Are you dealing with any of these?
A flat monthly salary for 10+ hour days
Your boss says the fixed monthly pay covers all your hours, and you have never received overtime.
Paid in cash with no pay stubs
Your pay changes from month to month and you don't know how it's calculated. All you have are your own notes on hours and schedules sent over WeChat.
No real meal or rest breaks
You're on your feet all day, eat while working, and have never been given a 10-minute break.
Your final paycheck hasn't arrived
After you quit or were let go, your boss said they'd pay you next month, or stopped answering messages altogether.
Treated as a 1099 contractor
You work the schedule your boss sets using the shop's tools, but you're called an independent contractor, with no overtime and no insurance.
You're an employer facing a wage claim
A current or former employee filed with the Labor Commissioner or sent a demand letter claiming unpaid overtime and missed breaks, and mentions a class action or PAGA.
Wage and hour matters we handle
We mainly represent workers recovering unpaid wages, and we also defend small and mid-sized employers.
Calculating unpaid wages and overtime
Using schedule photos, messages, and transfer or cash records, we reconstruct your hours and calculate unpaid regular pay, overtime, and double time under California rules.
Meal and rest break premiums
We count the days you were denied meal or rest breaks and calculate the one extra hour of pay owed for each.
Final pay and waiting time penalties
We pursue wages left unpaid at separation plus waiting time penalties of up to 30 days.
Misclassification
If you were wrongly treated as exempt or as an independent contractor, we apply the salary test and the ABC test and pursue what you should have been paid.
Pay stubs and payroll records
We pursue statutory penalties for missing or incomplete wage statements and make written requests for your payroll and time records.
Retaliation and threats
If you were fired, lost hours, or were threatened with immigration consequences for asking about pay, we evaluate a retaliation complaint and claim.
Labor Commissioner claims, lawsuits, and PAGA
Depending on the amount, the evidence, and the employer's ability to pay, we file a wage claim with the Labor Commissioner, sue in court, or bring a PAGA claim where it fits.
Employer defense
We test the employee's numbers and evidence, prepare for the Labor Commissioner hearing or litigation, negotiate settlement, and help fix scheduling, pay stub, and classification practices going forward.
Key California wage and hour rules (2026)
These are general rules. Some industries and occupations have special rules.
- 2026 minimum wage：Since January 1, 2026, the California statewide minimum wage has been $16.90 per hour for all employers. Some cities and counties, such as the City of Los Angeles, and some industries set a higher minimum, and employers must pay the higher rate.
- How overtime works：Non-exempt employees earn 1.5 times their regular rate for hours over 8 in a day, over 40 in a week, and the first 8 hours on the seventh consecutive day of a workweek; they earn double time for hours over 12 in a day and over 8 on the seventh consecutive day (Labor Code section 510). A fixed salary paid to a non-exempt employee covers only regular, non-overtime hours, regardless of any private agreement (section 515(d)). For personal attendants, overtime generally starts after 9 hours a day or 45 hours a week (section 1454).
- Meal and rest breaks：A shift of more than 5 hours requires a 30-minute meal period starting before the end of the fifth hour, and more than 10 hours requires a second one (waivable in writing in limited cases). Employees must get a paid 10-minute rest break for every 4 hours worked or major fraction. For each workday a required break isn't provided, the employer owes one additional hour of pay at the regular rate (section 226.7).
- Exempt and contractor status isn't the employer's call：To be exempt from overtime, the job duties must qualify and full-time pay must be at least twice the state minimum wage, which is $70,304 a year in 2026. Independent contractor status is generally decided by the ABC test (section 2775): the worker is free from the hirer's control, the work is outside the hirer's usual business, and the worker is customarily engaged in an independent business of the same kind. All three must be met.
- Final pay and wage statements：A discharged employee must be paid immediately; an employee who quits with 72 hours' notice is paid on the last day, and without notice within 72 hours (sections 201 and 202). If the employer willfully fails to pay, waiting time penalties accrue at the daily rate for up to 30 days (section 203). Missing or deficient pay stubs carry penalties of $50 for the first pay period and $100 for each later one, up to $4,000 (section 226(e)). Employers generally must provide payroll records within 21 calendar days of a request (section 226(c)).
- Immigration status doesn't matter, and retaliation is illegal：Labor Code section 1171.5 makes state labor protections available to all workers regardless of immigration status, and generally bars inquiry into immigration status in proceedings to enforce those laws. If you were fired, had hours cut, or received immigration-related threats for asserting wage rights, you generally have one year to file a retaliation complaint with the Labor Commissioner, and employers can face penalties of up to $10,000 per violation payable to the worker.
- Deadlines：Minimum wage, overtime, and meal and rest break claims can generally reach back 3 years; adding an Unfair Competition Law claim (Business and Professions Code section 17200) in court can generally extend restitution of wages to 4 years. Oral promises of pay above minimum wage are generally 2 years, written contracts 4 years. Waiting time penalties follow the deadline for the underlying wages, while wage statement penalties are generally treated as 1 year. Each paycheck has its own clock, so the longer you wait, the fewer months you can recover.
How your case moves forward
Tell us what happened and gather evidence
Tell us your hours, how you were paid, and when you left. Bring schedule photos, WeChat chats, transfer records, pay stubs, and time clock screenshots. If records are incomplete, we reconstruct your hours with you.
Calculate what you're owed
We calculate unpaid wages, overtime, double time, break premiums, and possible penalties by day and by week, so you know roughly what you can claim.
Demand letter and negotiation
Most cases start with a demand letter to the employer setting out the amount and the legal basis, aiming for an early settlement.
Choose the forum
If negotiation fails, we compare a Labor Commissioner claim, a lawsuit, and PAGA on time, cost, and risk and decide with you. We track every deadline and send written updates every two weeks.
Settlement, hearing, or trial, then collection
A settlement puts the amount and payment dates in writing. After a Labor Commissioner award or court judgment, we help enforce collection.
Related results
Examples of wage disputes we have handled. For a worker, an unpaid wage claim negotiated up from $1,204 to $24,000. For employers, an hours dispute resolved well below the initial demand without a class action, a back-pay claim settled for a manageable amount, and a labor claim dismissed with nothing awarded.
Employment Dispute, Unpaid Wages: $24,000, Negotiated Up From $1,204 (20x)
$24,000 · Negotiated up from $1,204 (20x)
Employment Dispute, Hours: Class Action Avoided, Resolved Far Below the Initial Demand
Class action avoided · Resolved far below the initial demand
Wage and Hour Dispute: Case Dismissed, All Claims Rejected
Case dismissed · All claims rejected
Employment Dispute, Old Claims Revived: Resolved for a Manageable Amount Without Complex Litigation
Resolved for a manageable amount · No complex litigation
Fees
Hourly
Suited to employer defense or complex matters with an uncertain path. Your hourly rate and a cost estimate are given in writing before you engage us, and you receive an itemized invoice each month.
Fixed fee by stage
For defined work such as a demand letter, complaint, answer, or a specific motion. The fee for each stage is set in the engagement agreement in advance.
Contingency or hybrid (select cases)
For wage claims with a defined amount against an employer able to pay, the fee may be tied to the amount recovered, alone or combined with a fixed fee. The percentage is agreed in writing in advance, and eligibility is decided after review.
- The fee arrangement, rates, or percentage are confirmed in writing before you sign the engagement agreement.
- Third-party costs such as court filing, service, and translation or notarization fees are usually separate and disclosed in advance.
- Under Labor Code section 1194, an employee who recovers unpaid minimum wage or overtime may ask the court to order the employer to pay reasonable attorney's fees. For other unpaid wage claims, section 218.5 generally allows the prevailing party to seek fees, but an employer can recover them only if the employee sued in bad faith. Whether fees are awarded is up to the court and cannot be promised.
Frequently asked questions
The following is general legal information and is not legal advice for any specific matter. For your situation, contact Lingtu Law APC at 415-547-9999 or on WeChat at lingtulaw.
