In California, the minimum wage is $16.50 per hour. It hanges all the time. In addition, different cities, counties, business district, and professions may have their own minimum wage rates. It is best to call us at (714) 210-8000 to find out if you were not properly paid minimum wage. Minimum wage also has special legal meanings. For example, if you are entitled to prevailing wage pay because you do construction work on a government jobsite, but are employed by a private employer, the general prevailing wage is considered the minimum wage.
While there are a few exceptions, state law requires employers to pay almost all employees the minimum wage or higher. If you aren’t receiving the minimum wage, you may be able to file a claim against your employer. Only an experienced attorney can determine the value of your claim, which may include the wages you are owed, interest, penalties and other damages.
Failure to pay minimum wage can happen even if technically you are supposed to be paid more than minimum wage. For example, a worker earning $11 an hour ends up earning less than minimum wage if they are required to work 50 hours a week because 10 of those hours must be paid at $16.50 an hour and if the employee was only paid $440.00 for the week that is $275 for 40 hours of work.
Orange County Minimum Wage Attorney
At the Employment Lawyers Group, our attorneys have extensive experience litigating unpaid wages cases, including failure to pay the minimum wage. We have obtained multiple hundreds of thousands for cases involving the failure to pay minimum wage. In one case, we recovered $245,000 for an employee who worked at a farmers market. For another, we recovered $160,000 even though sometimes he earned more than minimum wage. Contact us to discuss your case and explain your options.
Kitchen and restaurant workers experience high rates of gender harassment and unpaid wages. While there are a lot of very nice restaurants in the Irvine, Newport Beach, and Costa Mesa area we receive a lot of calls about illegal tip pooling, wrongful termination, and other employment issues. Please reach out to us if you need an employment lawyer.
Protection for employees: if your employer fires you or punishes you for filing a failure-to-pay minimum wage claim, it may be subject to additional damages. If your employer takes the case to court and loses, it may be required to pay your attorney fees.
Contact a California Wage Claim Lawyer
To schedule a consultation with a Orange County failure-to-pay minimum wage attorney, call (714) 210-8000 toll free. We handle all cases on a contingency fee basis with no upfront costs. Se habla español.
Our Firm: No upfront fees or costs
Contingency Fee Representation
All employment cases for employees are taken on a contingency basis. We are only paid a fee when and if we win your case, and we advance all litigation costs. Our goal is to make expert legal representation accessible to every hardworking employee.
Serving Orange County County
We have proudly served all of Orange County County since 1993.
The Employment Lawyers Group has successfully handled
2,000+
Separate California Employment Cases
Media Engagements
KABC
Talk Radio 790
WAVE
The Wave 94.7
CBS 8 SD
Employment Law TV
Daily Journal
Fortune
Magazine
Fox News
New York Magazine
Newsweek
Magazine
The Recorder
Sacramento Bee
SHRM
HR Magazine
WSJ
The Wall Street Journal
Sample Case Results
Employment Case
$18,402,868
Jury verdict for male visually harassed and subject to crude comments by a female manager
breach of commission contract
$1,150,000
Unpaid commissions of two plaintiffs
unpaid wages
$875,000
For 4 oil field service industry workers whose times worked were not recorded on timesheets and were on-call
Disclaimer: These results are based on the facts of these specific cases and do not guarantee or predict a similar result in any future case.
Practice Areas
Discrimination
Age, Disability, Family Medical Leave (FMLA/CFRA), Gender, National Origin, Pregnancy, Race, and Sexual Orientation claims.
Unpaid Wages & Overtime
Recovering earnings for Overtime, Bonuses, Commissions, Meal & Rest Breaks, and Prevailing Wage violations.
Sexual Harassment
Compassionate and effective representation for victims of sexual harassment and hostile work environment claims.
Wrongful Termination
Representing employees terminated in violation of public policy, contracts, or California and Federal law.
Leaves & Retaliation
Protecting employees who face adverse actions after reporting illegal activity or taking protected medical leave.
Whistleblowers
Advocating for employees who report fraud, waste, or abuse in their organizations under whistleblower protections.
Our California Locations
Bakersfield
5401 Business Park S, #214,
Bakersfield CA 93309
Los Angeles
Orange County
Riverside
Sacramento
777 Campus Commons Rd, #200,
Sacramento CA 95825
San Bernardino
San Diego
San Francisco
524 Union St, #400,
San Francisco CA 94133
San Jose
Sherman Oaks
Torrance
Ventura
Additional Sites
BostonLaborLaw.com
DcLaborAttorney.com
FresnoEmployeeLawyer.com
JobLawyer.net
MarylandLaborAttorney.com
ModemStud.com
VintageLosAngeles.org
WorkLawyerCA.info
About Firm Founder, Karl Gerber
Firm Founder, Karl Gerber, has been an employment wrongful termination attorney since 1993. He has represented a wide range of employees throughout California.
Mr. Gerber has won 51 of the binding arbitrations and jury trials he first chaired, and a number of his appeals are published. This deep trial experience is the foundation of the firm's strategic approach to litigation.
The employment attorneys employed by the Employment Lawyers Group have worked at the firm well in excess of five years, have also tried many different labor cases, and have all been extensively trained on employment wrongful termination by Karl Gerber.
Ready to Discuss Your Case?
Your rights as an employee matter. Contact us for a free, confidential case review.
Prefer to speak directly?
Call Us: (714) 210-8000