Riverside Wage & Hour Class Action Lawyer

Riverside Wage & Hour Class Action Attorney

As a California employer, every employer in Riverside County must follow the state and federal laws pertaining to employee compensation. When employers violate these laws, they face liability for the damages of affected employees.

A wage and hour dispute may arise concerning a single employee, but when multiple employees have experienced similar issues with their employer,it can form the foundation for a wage and hour class action claim. A Riverside wage and hour class action attorney is invaluable in this situation.

Experienced Legal Counsel for Wage and Hour Class Action Claims in Riverside, CA

The team at Hennig Kramer Ruiz & Singh, LLP, offers comprehensive legal representation for a wide range of employment law cases in Riverside, including wage and hour disputes affecting multiple employees.

Our firm has successfully resolved many wage and hour disputes for clients in the Riverside area, including those involving single plaintiffs as well as class actions involving multiple plaintiffs.

If you believe that your employer has violated federal or state wage and hour laws applicable in Riverside, you may not be the only employee affected by your employer’s unlawful actions. Joining a class action offers several advantages in lieu of pursuing a claim individually.

The attorneys at Hennig Kramer Ruiz & Singh, LLP, have the professional experience, skill, and resources necessary to resolve the most complex wage and hour class action claims.

Our team focuses on employment law cases, and we have successfully represented many past clients who have experienced wage and hour violations in the Riverside area. These cases may involve unpaid or refused break times, minimum wage or overtime violations, and intentional misclassification of employment status. We can carefully investigate the details of your wage and hour dispute and determine what your employer legally owes.

Common Types of Wage and Hour Violations Committed by Riverside Employers

A wage and hour violation happens whenever an employer refuses or fails to pay an employee correctly. Some wage and hour violations happen accidentally, most commonly among small businesses, but employers who become aware of these mistakes are generally very quick to correct them. When these violations happen intentionally, employers typically take steps to conceal their actions as much as possible.

A wage and hour dispute may arise from failure to pay an employee correctly and/or failure to pay penalties associated with prior violations of an employee’s right to fair pay. California enforces some of the most robust and detailed employment laws in the country, providing affected employees with broad latitude to explore legal recourse against their employers for violations of the state’s wage and hour laws.

A few of the most commonly forms of wage and hour violations reported by workers in the Riverside area include:

• Minimum wage violations. The state has one of the highest state minimum wages in the country. For 2023, the minimum wage is currently $15.50 per hour, and this is scheduled to increase to $16 per hour for 2024. Certain industries have separate minimum wage requirements. Any violation of the state’s minimum wage laws can lead to a wage and hour claim.
• Unpaid overtime. Some of the most commonly filed wage and hour disputes pertain to any situation in which an employer has not correctly paid overtime compensation to an employee. Overtime generally applies to hours worked past 40 hours in a week, past eight hours in one workday, or hours worked after an employee has worked seven or more days in a row. The standard overtime rate is 1.5 times the employee’s usual hourly rate.
• Employee misclassification. There are different rules for paying different types of employees under California’s wage and hour laws, and some employers will intentionally misclassify their employees to avoid paying them fairly. For example, if you have been wrongfully designated an independent contractor, it can form grounds for a wage and hour claim.
• Meal and rest break violations. An employer must provide an employee with a break after the employee has worked for a certain amount of time. The standard requirements include a rest break for every four hours of work or a major fraction of time thereof and a meal break for every five hours of work unless otherwise stipulated in a written agreement for a shift lasting less than six hours.
• Unpaid work. It is illegal for an employer to compel an employee to perform any work-related duties while the employee is off the clock. This could include work performed during a rest or meal break or work performed before the employee clocks in or after the employee clocksout for a shift. Employers must pay employees for all the time employees spend working.

An employer may violate a single employee’s wage and hour rights, giving rise to an individual civil suit, but it is possible for an employer to have committed the same violation against multiple employees. Whenever multiple employees have the same legal problem with their employer, it can form grounds for a class action wage and hour claim.

A Riverside wage and hour class action attorney is the ideal resource to consult if you and/or other employees at your workplace have all experienced similar violations of your right to fair pay under the state’s wage and hour laws.

Hennig Kramer Ruiz & Singh, LLP works closely with our clients to ensure they secure the money they are legally owed by their employers.

Advantages of Joining a Class Action Wage and Hour Claim in Riverside

Whenever an employer has repeatedly violated the state’s wage and hour laws, enforced pay policies that violate these laws, or intentionally refused to pay multiple employees correctly, these issues can quickly form grounds for a class action claim.

When you have determined that you and your coworkers have all experienced similar issues, it is worth discussing the problem with your coworkers to determine if they have considered pursuing legal action.

In a class action claim for wage and hour violations, a single plaintiff or a group of plaintiffs work together to bring a suit against an employer on behalf of themselves as well as other coworkers affected by similar wage and hour violations.

The class action claim seeks compensation for all members of the group, and a single plaintiff or group may act as the class representative.

The class representative will take on the responsibility of acting as a plaintiff on behalf of all members of the class, and, at the discretion of the court, class representatives may receive additional compensation to reflect the efforts they make in this capacity.

It is important for the class representative to remember that they are expected to act in the best interests of the group, and not themselves.

The main benefit to joining a class action claim in lieu of filing an individual claim is that class action claims enable multiple plaintiffs to work collectively to secure compensation for smaller amounts. In many cases, these small amounts would not be worth pursuing on an individual case-by-case basis.

While an individual claim may take less time to complete, a class action for multiple employees with similar damages is ultimately more efficient. When a Riverside wage and hour class action attorney represents multiple plaintiffs at once, the attorney can more easily allocate time and resources.

A class action wage and hour claim is a powerful legal mechanism for Riverside workers to address their wage and hour violations. If you believe that you and your coworkers in Riverside have grounds to file a class action claim, it is vital that you consult a Riverside wage and hour class action attorney as soon as possible. They can review the details of your situation and let you know if you have a viable case.

Compensation for Plaintiffs in Wage and Hour Class Action Claims in Riverside

The main objective of your wage and hour class action claim is to obtain your unpaid wages from your employer. Your Riverside wage and hour class action attorney may seek compensation for various damages on behalf of you and the other plaintiffs in your case, including:

• Compensation for all unpaid work time, such as any time your employer asked you to work during breaks or while off the clock.
• Compensation for all unpaid overtime, including double time when applicable.
• Rest and meal break premiums. Premiums for breaks are considered additional hours of pay. An employee can receive an additional hour of regular pay for a missed meal break (one per workday) and an additional hour of pay for all missed rest breaks in a workday.
• Reimbursement for out-of-pocket expenses. If your employer failed to pay your mileage or cell phone usage, or if your employer asked you to buy items for your workplace without repaying you, your attorney can help you collect compensation for these unreimbursed expenses.
• Waiting time penalties. When an employee is terminated, an employer must issue the employee’s final paycheck at the time of termination. Whenever an employee resigns, an employer must issue the employee’s final paycheck within 72 hours of the employee’s final shift; otherwise, the employer faces waiting time penalties.

The attorneys at Hennig Kramer Ruiz & Singh, LLP, have years of experience helping Riverside clients overcome their wage and hour disputes. While it is technically possible to try to pursue compensation on your own without legal counsel, few legal advisors would ever suggest attempting this.

The right attorney on your side can have a tremendous positive impact on the outcome of your case and streamline the process of recovering the pay you are legally owed.

If you believe that you and your coworkers in Riverside have grounds to pursue a wage and hour class action claim, our team is ready to assist you.

Contact Hennig Kramer Ruiz & Singh, LLP, today and schedule a free case review. A Riverside wage and hour class action lawyer can review the details of your situation and let you know how our firm can assist with your legal efforts.