Are you searching for a wage and hour defense lawyer in California?  Are you a California employer who has been accused of a wage and hour offense such as unpaid overtime, the failure to pay minimum wage, failure to provide meal or break/rest time, payroll or payroll stub violations, misclassification of employees as independent contractors, or “off the clock” payroll violations?

There are many examples of wage and hour violations an employer can fall into here in California.  When you are facing a potentially expensive and distraction lawsuit you need an experienced, proven wage and hour defense lawyer in California from the Watkins Firm. For more than 40 years, our attorneys have developed a proven track record and experience defending employers in various actions including wage and hour violations.  We have a strong, proven track record of success in these cases and invite you to ask how we’ve been able to help other employers in similar situations to resolve their dispute quickly and in a cost-efficient manner.

The Watkins Firm takes a unique approach as a wage and hour defense lawyer in California.  We quickly and efficiently create a well-documented chronology of events and a mastery of any associated damages. These are the tools necessary to get the other party/parties to the table and open effective, leveraged negotiation. Watkins Firm attorneys are able to resolve the vast majority of our wage and hour defense cases through leveraged negotiation. We also represent clients in mediation and arbitration.  Mediation is private, confidential legal venue for resolving these disputes.  Arbitration may be contractually specified, especially in class action lawsuits or a PAGA action. Your Watkins Firm attorney is prepared to defend you as an employer and protect your interests in any legal venue.

Pro-Tip: “What it’s like to be an employer in California these days?  Every year it gets harder. They come up with new laws, new issues, new matters, and then the courts rule on them one way or the other. And these employees are more educated. They read this stuff, they’re constantly bombarded with sales pitches from lawyers. So they’re watching everything you do when you hire somebody all across the nation and especially in California.

There’s a whole industry. It’s doubled. There are class actions, PAGA wasn’t even heard of in 20 years ago. And now every seminar you hear about is on PAGA defense. There’s sexual harassment, used to be the young, the big game in town. And now you’ve got to check your paycheck stubs to make sure that they’re not spelled wrong or there’s a missed decibel point, or you’re going to get a class action lawsuit filed against you in, in a multitude of ways.

While we’re trying to resolve matters, we’re also hammering the other side. We have databases that are built on databases that are built on databases of discovery questions, litigation strategies, and software programs. So when we get a certain type of case, and it’s not the first time we’ve done it, and we have a protocol that the whole office knows that we do on how to handle these cases. So yeah, we’re still very aggressive, and if the other side wants to go to trial, we’ll go to trial, but they probably know there’s a good chance that they may lose.

That’s what I prefer. I prefer crushing the hopes and dreams of plaintiff’s counsel, and if you give me the tools and you get to us soon enough, then we get to do that. When that letter comes and we’re sitting there just waiting for them to say the wrong thing or waiting to hammer them and beat them to the punch. And if you’ve talked to us early, that’s what we get to do most of the time.” – Dan Watkins, Founding Partner

If you are involved in any payroll or wage-related dispute, labor complaint or Labor Board investigation with an employee in Southern California you need a proven, experienced wage and hour defense lawyer in California.  We protect your interests and work to accomplish your goals and objectives for the case at hand. 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.