What Are Time Clock Laws in California?
Sep 14, 2023
| By Ottinger Employment Lawyers
| Read Time: 3 minutes
If you’re an employee in California, make sure your employer pays you for your time and lets you rest. Under California labor law, employers are not required to offer mandatory grace periods for clocking in and out. However, employers have the option to provide a voluntary 10-minute grace period for employees when they clock out. This flexibility aims to enhance the ease of clocking in and out for California workers. California law takes proper employee compensation and break times seriously. If an employer violates California time clock laws regarding employee breaks and compensation, they might have to pay damages. To receive damages for time clock violations, employees need to know their rights and their employers’ obligations. You can reach out to us through our online contact form or give us a call at 866-328-0486. California Time Clock Laws Regarding Compensation California law typically requires your employer to timely and regularly pay you for all your working time. California timekeeping requirements also obligate your employer to keep detailed records of your payroll history and make them available to you. If you inspect your payroll records, you might notice that the amount of time your employer pays you for doesn’t always match the amount of time you actually work. This is likely because your employer engages in rounding hours. Some employers round the hours or minutes their employees work to simplify payroll calculations. An employer might round your working time to the nearest minute, six minutes, quarter-hour, or other amount. Your employer might round your hours up or down. Since time clock rules for hourly employees require that California employers pay for all working time, is hour rounding legal? Rounding hours worked in CA can be legal, but it depends on the details of your situation. In AHMC Healthcare, Inc. v. Superior Court, the California Court of Appeals decided that an employer’s pay policy that rounded hours worked to the closest quarter-hour were legal since: This means that if a rounding policy rounds up and down, is not applied to only reduce employee hours, and doesn’t result in constant undercompensation, it’s probably legal. Some California wage laws also closely follow federal law. Under federal law, an employer can round down working time lasting seven minutes or less. This can be disappointing, but the California Court of Appeals indicates that employees should at least break even in a rounding system if they work long enough. California Time Clock Laws Regarding Meal Breaks California law requires that your employer give you a 30-minute, unpaid meal break if you work more than five hours in a workday. The amount of meal breaks you must receive increases with the amount of hours you work. There are some exceptions to this rule. You can waive your meal break if you and your employer agree, and you don’t work more than six hours. You can also waive your second meal break in a 10 to 12-hour shift, as long as you and your employer agree. While there are some exceptions to the meal break rules, they generally apply to hourly and salaried employees alike. And if your employer doesn’t give you proper, uninterrupted meal breaks, you could have a right to premium pay. Contact Us Schedule your flat-rate consultation. Schedule your consultation today. What If My Employer Doesn’t Comply with the Time Clock Laws in California? If your employer denies you proper breaks or pays you according to an unlawful hour-rounding policy, you can file a wage-and-hour claim with the California Department of Industrial Relations. You have one year to file a complaint if your employer fails to supply you with your payroll records. You have three years to file a complaint if you don’t get paid for all your hours or you don’t receive proper rest and meal breaks. The time you have to file a complaint can pass quicker than you think. This is why you should contact an attorney as soon as you suspect your employer has violated your rights. Your attorney can meet your filing deadlines and handle your claim while you tend to your other obligations. Contact an Attorney to Claim What You’ve Earned Contrary to popular belief, you aren’t always at the mercy of your employer. Your employer needs to pay what they owe you and provide the rest times you deserve. At Ottinger Employment Lawyers, we are dedicated to helping wronged employees assert their rights. We have more than 20 years of experience, and we have helped thousands of employees. If you’re having trouble with your employer, we hope you’ll reach out. Contact us online or call us at 866-328-0486.
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3 Famous Wrongful Termination Cases and Rulings by the Supreme Court
Sep 14, 2023
| By Ottinger Employment Lawyers
| Read Time: 3 minutes
One of the most common reasons a former employee may file a lawsuit against their previous employer is in cases of wrongful termination, especially in wrongful termination cases won by employees. This type of retaliation is common in cases where an employee speaks out against workplace harassment, discrimination, or illegal activity. After voicing a complaint, the employers have been known to retaliate by firing the employee as punishment. While it’s not always possible to prevent this from happening, federal and state laws protect workers against such treatment, aided by a couple of famous wrongful termination cases and rulings by the Supreme Court that make it easier for a worker to file a claim, especially if they can point to wrongful termination cases won by their peers. In fact, there are a couple of famous wrongful termination cases and rulings by the Supreme Court that make it easier for a worker to file a claim. Kasten v. Saint-Gobain Performance Plastics Corp. In December 2006, Saint-Gobain Performance Plastic fired Kevin Kasten from his job. According to Kasten, the company retaliated against him for making a complaint about the location of time clocks. Kasten noticed that the company placed time clocks away from the area where employees put on their required protective gear. This meant that employees couldn’t get paid for their time preparing their equipment. Saint-Gobain Performance Plastic argued that Kasten’s complaints weren’t protected under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) because they were oral instead of written. The District Court and the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals determined that the FLSA did not protect verbal complaints. However, the U.S. Supreme Court overturned the ruling in a 6-2 decision, stating that the FLSA protects an employee who files either an oral or written complaint. If you feel you have wrongful termination case, speak with lawyer with decades of experience. You may have a winning case at hand. Thompson v. North American Stainless, LP Eric Thompson and his fiancée, Miriam Regalado, both worked for North American Stainless in a manufacturing facility in Kentucky. In September 2002, Regalado filed a complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) alleging gender-based discrimination by her supervisors. Three weeks after North American Stainless became aware of the charge, they fired Thompson in retaliation. Thompson then filed a complaint, stating that the company violated section 704(a) of Title VII. Initially, the District Court and the 6th Circuit Court of Appeals dismissed Thompson’s case since it was a “third-party retaliation claim.” However, in a unanimous 8-0 the ruling, the U.S. Supreme Court found that Title VII’s anti-retaliation provisions cover “a broad range of employer conduct.” Since North American Stainless fired Thompson to punish Regalado, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that they performed an unlawful act under Title VII. Wrongful Termination laws may vary state-to-state. Learn more about wrongful termination laws in New York and California. Pennsylvania State Police v. Suders In August 1998, Nancy Drew Suders quit her dispatcher job with the Pennsylvania State Police. She claimed that sexual harassment from her supervisors was so pervasive that she decided to quit. Before leaving, her supervisors accused her of theft, put her in handcuffs, and questioned her. She decided not to file a complaint since the equal opportunity representative in the department was unsympathetic. Suders then filed a lawsuit in District Court claiming that the discrimination she faced forced her to quit. The District Court granted a summary judgment to the state police since Suders did not use the department’s internal procedures. The 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals overturned the decision, stating that the police were directly responsible for her resignation. Finally, in an 8-1 decision, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that any employee in a situation where a “reasonable person…would have felt compelled to resign” could file a lawsuit against their employer without filing an internal complaint. Your Options After Wrongful Termination As these famous wrongful termination cases demonstrate, you have several rights as a worker. Whether you are fired, demoted, or forced to quit due to a hostile work environment, there are legal options available to you. If your employer retaliates against you for making a valid workplace complaint, an experienced employment law attorney can help.
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How Many Days in a Row Can You Work in California?
Sep 14, 2023
| By Ottinger Employment Lawyers
| Read Time: 3 minutes
If you are working 7 days in a row in California, you might be entitled to overtime pay. What is the maximum number of days allowed to work in a row? In California, labor laws mandate that employers provide employees with a day of rest during each workweek. Specifically, employees generally cannot work more than six consecutive days in a week. However, it’s essential to note that there are exceptions to this rule, depending on various factors, including the industry, type of work, and employment agreements. Exceptions may apply: To ensure compliance with California labor laws and to understand any industry-specific or contractual exceptions, it is advisable to consult with your employer or legal counsel. These laws are in place to protect workers’ rights and well-being, and it’s crucial for both employers and employees to be aware of and adhere to them. If you think you’ve experienced a labor law violation, Ottinger Employment Lawyers can review your case form. You don’t pay unless we win. To get started, please contact us today. Rules for Work Schedules in California It’s important to understand your rights as an employee whenever you start a new job or whenever your existing employer makes a request. A key question you might ask is, How many days in a row can you work in CA? In general, every worker should have days of rest. California law normally prohibits an employer from requiring you to work more than six out of seven days. On the surface, this rule might seem pretty straightforward. However, the rule doesn’t always mean that your employer can’t require you to work seven days in a row. Please read on for clarification. California’s Rest Day Rules Aren’t Always About Consecutive Days of Work Looking at the law’s wording, it states that you can’t be required to work “more than six days in seven.” The law clarifies this wording by stating that employees who work jobs that reasonably need longer work weeks can be required to work seven or more days in a row, as long as one out of every seven days in the month is a rest day. This means that all your rest days could potentially come at one point in the month without creating a violation. California’s Rest Day Rules Don’t Apply to All Employees The nature of your work and your particular employee status might also change your entitlement to rest days. The rule that your employer can’t require you to work more than six out of seven days doesn’t apply to common carriers in the train industry or employees needed in certain emergency situations. This rule also doesn’t apply to employees who don’t work more than 30 hours in a week and don’t work more than six hours any day. Determining whether loopholes or exceptions in California’s rest day rules apply to you isn’t always easy. But don’t worry. An experienced employment attorney has the skills and understanding to effectively advocate for your rest days. An attorney can also help you determine whether your situation is illegal and make the best decision about whether to file a complaint. Contact Us Schedule your flat-rate consultation. Schedule your consultation today. What to Do If There Was a Rest Day Law Violation Maybe you have the answer to the question, How many days in a row can you work in CA? Maybe you’ve determined that your employer violated the law by depriving you of rest days. What happens now? You can file a complaint with the California Department of Industrial Relations against your employer. Ultimately, your employer’s labor law violation could entitle you to damages or subject your employer to criminal penalties. Contact a California Labor Law Attorney for a Case Review Standing up to your employer is rarely easy and often requires expert help. At Ottinger Employment Lawyers, we’ve been winning justice for mistreated employees for over 20 years. We are aggressive, we are professional, and we care about your needs. Contact us online or call us at 866-476-7426 for a consultation. Our employment law attorneys are here to talk and solve your employment problems. For details about our Los Angeles office, click here. For details about our San Francisco office, click here.
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