Posted on May 28th, 2018
One of the most common areas of trouble for California employers when it comes to labor laws is wage claims.
Between unpaid overtime claims, conflicts with tips, and mismanaged payroll, wage claims are a huge liability risk for California employers.
Whether is was just an honest mistake or intentional you can bet that when hourly wage agreements or laws are breached, employees are going to look to hire an unpaid overtime lawyer.
Overtime laws vary from state to state. In California, whether employees work a salaried position or an hourly job, they are required to be paid 1.5 times the rate of pay for every hour over 8 hours in a day. If they exceed 40 work hours in a week, the same figure applies.
As an employer it’s key you understand whether you might be breaking any laws and it’s better to contact an attorney before you get into trouble.
Here are 7 reasons to hire your own unpaid overtime defense lawyer to protect your business.
1. You’re Not Sure Whether The Law Applies
An unpaid overtime lawyer can tell you what laws apply to your business. There are several types of businesses that not obligated to pay for overtime. While many industries have their own restrictions and provisions, not every one of them is required to follow the above standard.
There is a legal foundation for working 12-hour shifts for some industries.
Even if you don’t consider yourself part of a certain industry, the law might actually put you into one of those categories. It’s important to understand how the law might be applied to you in a court of law.
Your attorney can estimate how the law could be interpreted to apply to you.
2. They Can Search For Common Mistakes
While you might think certain standards of timekeeping and scheduling are reasonable and necessary, you may be violating the law. By docking hours or keeping inaccurate time records, businesses often break the law without realizing it.
An overtime lawyer will understand your perspective while being critical of your practices. They can provide you with a list of potential violations that need to be changed right away. Your attorney can also make suggestions of how to avoid potential problems in the future.
Often times these are very subtle changes that should not have a big expense or operational disruption.
Employers need to have accurate calculations of employee timesheets and rates of pay in order to ensure that pay is fair and equitable.
3. Your Attorney Has Useful Experience
The job of an overtime lawyer is to provide counsel to businesses in order to execute legal and ethical standards. They spend years looking at businesses like yours make common mistakes and can spot them immediately.
If you have breached the law or are being accused of it, they will be able to file the necessary paperwork to defend your argument. They can handle important court documents that will give your defense credibility in the eyes of the law.
California Labor laws can be very confusing. You want to make sure you go with a law firm that not only focuses on employment law but strictly employer defense. There are so many effective strategies and experience you gain by practicing in one area only.
4. They Know What Options You have
While you may have made a simple mistake that you did not intend, that won’t matter to a judge once you’re sitting in court. Having an overtime attorney look at your business before you end up in that position can help them to place options in front of you.
If you’ve just been served with a lawsuit, you can use your attorney to help settle the agreement quickly to keep you out of court.
You have several options even if you have violated the law. Your attorney knows what action to take to make sure you can minimize your losses or even get the case dismissed.
You can also help avoid these type of issues with overtime by having rock solid policies and procedures crafted specifically for California business by employer defense attorneys.
5. Your Attorney Knows Timing
Employees who are filing a suit might not be entitled to a settlement, even if they weren’t paid for their overtime work. California has a statute of limitations that requires employees file within a few years of the time claimed.
Your attorney also knows how changes in the law have changed how the rate of pay will be calculated. An employee filing a lawsuit might be calculating a rate of pay based on inaccurate wage information. If they’re claiming overtime for a wage higher than they were being paid based on changes in minimum wage laws, your attorney can find that out.
There are also different time ranges based on whether or not the violation was willful. Your attorney can figure this out for you.
6. An Attorney Can Estimate Damages
Based on their own charges and how much your employee could be owed, a good attorney can calculate potential costs. This will factor into your decision as to whether or not you can afford a trial.
Its not fair but sometimes taking the loss and settling is a better decision for your business than fighting in court even if you might win.
If you are part of a larger class action lawsuit, you might think it’s time to liquidate assets to pay off employees.
Your attorney’s estimate can help you understand whether or not that’s a valid course of action.
7. Your Attorney Can Protect You From Retaliation
If you have a single employee who is bringing this suit to you, but you suspect there could be others planning the same, your attorney can help protect you against further suits. Admitting to wrongdoing and fixing your practices is one way to win favor from the court.
Another course of action could be a counter-suit against your employee. If they are liable for any wrongdoing that cost you money following their termination, you could dismantle their case through their own actions.
If an employee was guilty of time theft, property theft, or misuse of your products and services, you could get them to drop their case in response to your own.
No one wants to end up in court for months when they’re trying to run a business. Your overtime lawyer will keep you out of court and let you do the work you need to do for your company.
An Overtime Lawyer Is A Way To Protect Yourself
Having an attorney to assess your payroll and scheduling system protects you from lawsuits. They will look into every detail of your system and let you know where you could run into trouble.
By doing the work in advance of a lawsuit, you will provide a positive work environment for employees and protect the integrity of your business.
If you want to remain above-board and keep employees happy, check out our guide to creating the best policies to keep your business running.
