and hour employer defense cases, and is able to resolve the vast majority of our employer defense cases through effective, leveraged negotiation. This is the fastest, least expensive way to resolve any wage and hour dispute in California.
- These cases require a thorough chronology of events and identification of important evidence and documentation, including a mastery of available damages.
The Wage and Hour Employer Defense Attorneys at the Watkins Firm
The wage and hour attorneys at the Watkins Firm have more than four decades of experience successfully defending San Diego and California employers, and we will work to resolve these disputes quickly and efficiently. Wage and hour employer defense lawsuits have risen substantially over the past few years here in San Diego, in large part to an extensive suite of new employment laws, as well as increased focus and employment audits by federal, state and local agencies. Plaintiffs attorneys are heavily advertising for disgruntled current and former employees who may be the key to unlocking a lucrative PAGA action or other lawsuit against your business.
There is a lot riding upon the impression you make upon opposing counsel, as well as the hearing officers and auditors representing federal and state agencies. Your Watkins Firm California wage and hour employer defense lawyer takes a strong position to let those agencies and opposing counsel know that you mean business, and that we are well prepared to aggressively defend allegations of wage and our violations.
Resolving Wage and Hour Litigation for San Diego and California Employers
Resolving wage and hour litigation for San Diego and California employers begins with negotiation. The Watkins Firm is able to resolve the vast majority of these cases through effective, leveraged negotiation. The key is to contact us for a free consultation the moment you learn there may be a potential employee dispute or you receive notice from the employee or an outside lawyer or law firm.
We work to establish a thorough chronology of events and identify important evidence and documentation. There are almost always timely actions you can take to reduce or remediate any potential legal or financial exposure you may face. There is a very limited amount of time available to take action before your exposure drastically and irrevocably worsens. If you even suspect an issue with an employee is developing we cannot stress enough the importance of simply making a phone call to learn about your risks, things you can do immediately to improve your position and how serious the potential risk(s) may be or not be.
We represent our clients in negotiations, mediation, arbitration and at trial. The key to wage and hour employer defense cases is to take immediate action to remediate as much as possible and resolve the matter quickly and in a cost-effective way.
Common Wage and Hour Violations
The Watkins Firm has more than 40 years of experience in California wage and hour employer defense lawyer cases, such as:
- allegations of unpaid overtime or wage theft
- employee misclassification
- failure to pay minimum wage
- failure to provide timely access to payroll records and personnel files
- payroll irregularities
- confiscation or theft of tips
- failure to accrue or allow paid sick leave
- issues with final wages
- Fair Pay Act violations
Pro-Tip: “Call us, and you describe what’s going on with a certain troubled employee. And we can tell you like skin cancer, oh, that fact scenario doesn’t really fit something that I would go ahead and fight with them or we can say, oh, this one looks bad because of the things they’re complaining about or just the general facts. I would handle it this way. And so you can turn a 20, $30,000 lawsuit situation into empowerment where you can stand your ground or maybe you make some concessions because you got some advice from your lawyer. You need to know when you got to worry about it and when you don’t.
And then in the worst case scenario, there is a lawsuit brewing or one’s even been filed, there’s a secret clock our employer clients are not even aware of. There’s a timeframe that they need to act. Think about it, when a worker thinks about suing, they go to a lawyer, right? And then you’ll see a change in the way they’re talking to you. All of a sudden they start posturing, and you’ll start receiving communications that sound like you’re getting set up. And you might be, and people in your staff will say, ‘this person’s acting different.’ Well, if you called your lawyer at the Watkins Firm, I would run a check to see if anything was filed already. Why? Because what a plaintiff’s lawyer loves to do is to file a lawsuit and not let you know until they’ve gathered evidence. But if you know that they filed, and they’re hoping you won’t be gathering evidence of your own, and they’re trying to set you up, you can be gathering evidence yourself before they even serve you. And you could be fixing things, mitigating things before their case gets going and beat them to the punch, so to speak.
So we can look it up. You think you’re getting sued? We can look it up and tell you if online, if anyone’s filed an action against you today. And even if there isn’t a lawsuit filed, there’s usually something you can do to make things better or to make potential issues go away altogether.
If you treat your workers decently and under the law, that goes a long way if it ever gets to court. This is an important point: If you think there’s something going on and we spot it, we can say, ‘okay, instead of communicating this way,’ we’ll give you some good suggestions on what to say, how to say it. We can actually ghost write your emails for you, and because we’re your lawyer, no one can ever discover that. So we can do lots of things for you to really set yourself up for the worst and hopefully head off a lawsuit. We can beat them to the punch and completely resolve things before they have a chance to get started. And guess what happens when a plaintiff’s lawyer can’t make any money on your case? (hint: it vanishes!).” – Dan Watkins, Founding Partner
Steps to an Efficient and Timely Resolution
We work with our business clients to make immediate changes to policies and procedures, employee handbooks and employment contracts. We demonstrate to federal and state agencies and opposing counsel that our clients are in full compliance with all employment and wage and hour laws, and take the initiative to offer resolutions that protect our client’s financial interests while providing a path through the process that all parties can accept.
If you are faced with wage and hour litigation in San Diego or throughout California you need attorneys with decades of experience and a proven, successful track record resolving wage and hour employer defense cases for San Diego and Southern California employers. We invite you to review our podcast, Episode 28 – Common Employer Disputes and Defenses, as well as the strong recommendations of our clients and contact the Watkins Firm or call 858-535-1511 for a complimentary consultation today.
Meet Daniel Watkins:
Daniel W. Watkins is a true people person who sincerely listens. He cares deeply about what others are going through. Dan enjoys digging into the facts and finding creative solutions to problems. He contributes his insights candidly and constructively.
Dan’s interest in people make him deeply invested in every relationship and his exuberant personality makes him a true litigator. Dan fights for his clients with a fierce and calculated commitment.
Dan has practiced in the areas of business, medical practices and healthcare business, high tech/science, real estate and employment defense law since 1987. He is a trusted litigation strategist and true trial attorney with over 50 jury and bench trials to his credit. Dan has successfully represented both large companies and individuals and achieved substantial victories in well-publicized trials throughout California and the U.S.
He is experienced in business and corporate formation and administration, as well as all forms of alternative dispute resolution, including binding arbitration and mediation.
THE ROAD TO BECOMING A BUSINESS LAWYER AND LITIGATOR
Dan has almost 40 years of experience working with, for and against some of the largest insurance companies in the country. He has successfully tried and litigated cases in the areas of Healthcare Compliance, Commercial Litigation, Unfair Business Practices, Fraud, Breach of Contract, Battery, Premises Liability, Product Defect, Medical Malpractice, Discrimination, Sexual Harassment, Construction Defect, as well as Unfair Competition, Defamation, and Trade Secrets.
In December 2003, Dan commenced litigation against Health South Surgery Centers-West, Inc and its’ subsidiaries, exposing the company’s extensive mismanagement and misconduct of its’ surgery centers. Dan has also been asked by some of California’s largest municipalities and corporations to conduct legally required investigations into matters involving alleged employment discrimination and harassment.
