Wage and Hour Claim

A wage and hour claim is a lawsuit or agency complaint alleging that an employer did not pay what federal or state wage laws require. The main federal law is the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), which sets the federal minimum wage and requires overtime at one and a half times the regular rate for hours over 40 in a workweek for non-exempt workers. Many states, especially California, add stricter rules on daily overtime, meal and rest breaks, final pay, and expense reimbursement.

Common wage and hour violations include:

• Off-the-clock work, such as pre-shift security checks, logging in to computers, or answering messages after hours.
• Time rounding that consistently shaves minutes off employees' time.
• Misclassifying employees as exempt salaried workers or as independent contractors.
• Leaving bonuses and shift differentials out of the overtime rate.
• Missed or interrupted meal breaks.

The remedies are meaningful. Under 29 U.S.C. 216(b), an employer that violates the FLSA's minimum wage or overtime rules owes the unpaid wages plus an additional equal amount as liquidated damages, which can double the recovery, along with attorney's fees. Federal claims generally must be filed within two years, or three years for willful violations.

Federal FLSA cases proceed as "collective actions," where workers must file written consent to join, while state law claims can proceed as traditional opt-out class actions. See our pages on unpaid overtime, meal break and time rounding, and California wage and hour claims.