How can an employer prevent an unpaid overtime dispute in California?  Recent modifications have brought a rapid change in employer related laws and regulations in federal, state and local statutes.  How does a California employer know when they are required by law to pay overtime?  More importantly, how can an employer reduce or eliminate their risk for an unpaid overtime dispute or lawsuit?  If someone is salaried are they automatically exempt from overtime?  How can a business owner stay current with developments in California laws, eliminate litigation and run a business?

California and San Diego employers value the more than 40 years of proven experience of the  employer defense and business attorneys at the Watkins Firm, as well as the trustworthy insight and business counsel we provide to our clients.  It is our responsibility to stay remain current and compliant with overtime laws here in San Diego and across California, as well as all wage and hour regulations and advise our clients accordingly.  We develop specific policies and procedures and training to help employers and their management team to close loopholes in the practices of the company, and reduce or eliminate exposure to wage and hour disputes including unpaid overtime claims.

For example, California law requires any nonexempt employee over the age of 18 (or 16 and 17 year olds who are not required by law to attend school) to be paid overtime (time and a half) for every hour that exceeds 8 hours in a single work day, or 40 hours in a single work week.  This law does not apply, however, to those workers who have a “validly adopted alternative work schedule.”  In the case of an alternative work schedule (such as four 10 hour days), the worker will receive time and half overtime when they work more than 10 hours and less than 12 hours.  If they work more than 12 hours they must receive double their regular rate of pay.

Another way an employer can prevent an unpaid overtime dispute in California is to properly classify a worker as “exempt.”  There are specific limitations under California employment law as to which workers may qualify as exempt.  This is why it is important to consult with the “lawyers for employers” at the Watkins Firm.  We can guide you on the legal steps required to identify an exempt employee and avoid disputes regarding overtime in the future.

Employers are required to take a much more aggressive stand against overtime in this litigious climate.  Wage and hour lawsuits and PAGA actions against California employers have skyrocketed in recent years, and unpaid overtime is a target for most of them.  It is possible to remain current and compliant with overtime laws in California while placing enforceable restrictions on when and how overtime work is required, performed, documented and paid.

Pro-Tip: “There’s always some lawyer looking at a paycheck and trying to figure out whether it came on time, whether the deductions were correct, whether exempt employees are misclassified, if everything was stated clearly and not in a vague manner, whether the size of the type print is correct, whether anything they can think of is wrong. And sometimes they just send out a letter and it won’t even be factually right (or legal), but they’ll just want to blackmail somebody. We’ve seen situations where plaintiffs attorneys have sent out a frivolous claim to try to catch our clients off guard.

Wage and hour disputes involve everything you can imagine when it comes to how you pay someone, when you pay someone, when you let someone go, even sick leave. Unpaid overtime is a type of wage and hour dispute.  In most cases, it’s simply a matter of keeping our clients up to speed on the ever-changing environment for California employers.  I mean, we did two entire podcasts (episodes 41 and 42) on updates for California employers for 2024!

How does an employer prevent these things?  Work with us. We know, we do this all the time. It’s not easy. It’s delicate, but we counsel people around this exact type of employee every month, and it happens in every workplace. There’s always somebody working the system. They’re probably out working two jobs, who knows? It’s very trendy right now.

Have you properly classified your employees?  Are you paying the right wage for each hour worked? We can help to establish your classifications or review what you presently have in place.

What if they’re being coached by a plaintiff’s lawyer? So how you handle it and how you communicate with workers before it even gets to a lawsuit phase is important. We can write your communications to an individual employee. It doesn’t mean we only draft agreements for everybody. We’ll draft stuff for you for one employee just to get you through this problem so that it would be very difficult for them, even though they’re trying to set you up to get one of these bounty hunter lawyers to take their case.

Because sometimes these bounty hunter lawyers, they coach their potential clients into setting you up. So if they’re being coached, you should be coached too and shut them down.” – Dan Watkins, Founding Partner

How can an employer prevent an unpaid overtime dispute in California? You can prevent employees from coming after you (even after they’ve left) for unpaid overtime and other wage and hour disputes by implementing the policies, procedures, contracts and documentation necessary to comply with overtime laws in San Diego and throughout California. We invite you to review our podcast Episode 39 – What Keeps California Employers Up at Night as well as the strong recommendations of our clients and contact the Watkins Firm or call 858-535-1511 for a complimentary consultation today.1.