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Are You Entitled to Pay for Off-the-Clock Work? Find Out from a Los Angeles Unpaid Wage Lawyer
As an employee in Los Angeles, your employer cannot legally require you to work off the clock. Under California law, if you are working and your employer knows about it, you are entitled to compensation for your services. Unfortunately, employers don’t always follow the law. If you receive an hourly wage (or your employer has classified you as an independent contractor) and you are not being paid for every hour you work, you should speak with a Los Angeles unpaid wage lawyer about your legal rights.
Off-the-clock work is one of the most commonly misunderstood areas of employment law. This is because employees can only truly work off the clock in very limited circumstances. Unless you have volunteered your services without your employer’s knowledge, as a general rule, you are entitled to compensation for your services under California law.
Filing a Claim for Off-the-Clock Work in Los Angeles
Under California law, the time that you clock in or start your official work day is not the determining factor for when you start getting paid. Instead, you are entitled to pay from the moment you actually start working. Your employer cannot require you to work before clocking in, and if your normal work day starts at 9:00 am, your employer cannot require you to get to work early without compensating you for your time.
The same basic rules also apply at the end of the work day. If you keep working after you clock out or after your shift ends, you are entitled to compensation. Not only that but if you end up working more than eight hours in a day (or more than 40 hours in a week), you may also be entitled to overtime. While certain activities, like commuting, generally don’t count as “working” under California law (although there are exceptions), working generally does include tasks such as:
- Receiving job training
- Preparing for work
- Putting on safety gear or preparing other safety equipment
- Waiting for work to be available
- Traveling between job sites or work locations
- Working during lunch
- Doing paperwork and other administrative tasks
- Performing rework
- Helping coworkers finish their job tasks
- Cleaning up after work
These are just examples. In California, the rule is simple: If you are working—whether at your employer’s request or with your employer’s knowledge—you are generally entitled to be paid. It doesn’t matter if you are “off the clock” based on your normal work schedule. If you believe that you are entitled to compensation for off-the-clock work, you should speak with a Los Angeles unpaid wage lawyer about filing a claim as soon as possible.
Speak with a Los Angeles Unpaid Wage Lawyer Today
Are you entitled to pay (or overtime pay) for off-the-clock work? If so, we can help you seek the full financial compensation you deserve. To discuss your legal rights with a Los Angeles unpaid wage lawyer in confidence, please call 310-601-1330 or contact us online today.