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Unpaid Overtime Lawyer in Los Angeles
Employee-side unpaid overtime counsel for workers in Los Angeles and nearby California workplaces.
How we help Los Angeles workers
Workplace Rights Advocacy represents Los Angeles employees in unpaid overtime matters and related California claims. Los Angeles employers span entertainment, healthcare, logistics, hospitality, professional services, and public contractors. Workers here often face aggressive HR processes, multi-location policies, and short agency windows—local counsel helps sort FEHA, Labor Code, and federal options.
California overtime rules are more generous than the federal ones. Non-exempt employees generally earn time-and-a-half after 8 hours in a day and after 40 in a week, double time after 12 hours in a day, and premium pay on the seventh consecutive day of a workweek. Unpaid overtime claims usually come down to one of three things: you were labeled exempt when you were not, you worked hours the employer did not record, or the overtime rate itself was calculated too low.
Why overtime goes unpaid
A title and a salary do not make anyone exempt. California exemptions require both a minimum salary tied to the state minimum wage and duties that are genuinely executive, administrative, or professional—which is why “assistant manager” roles that spend the day doing line work are so often misclassified.
Off-the-clock work is the second pattern: pre-shift setup, post-shift closing, working through an unrecorded lunch, remote email after hours, or rounding that always favors the employer. The third is the regular rate—non-discretionary bonuses, shift differentials, and commissions must be folded in before the overtime multiplier is applied.
Evidence that often matters
- Time records, schedules, and punch data compared against what you actually worked
- Wage statements showing the rate used for overtime hours
- Your real day-to-day duties, not the job description
- Badge, VPN, dispatch, or app logs that capture unrecorded time
- Bonus and commission plans that should have raised the regular rate
Frequently asked questions
- I am paid a salary. Can I still be owed overtime?
- Yes. Salary alone does not create an exemption. If your duties and pay do not meet California’s test, overtime is still owed.
- My employer never approved the extra hours. Does that matter?
- If the employer knew or should have known you were working, the time is generally compensable. An approval policy does not erase hours actually worked.
- When does double time apply in California?
- Generally after 12 hours in a workday, and after 8 hours on the seventh consecutive day of a workweek.
- I never kept my own time records. Is my claim dead?
- No. The employer carries the obligation to keep accurate records, and reasonable estimates plus other evidence can carry a claim where records are missing.
- What does a Los Angeles unpaid overtime lawyer handle?
- Daily and weekly overtime, double time, seventh-day premiums, off-the-clock work, and bad exemptions—plus waiting time and wage statement penalties when wages went unpaid.
- What does a Los Angeles wage and hour attorney handle?
- Claims against employers for unpaid wages, missed meal and rest breaks, overtime violations, misclassification, and related Labor Code penalties—often with DLSE or court options.
- Do I need a local LA wage and hour lawyer?
- California wage rules are statewide, but Los Angeles workers benefit from counsel who know local employer patterns, CRD/DLSE timing, and how LA-area cases are typically litigated.
- What do employment and labor lawyers help with?
- Employee-side counsel typically handles wrongful termination, workplace discrimination or harassment, retaliation, unpaid wages, leave interference, and related claims.