Is it possible for an employer to reduce exposure to unpaid overtime disputes and lawsuits in California?  Unpaid overtime is one of the most common reasons for a lawsuit involving a San Diego or California employer.  Our state laws are constantly changing, making it more difficult for California employers to keep track of new requirements and avoid making mistakes.

The “lawyers for employers” at the Watkins Firm help our business clients to implement the policies, procedures, contracts and consistent practices required to prevent unpaid overtime disputes and lawsuits from arising, while setting our clients up to win any disputes and lawsuits that might arise in the future.

There is also a risk of a PAGA action where employees actually take the role of Attorneys General on behalf of the State of California with incredible powers to expose additional liabilities. What steps should a San Diego employer take to protect themselves?

It all begins with the employment contract and the employee handbook.  A well crafted employment contract clearly establishes expectations for the employee, and how they are to be paid, including overtime pay policies.  This is the first step to establishing a clear boundary to prevent allegations of intimidation or unpaid overtime.  Your policies and procedures and the employee handbook should clearly outline a policy requiring all overtime to be approved in advance and in writing by the employee’s direct supervisor.

Your policies must make it clear that their employment can and must be performed and fulfilled within normal work hours, and require them to refrain from using corporate resources such as email, texts, and employer provided phones after work hours are completed (for hourly non-exempt employees).  These policies should be clearly defined in the employee handbook, and reviewed with the employee at their orientation including the requirement for a signed acknowledgement of receipt of these guidelines.  Company managers should consistently communicate your policies, and immediately deal with unexpected variations or unapproved work.

When overtime must be worked, you’ll want to have steps in place to approve it in advance (when possible) and document it thoroughly to ensure proper accounting and payment of overtime hours worked by your non-exempt workers.

Pro-Tip: “Judges don’t really like these unpaid overtime and PAGA cases, and there’s a lot of technical reasons to throw them out because they’re turning into sort of a shady PI lawyer thing, like the old addage of the injury lawyer hanging out near the emergency room. These kind of employment lawyers are starting to be like that. And so if they don’t follow all the rules and you get to court in the first couple of months and you file a motion saying you didn’t give the proper notice, you didn’t state the proper cause of action, judge will throw it out.

The best news I have for our clients?  It’s often possible to mitigate the issue or remediate the problem altogether.  If you know ahead of time and your good, experienced lawyer from the Watkins Firm will help you work through the details and identify potential solutions.  Many lawyers just propose fight, fight.

Often, we have them come in and we literally say, ‘no, no, no, don’t pay us all this money. Pay the extra $3,000 in wages. Send out amended pay stubs before you even have to answer the complaint.’ And guess what? All of the causes of action that have attorney’s fees in them are gone. Nobody wants to sue you anymore because you’ve removed their ability to get paid. So yeah, quick action gives your Watkins Firm attorney the right to provide advice to help you to do things that just destroy a case in the beginning.” – Dan Watkins, Founding Partner

It is possible to completely reduce exposure to unpaid overtime disputes and lawsuits in California while preserving valuable company resources and profitability.  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.

Ask about changes to employee time cards, and the requirement to provide hours “under penalty of perjury.”  Documentation and consistent application and enforcement are the keys to winning and ultimately eliminating unpaid overtime disputes and lawsuits in California.