Are you searching for experienced attorneys with a track record of effective wage and hour defense in San Diego and throughout California? Recent changes in California employment laws and increased scrutiny by federal and state labor agencies and plaintiff’s firms has resulted in a sharp increase in the number of wage and hour disputes here in San Diego, and across the State.
Key Takeaways About Effective Employer Wage and Hour Defense:
- Examples of California employer wage and hour defense cases include unpaid overtime, PAGA and other class actions, misclassification, minimum wage violations, commission disputes, piece rate disputes, and issues with termination and the final check.
- Being an employer in California is the hardest of any state in the Union. Look for an experienced lawyer who only represents employers who will help you stay up to date on all changes to federal, state and local laws, ordinances and regulations.
- Look for attorneys who will work with you as an employer to prevent disputes and lawsuits from ever developing in the first place. The best defense is a good offense.
What are Some Examples of a Wage and Hour Claim
Wage and hour disputes are obviously based in questions related to working hours and pay, including but not limited to:
- PAGA Actions
- Meal and rest breaks – missed breads and the failure to ensure employee is fully relieved of duty during breaks
- Misclassification of employees as independent contractors or exempt workers
- Unpaid overtime or failure to accurate track and report overtime or hours worked
- Minimum wage violations
- Consistent issues with payment of employees in a timely, accurate manner
- Piece rate disputes
- Commission disputes
- Issues with final checks upon termination or end of employment
- California Fair Pay Act
California is the Hardest State in Which to Be an Employer
California is far and away the hardest state in which to be an employer. The effective wage and hour defense attorneys at the Watkins Firm keep you up to date on all changes to federal, state and local laws, ordinances and regulations. We provide our clients with insight into hot issues such as the proliferation of PAGA cases and related plaintiff’s actions.
The misclassification of independent contractors has become a more common dispute issue over the past few years, accelerating the challenge of coming into compliance with questions of independent contractor vs employee by the EDD or IRS.
All San Diego employers must ensure compliance with San Diego’s minimum wage of $16.30/hour (2023) as well as rest and meal breaks. Disputes may develop regarding questions of unpaid overtime, such as checking emails and doing work from a computer at home. What is worse is that these allegations may be levied even after an employee leaves your company.
Effective Employer Wage and Hour Defense in San Diego and Throughout California
The Watkins Firm has provided successful and effective wage and hour defense in San Diego and throughout California for more than four decades. Our unique approach to resolving these disputes is based upon sound insight, proven counsel and representation based upon hundreds and hundreds of cases.
We help to guide strategic decisions regarding employee handbooks, employment policies and procedures as well as more challenging issues such as seasonal workers, performance based compensation and complications for independent contractors.
The key takeaway is this: The most important thing you can do when you learn of a potential employee-related dispute is ACT. You have a very limited time frame of only a few weeks to take the actions necessary to remediate or mitigate what has happened before the action accelerates into a potential PAGA action and a class action suit which opens the door to access to information for all of your employees including those who have left your employment. You need to speak with a Watkins Firm employer defense attorney immediately. The substantive call is free and will help.
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
If you are searching for experienced, successful and proven employer wage and hour defense attorneys in San Diego and Southern California the Watkins Firm provides aggressive representation and proven strategies for our wage and hour clients.
If you are a San Diego employer and you have question regarding an employment related dispute, a hearing or conference with the Labor Commission or any wage and hour related issue we invite you to review our podcast Episode 39 – What Keeps 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.
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.
