California Unpaid Wages and Overtime Lawsuits, Including Warehouse Workers

A California wage and hour claim usually bundles several violations, because one practice often causes many. Missing a meal break, for example, can mean an unpaid premium, an inaccurate wage statement, and a late final paycheck.

Most common claims

• Daily overtime: hours over 8 in a day, over 40 in a week, and the first 8 hours on a seventh consecutive workday.
• Meal and rest breaks: breaks not provided, cut short, or taken late.
• Off-the-clock work: security screenings, bag checks, pre-shift meetings, or tasks after clocking out.
• Regular rate errors: bonuses and shift pay left out of overtime and premium pay.
• Expense reimbursement: Labor Code 2802 requires employers to cover necessary work expenses.
• Final pay and wage statements: penalties when these are late or wrong.

For the federal side of these claims, see our unpaid overtime lawsuit page. For break and rounding issues in hospitals, see meal break and time rounding lawsuits.

California's warehouse quota law, AB 701, took effect January 1, 2022 in Labor Code sections 2100 and following. It covers employers who control 100 or more employees at a single warehouse distribution center or 1,000 or more at warehouses statewide, including some staffing agency workers.

What the quota law requires

• Each worker must get a written description of every quota: the number of tasks or items per time period and the discipline for missing it.
• No quota may prevent a worker from taking meal or rest breaks, using the bathroom (including reasonable travel time), or following safety rules.
• Workers can request quota and work speed data.

Enforcement against Amazon

On June 18, 2024, the Labor Commissioner cited Amazon.com Services LLC $5,901,700 for 59,017 violations of the quota law at its Moreno Valley and Redlands warehouses between October 20, 2023 and March 9, 2024, finding Amazon did not give workers written notice of quotas. The penalties were $100 per violation. A citation is an agency finding that can be appealed.

Other warehouse claims

Warehouse workers also bring standard claims: unpaid time in security or COVID screening lines, rest breaks cut short by long walks, and missed meal breaks during peak season. In February 2024, the Labor Commissioner announced a $1 million settlement for 107 warehouse and retail workers in the Inland Empire over unpaid hours, daily overtime, and missed breaks.

You may have a claim if you are, or were, a nonexempt worker in California and any of these applied:

• You worked more than 8 hours in a day or 40 in a week and were paid straight time.
• You missed meal breaks, or took them after the fifth hour, without getting an extra hour of pay.
• Your rest breaks were interrupted or skipped to meet quotas.
• You were paid a salary below the state exempt threshold, or labeled a manager while mostly doing hourly work.
• You were paid late after quitting or being fired.

The California exempt threshold

For 2026, most exempt employees in California must earn at least $70,304 a year, twice the state minimum wage for full-time work, and must also meet the duties test. That is roughly double the federal threshold, so many salaried Californians are owed overtime.

Minimum wage

The statewide minimum wage is $16.90 an hour as of January 1, 2026. Many cities set higher local minimums, and fast food and health care workers have their own higher rates.

Who probably does not qualify

True independent contractors, most app-based rideshare and delivery drivers covered by Proposition 22, and properly paid exempt employees generally do not. See misclassification lawsuits if you were paid on a 1099.

Example

A $20 an hour warehouse worker who missed one meal break a week for two years (about 100 workdays) is owed about $2,000 in meal premiums, plus any overtime. If that worker quit and was paid late, waiting time penalties can add up to 30 days of wages, about $4,800 at 8 hours a day, and wage statement penalties can add up to $4,000.

Class and PAGA recoveries

Class settlements split a fund by weeks worked. Under PAGA, civil penalties are shared, with 65% going to the state Labor and Workforce Development Agency and 35% to affected employees, so PAGA shares per worker are often small. See California class action settlements and how class action money is divided.

• Labor Code 510: daily and weekly overtime, and double time after 12 hours in a day.
• Labor Code 226.7 and 512: meal and rest periods and the one-hour premium.
• Labor Code 203: waiting time penalties for late final wages, capped at 30 days.
• Labor Code 226: accurate itemized wage statements.
• Labor Code 2802: reimbursement of work expenses; see the California expense reimbursement law.
• Labor Code 2100 to 2112: the warehouse quota law.
• Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA): lets workers sue for civil penalties on behalf of the state and other employees. Reforms signed in July 2024 changed penalty amounts and gave employers ways to cure violations.
• Unfair Competition Law: allows restitution of unpaid wages for up to 4 years.

Many California employers require arbitration. Individual claims usually must go to arbitration, but PAGA claims on behalf of others generally can still proceed in court. Workers are also protected from retaliation for raising pay complaints.

• Unpaid wages and overtime: generally 3 years under the Labor Code.
• Restitution under the Unfair Competition Law: up to 4 years.
• Wage statement and some other penalties: 1 year.
• PAGA: 1 year, and you must first give notice to the Labor and Workforce Development Agency before suing.

Because every paycheck starts a new clock, a 4 year lookback can be worth nearly twice as much as a 2 year federal claim. Waiting still costs money, since the oldest pay periods fall away over time. See the statute of limitations entry for more.

California workers have three main ways to pursue unpaid wages, and the right one depends on the size of the problem and whether others were affected.

Labor Commissioner claims

A wage claim with the Labor Commissioner's Office involves a settlement conference and, if needed, a hearing. It works well for a single worker owed a specific amount, such as final pay. Either side can appeal a decision to superior court.

Class actions

A class action can recover unpaid wages and premiums for everyone affected by the same policy. Class members in a California wage settlement usually receive payment automatically based on workweeks, without filing a claim form, though you may need to update your address. See what class certification means.

PAGA

A PAGA case recovers civil penalties for the state and affected workers. It can proceed even when individual claims must be arbitrated, but the worker's share of penalties is small. Many cases combine class and PAGA claims.

Settlement checks from your employer

Employers sometimes offer individual checks in exchange for releases while a class action is pending. You do not have to accept, and a release may give up claims worth more than the check.

Immigration status

California law protects wage rights regardless of immigration status, and the Labor Commissioner does not ask about status when processing wage claims. Employers may not threaten to report workers to immigration authorities in retaliation for wage complaints. If your employer has made such threats, write down what was said and when, and tell the attorney or agency handling your claim.

Whatever route you choose, the same records matter: pay stubs, your own notes of hours and breaks, and any written policies. Workers who left the job can still bring claims within the deadlines, and former employees often have the added claim for late final pay.

If you receive a class notice about a wage settlement with a past employer, read it closely: it will list the class period, your estimated share, and the dates to dispute your workweeks, opt out, or object.

1. Keep your wage statements and request copies of your pay and time records; California employers must provide them on request.
2. Write down missed breaks and shifts over 8 hours as they happen.
3. Warehouse workers: ask in writing for your quota description and work speed data.
4. Do not sign a release or accept a separate settlement check from your employer without advice.
5. You can file a wage claim with the California Labor Commissioner for free.

A free case review takes about two minutes and can connect you with independent attorneys who handle California wage cases. If you drive for a living, see truck driver unpaid wages.