Your Employer Owes You More Than You Think

You get your paycheck every two weeks. The direct deposit hits. The amount looks about right. You move on with your day.

But “about right” and “legally correct” are not the same thing. In California, the gap between what employers actually pay and what the law requires them to pay is often wider than anyone realizes, including the employees being shortchanged.

Overtime Is More Than Time-and-a-Half on Your Base Rate

Most employees know that overtime is owed after 8 hours in a day or 40 hours in a week. What many don’t know is that overtime must be calculated using the “regular rate of pay,” which includes bonuses, commissions, shift differentials, and other forms of compensation beyond the base hourly rate. When employers calculate overtime using only the base rate, every overtime check is short. Multiply that across years of pay periods and the shortfall adds up fast.

Meal and Rest Break Violations Are Worth Real Money

California requires a 30-minute meal break before the fifth hour of work and a 10-minute rest break for every four hours worked. If your employer regularly schedules you through breaks, pressures you to eat at your desk, or requires you to stay on-call during lunch, you are owed one additional hour of pay at your regular rate for each violation. For each day it happens.

Off-the-Clock Work Counts

Checking email before clocking in. Finishing up paperwork after clocking out. Setting up your station before the shift officially starts. Staying late to close without logging the time. All of it counts as compensable work under California law, and all of it must be paid.

Your Employer Must Reimburse Business Expenses

Under Labor Code § 2802, employers must reimburse employees for all necessary business expenses. If you use your personal phone for work calls, drive your own car for company errands, buy supplies, or pay for a home internet connection that your job requires, your employer owes you that money back.

Wage Statement Violations Have Their Own Penalties

Your pay stub is required to contain specific information: gross wages, total hours, all deductions, the applicable pay period, and more. If any of this is missing or inaccurate, that is a separate violation under Labor Code § 226, carrying penalties of up to $4,000 per employee. Most employees never look closely at their pay stubs. An employment attorney will.

The Penalties Stack

California’s wage and hour framework doesn’t just require employers to pay what they owe. It imposes penalties on top of the underpayment: waiting time penalties, wage statement penalties, PAGA civil penalties, liquidated damages, interest, and attorneys’ fees. A modest weekly shortfall, applied across a workforce and a multi-year lookback, can generate liability in the hundreds of thousands.

If any of this sounds familiar, it’s worth a conversation. At Treger Legal, the consultation is free, confidential, and carries no obligation.

This post is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. Wage and hour law is highly fact-specific. Consult with a qualified employment attorney about your specific situation.