Over $300 Million Recovered | 29 Years of Aggressive Advocacy
If your employer denied you overtime, missed breaks, or misclassified your role, we fight to recover every dollar you're owed. Unpaid wages, overtime violations, missed breaks, or misclassification, our Los Angeles wage and hour attorneys help employees recover the money they're legally owed.
29+ Years Experience in CA Labor Law | $300M Total Settlements & Verdicts | No Win, No Fee | Free Initial Consultations
If you believe you are not being treated fairly by your California employer, you can benefit from a free consultation with an experienced wage and hour lawyer at Kingsley Szamet. We are dedicated to helping workers receive all of the wages and benefits to which they are entitled and deserve. Since 1997, our capable and respected legal team has built a strong track record of successful settlements and verdicts for our clients. We have extensive wage and hour law experience and we have served individuals and families in Los Angeles and throughout California.
Involved in a wage or hour dispute with your employer? Get the advice you need by contacting Kingsley Szamet Employment Lawyers using the form on this page or at (818) 990-8300.
Landmark Case Results for California Workers
Most law firms talk about their "experience" in vague terms. We let our results speak for themselves. Over nearly three decades, we've recovered hundreds of millions of dollars for California workers who were denied their rightful pay. These aren't just numbers, they represent real employees who fought back against wage theft and won.
Here's what we've achieved for workers facing the violations you might be experiencing right now:
- $44,000,000 Misclassification Settlement (Stock Brokers told they were "exempt" to avoid overtime pay)
- $11,000,000 Misclassification (Managers and Assistant Managers wrongly classified as exempt employees)
- $8,500,000 Meal and Rest Break Violations (employees denied legally required breaks)
- $7,200,000 Meal/Rest Breaks and Unreimbursed Expenses (workers never compensated for using personal phones and vehicles)
- $6,500,000 Unpaid Wages and Meal Breaks (combined wage theft across multiple violation types)
- $4,400,000 Misclassification as Exempt (employees doing non-exempt work labeled as salaried to skip overtime)
Notice a pattern? Misclassification and break violations show up repeatedly because they're among some of the common ways employers steal wages in Los Angeles. If any of these situations sound familiar, you're not alone, and you have legal options. Keep in mind that prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome as each case will be unique.
Common Wage Violations in Los Angeles
After 29 years representing workers across Los Angeles County, I've seen the same schemes play out thousands of times. Employers use remarkably similar tactics to avoid paying what they owe, and most employees don't realize they're being cheated until someone explains the law to them.
Here's what I've seen in my practice:
Misclassification
Were you told you're "exempt" or an "independent contractor" just to avoid paying overtime? This is an expensive form of wage theft in California. In my experience, if you're called a "manager" but spend most of your time doing the same work as hourly employees, you're probably misclassified. We've recovered $44 million and $11 million in separate cases involving this exact issue, stock brokers and retail managers who were incorrectly labeled as exempt which denied them overtime pay. If you were misclassified as exempt, you may have a claim for compensation.
Meal and Rest Breaks
California law is crystal clear. If you work more than five hours, you get a 30-minute unpaid meal break. Work more than ten hours? You get a second meal break. For every four hours worked, you're entitled to a paid 10-minute rest break. If your employer denies these breaks or pressures you to work through them, they owe you one additional hour of pay at your regular rate for each violation. We secured $8.5 million for workers whose breaks were denied, that's how seriously California takes this requirement.
You can refer to our Meal & Rest page for more detailed information about the laws regarding these employee rights.
Unpaid Overtime
Are you working more than eight hours a day or 40 hours a week without getting paid time-and-a-half? In California, overtime isn't just a weekly calculation like in other states. You're owed 1.5 times your regular rate for any hours over eight in a single day, and double time for hours over twelve in a day or over eight on your seventh consecutive workday.
Unreimbursed Expenses
Did you use your personal cell phone, car, or internet for work without getting reimbursed? California Labor Code Section 2802 requires employers to pay you back for any expenses you incur while doing your job. This isn't optional. In one case, we recovered $7.2 million for workers who never received money for using their own phones and vehicles at work (as well as meal and rest break violations). If you're paying out of pocket for anything work-related, your employer is breaking the law.
Common Wage and Hour Violations in Los Angeles
California has some of the strongest worker protection laws in the country, but they only help if you know your rights. I've spent nearly three decades untangling these cases, and the same violations appear over and over across every industry in Los Angeles.
Unpaid Overtime
California's overtime rules are more generous than federal law, and employers routinely ignore them. Here's what you're entitled to: time-and-a-half for any hours over eight in a workday or over 40 in a workweek, and double time for hours over twelve in a day. California doesn't follow federal overtime rules. We have our own system that's far more protective:
- Time-and-a-half for hours over eight in a workday
- Time-and-a-half for hours over 40 in a workweek
- Time-and-a-half for the first eight hours on your seventh consecutive workday
- Double time for hours over twelve in a workday
- Double time for hours over eight on your seventh consecutive workday
Notice this is both daily and weekly. Work four 12-hour days? You're owed four hours of overtime each day (hours 9-12), plus regular pay for your 48 hours. That's where a Los Angeles overtime lawyer comes in to help. That daily overtime calculation catches violations that would slip through in states that only count weekly hours.
Minimum Wage Violations
Minimum wages are determined by federal and California law. The wage is based on the number of employees employed at the business. The California Department of Industrial Relations provides a history of how the minimum wage has changed in recent years. For example, in 2018, the minimum wage for workers employed at a company with 26 or more employees was $11.00 an hour. For companies with 25 or fewer employees, it was $10.50 an hour. You can find current minimum wage rates below:
- In 2025, the statewide minimum wage in California is $16.50 per hour.
- All Fast Food Workers and certain Health Care Works covered by the new law must be paid a higher minimum wage.
- Starting April 1, 2024, all “fast food restaurant employees” who are covered by the new law must be paid at least $20.00 per hour.
- Starting October 16, 2024, certain Health Care Workers must be paid a higher minimum wage, which can vary by the type of health care facility among other factors. You can view the full list of healthcare minimum wages here.
Furthermore, the federal government as well as California law limit the number of hours you can work in a week before you are owed overtime pay. In California, after 40 hours, overtime pay kicks in at one and a half times your standard pay rate. California also requires employers to provide meal breaks and rest periods for workers. Employees who have not been fairly compensated due to a minimum wage violation may have a claim for compensation.
Meal and Rest Break Violations
This is where California law really protects workers. Work five hours? You get a 30-minute uninterrupted meal break before the end of your fifth hour. Work ten hours? You get a second meal break. Every four hours worked earns you a paid 10-minute rest break.
Here's the key detail most employees don't know: if your employer denies you these breaks, or creates a work environment where taking them is impossible, they owe you one hour of pay for each missed break. That's not "makeup time." That's a penalty, paid at your regular hourly rate. In cases where breaks are systematically denied, these penalties add up fast. That $8.5 million settlement I mentioned earlier? Meal and rest break violations across a workforce where breaks were "allowed" on paper but impossible to take in practice.
Employee Misclassification
This is where I see the biggest dollar amounts stolen from workers. Misclassification happens in two ways: calling you an independent contractor when you're really an employee, or labeling you "exempt" from overtime when your actual job duties don't qualify.
California uses the ABC test for independent contractor classification. Your employer must prove all three elements: (A) you're free from their control, (B) you perform work outside their usual business, and (C) you have an independently established trade or business. If they can't prove all three, you're an employee entitled to overtime, breaks, and expense reimbursement.
For exempt classification, the rules are strict. You must earn at least twice the minimum wage on a salary basis, spend more than 50% of your time on exempt duties (managing others, exercising independent judgment on significant matters), and actually have the authority your title suggests. If you're a "manager" who mostly stocks shelves or runs a register, you're not exempt. We've recovered $44 million and $11 million in separate misclassification cases because employers slapped fancy titles on hourly workers to avoid overtime.
Off-the-Clock Work
Your employer must pay you for all time worked, period. That includes time spent opening or closing the store before your official shift, answering emails or calls after hours, attending mandatory meetings, or putting on required safety equipment.
As a Los Angeles employment lawyer, I get angry when I hear about workers who aren't compensated for their time. If you were told to arrive 15 minutes early to "set up" but not clock in until their shift started, that's illegal in California. Fifteen minutes a day doesn't sound like much until you multiply it across 250 workdays. That's 62.5 hours of unpaid work every year, worth over $1,000 at minimum wage, and significantly more if you're entitled to overtime rate.
Unpaid Final Paychecks
California doesn't mess around with final paychecks. If you're fired, your employer must pay all wages owed immediately at the time of termination. If you quit with at least 72 hours notice, they must have your final check ready on your last day. Quit without notice? They have 72 hours to get you paid.
Miss these deadlines and California imposes waiting time penalties: your full daily wage for every day they're late, up to 30 days. For someone making $200 a day, that's a potential $6,000 penalty on top of the wages owed. I've seen employers drag their feet for weeks thinking it won't matter. It does.
Expense Reimbursement Violations
Labor Code Section 2802 is one of my favorite statutes because it's so straightforward. If you spend your own money on anything necessary to do your job, your employer must reimburse you. This includes:
- Cell phone bills when you use your personal phone for work calls or emails
- Mileage when you drive your personal vehicle for work purposes (currently $0.67 per mile as of 2024)
- Internet costs if you work from home
- Tools, uniforms, or equipment required for your job
- Any other expense that benefits your employer
That $7.2 million settlement I mentioned? Workers who used their personal phones and cars every day and never saw a dime in reimbursement. The expenses seem small individually, but across a workforce and over time, they represent serious money stolen from workers.
Ensuring Workers Are Paid Their Wages
Unfortunately, wage theft is a crisis in our state. A UCLA study documented an approximate $26 million in weekly wages never paid to low-wage earners in Los Angeles County. This wage theft resulted in an average of $2,070 lost on an annual basis for workers.
Examples of wage theft include but are not limited to:
- Paying less than the state-mandated minimum wage
- Not paying overtime after working more than 40 hours in a week
- Not providing for meal or rest breaks
- Having employees work when they are off the clock
- Not paying for earned sick days or paid time off
- Taking tips from workers who earn them
Various types of job duties that you are expected to perform by your employer should be included in your compensation. These can include tasks you are expected to do before or after clocking in or out, putting on and taking off a required uniform, and doing errands for your employer on your way to or from work, such as picking up needed work supplies. If you are scheduled to work and you report in only to be sent home, you are entitled to be paid for half of your shift, ranging from two to four hours depending on the circumstances.
Retaliation for Reporting Wage Theft
Employers who violate wage and hour laws sometimes retaliate against employees who speak up about these violations. If you were fired, demoted, or otherwise punished after complaining about unpaid wages, denied breaks, or overtime violations, you may need wrongful termination lawyers in Los Angeles to pursue a retaliation claim. California law strictly prohibits employers from retaliating against workers who assert their wage and hour rights, and you may be entitled to significant compensation if your employer illegally terminated you for demanding fair pay.
Why Choose Kingsley Szamet Employment Lawyers for Your Wage Claim?
I've been doing this work for 29 years, and I've seen every trick employers use to hide wage theft. When you're choosing a lawyer to handle your wage and hour case, you need someone who has the experience to spot the schemes, the resources to fight large corporations, and the track record to prove they can win.
29 Years of Expertise
Nearly three decades in California labor law means I've handled thousands of wage cases across every industry. Retail, restaurants, construction, healthcare, tech companies, financial services, the tactics change slightly, but the core violations remain the same. That experience lets me identify issues other lawyers might miss.
A client came to me after another firm told her she didn't have a case. She was a retail assistant manager working 50-hour weeks on salary. The other lawyer saw the "manager" title and assumed she was exempt. I looked at what she actually did every day, mostly cashier work and stocking shelves, with maybe 5% of her time supervising two part-timers. Clear misclassification. We recovered over $60,000 in unpaid overtime.
Deep Resources
Wage cases against large employers require serious resources. You're going up against corporate legal departments with unlimited budgets. They'll drag cases out for years hoping you give up. We have the financial backing to take on the largest corporations in the world, proven by our $44 million recovery against a major financial services company.
We fund the entire case upfront: depositions, expert witnesses, document review, trial preparation. You don't pay a dime unless we win. That's not just a promise, it's how we've operated for 29 years.
Local Knowledge
California law is complex enough, but Los Angeles adds its own layer of regulations. The LA Minimum Wage Ordinance sets different rates than the state. Certain industries in LA County have specific requirements. We know these local rules associated with Downtown LA, Los Angeles County, Long Beach, Santa Monica, Pasadena, Glendale, and nearby cities inside and out because we've been practicing here exclusively for nearly three decades.
No Win, No Fee
We work on contingency for wage and hour cases. That means you pay nothing unless we recover money for you. If we lose, you owe us nothing. If we win, we take a percentage of what we recover, but only after you get paid first. This eliminates the financial barrier that stops most workers from fighting back. You're not risking your savings or going into debt to pursue what's already yours. We take the financial risk because we're confident in our ability to win.
What Our Clients Say
"I can't recommend Kingsley & Szamet highly enough! From the start, they took care of everything, making the entire legal process stress-free for me. I was worried because I didn't have access to many of the documents I thought I'd need from my former employer, but the team assured me they could work with what I had - and they did exactly that."
- Angel E.
"I had a very positive experience with Kingsley Szamet Employment Lawyers. The team is professional, responsive, and truly cares about their clients. They explained everything clearly, guided me through the process, and achieved a great outcome. Highly recommend them for anyone dealing with workplace issues."
- Keith G.
"I worked with this firm on an employment issue and the team was empathetic, listened to my goals, and found solutions that worked with those goals. I was really happy with the outcome and the guidance from this firm."
- Amanda B.
Schedule a Free Consultation with an Experienced Attorney in Los Angeles
Wage theft results in substantial losses for workers of all kinds in all industries. Whether you are paid hourly, by salary, or through tips or commissions, you should be compensated for the work you perform according to California law. At Kingsley Szamet Employment Lawyers, our mission is to fight for employees who have been harmed by violations of the wage and hour laws and all other state and federal employment laws. Using an employment attorney is one of the best steps you can take to help protect your future. If you have been subjected to any type of wage loss, let us help you pursue the justice you deserve.
We offer free consultations to every worker who contacts us. No obligation, no sales pressure, just an honest assessment of your case based on 29 years of experience and over $300 million recovered for California employees.
Arrange for a free, initial consultation to get started.
Contact us online or at (818) 990-8300 today.
