Good employer-employee relations are essential to a successful business. At the most basic level, this means businesses must follow state and federal law when it comes to working conditions and pay. At Gates Law Group, A Professional Corporation, we help resolve wage and hour disputes in Fresno and throughout California. Drawing on 39 years of experience, we are able to achieve favorable results through negotiation, mediation, arbitration and trial. Because we represent employers and employees, we know how to remove impediments to settlement and when it’s necessary to litigate a case aggressively to protect our client’s rights.
The Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 established the standard eight-hour workday and 40-hour workweek, required employers to pay a minimum wage, and to pay overtime at one-and-a-half times their hourly rate when certain conditions were met, such as more than eight hours worked in a day or more than 40 hours worked in a week. After 12 hours worked in a day, workers must be paid twice their rate of pay per hour. Congress has amended this law numerous times, adding protections for workers and penalties for employers. Presidents have also issued executive orders implementing FLSA in various circumstances, such as Executive Order 13658, providing a minimum wage for federal contractors.
Under California law, workers have even greater protection, since the state minimum wage is higher than the minimum under FSLA, and businesses are required to pay tipped employees the full minimum wage.
There are many ways employers get into trouble violating wage and hour law, knowingly or unwittingly. Payment disputes often arise because employers have:
The bottom line is that employers must comply with FSLA and the California Labor Code, and workers must receive fair pay. No matter which side of a wage and hour dispute you find yourself, we are determined to protect your rights and deliver the best outcome possible in your employment law case.
Gates Law Group, A Professional Corporation handles wage and hour law disputes as well as other employment law matters for workers and businesses throughout California. Please call 559-432-9944 or contact us online to schedule a consultation. Our firm’s main office is in Fresno, but we also assist clients from locations in Paso Robles and Visalia.