Los Angeles Employee Misclassification Lawyer

Los Angeles Employee Misclassification Attorney

Hennig Kramer Ruiz & Singh, LLP Represent Workers Misclassified as “Exempt”

Did you know that many employers have misclassified their employees as “exempt” salaried workers to avoid having to pay overtime? Employers know that many jobs require employees to work more than 40 hours each week.

They will then deliberately classify particular positions as exempt as a means to get workers to put in additional hours without receiving time-and-a-half overtime pay. In extreme cases, salaried workers have been required to put in so many extra hours that their pay does not equal state and federal minimum wage requirements for hourly workers.

If this sounds like your situation, you may have a case for a salary vs. hourly classification violation claim. Our Los Angeles salary hourly classification attorneys can help you determine if you have a case, and what your best course of action is.

Since 1995, Hennig Kramer Ruiz & Singh, LLP has help workers fight for the pay they earned and protected their rights against unscrupulous employers. We can help you too.

Understanding the Exempt Classification

Most employees are classified as either exempt or nonexempt status for employment. An exempt position means the employer is, up to a point, exempt from wage and hour laws regarding minimum wage, meal, rest breaks, and overtime pay.

This does not give your employer license to mistreat or exploit you. In general, it means an exempt employee’s compensation will be based on a weekly salary, as well as possibly sales commissions and bonuses.

Under California state law, employees are required to perform certain types of job duties to have their employer classify their position as exempt. Also, a salaried worker may be able to claim overtime pay for additional hours worked on projects that do not meet the exempt classification test.

Typical fields in which someone’s job might be classified as exempt include:

• Accounting and finance
• Administrative positions in any field
• Executive positions in any field
• Law
• Medicine and healthcare
• Teaching and education
• Technology

Additionally, someone may work in a field in which workers are typically paid hourly but may still be classified as exempt and receive a salary if their job is considered intellectual or creative in nature.

There are many requirements involved in meeting an exempt classification, and the labor codes can be difficult to parse for the average individual. Unfortunately, many employers take advantage of this, commit salary vs. hourly wage violations, and assume their employees won’t feel confident in reporting them.

We Protect Reporting Employers from Retaliation

Often an employee will suspect or know that they have been misclassified. When they report it, their employer retaliates, and it is the fear of retaliation that keeps many victims of salary and wage violations silent. Employers should not be allowed to get away with this.

Retaliation may manifest in a number of ways, including:

• Disciplinary action
• Denial of raises or promotions
• Demotion to lesser positions
• Exclusion from meetings and projects the employee would otherwise be included on
• Ostracization or harassment by coworkers and management
• Termination

Retaliation can create a toxic and hostile working environment that affects the victim significantly. If this has happened to you after you have reported your employer for a salary vs. hourly wage violation, you do have options. Call our Los Angeles salary hourly classification attorneys for help.

We Offer Free Case Evaluations

If you believe your lawyer has misclassified your job to avoid federal or state wage and hour regulations, you owe it to yourself and other employees to file a complaint. Keep your pay stubs and document your job tasks and hours for several weeks.

You may then file a formal complaint with your employer following their internal policies. Then, contact Hennig Kramer Ruiz & Singh, LLP. We have more than 25 years of experience handling these types of claims. We are passionate about helping workers fight back, and we can use our expertise to help you with your case.

You don’t give up your civil rights when you walk into the workplace. Stand up for yourself today by calling Hennig Kramer Ruiz & Singh, LLP at (213) 310-8301.