Are you owed pay from a Los Angeles job?
Unpaid overtime, missed meal or rest breaks, off-the-clock work and unreimbursed expenses may be unlawful. Retaliation after you asked about pay may be unlawful too.
If your workplace rights were violated, you may be able to pursue the wages you earned and, where the law provides, penalties and interest.
Not sure the math is off? You can request a review even without your pay records in hand.
What wage theft can look like, and what the law calls it.
Wage violations are usually quiet and routine, a timekeeping habit, a job title, a 'that's just how we do it.' What matters is whether you were paid what the law requires for the hours you actually worked.
I clock out when the schedule says, then keep working, because the work isn't done.
The law calls it → possible off-the-clock work
- I regularly work through breaks because there's no coverage. The law calls it → possible missed-break violation
- I'm salaried with a manager title, but I do the same work as the hourly crew. The law calls it → possible misclassification
- My hours changed after I asked about my pay. The law calls it → possible retaliation
- The call sheet says twelve hours, but setup begins before call and wrap continues after the time entered on my deal memo. The law calls it → possible off-the-clock work and unpaid overtime
These cover unpaid overtime, off-the-clock work, missed meal and rest breaks, misclassification (exempt or contractor), unpaid final wages, retaliation for raising pay issues, in any industry. If something here is familiar, you don't have to be sure before you ask.
Illustrative situations, not client accounts.
Most nonexempt Los Angeles employees must be paid for every hour worked, with California overtime after eight hours in a workday or forty in a workweek, required meal and rest periods, accurate wage statements, and prompt final pay. Many statutory wage claims reach back three years, while restitution and wage-statement claims can use different clocks.
What could taking action help you recover?
Depending on the facts, legal action may help recover unpaid wages, address missed breaks and off-the-clock work, and correct the practice going forward. Available remedies depend on the facts and applicable law; no outcome is guaranteed.
Unpaid wages or overtime
Hours worked but never paid, including overtime premiums, may be recoverable for the statutory period.
Missed-break and off-the-clock pay
Compensation may be available for missed meal or rest periods and for work performed before or after the clock.
Expense reimbursement and related pay
Necessary work expenses, and wages tied to them, may be reimbursable depending on the state and the facts.
Statutory relief where applicable
Some claims carry interest, statutory amounts, or fee-shifting; which apply depends on the claim and jurisdiction.
You do not need complete pay records, or certainty that your paycheck was wrong, before asking what your options are.
Common concerns we hear from workers about pay
I do not have complete time records.
Employers generally must keep time and pay records. Missing records are common in these cases, and schedules, messages, badge data, and coworker accounts can help reconstruct hours.
I was paid a salary.
A salary or job title does not by itself make you exempt from overtime. Exemption generally depends on your actual duties and pay, not the label.
I signed an arbitration agreement.
An arbitration agreement can change where a claim is heard, not necessarily whether you have one. It is worth reviewing before assuming it closes the door.
I still work there.
You can ask questions while still employed. Retaliating against a worker for asserting wage rights may itself be unlawful.
Some of the work happened before or after my shift.
Time an employer knows or should know is being worked, including pre-shift and post-shift tasks, may be compensable.
Avi Kreitenberg
Shareholder · Admitted in California
Avi Kreitenberg represents California workers in wage-and-hour class actions, including unpaid overtime, missed breaks, and expense-reimbursement matters. He is licensed in California and Washington.
Read Avi's full bio →Selected wage-and-hour class and representative action results.
$17M
Health-care workforce · approximately 30,000 workers · Meal and rest break class action
Proposed settlement · preliminary approval granted
$16M
Health-care workforce · approximately 23,900 workers · Meal and rest break class action
Final approval
$14M
Grocery workforce · California · Rest break PAGA settlement
Final · co-lead counsel
$10.94M
Health-care workforce · approximately 11,600 workers · Meal break class action
Final approval
Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome. Every case is different; the value and outcome of your matter will depend on its specific facts.
What happens after you reach out?
You don't need documents, a lawyer-ready story, or even certainty that what happened was illegal.
- 01
Talk with us
A short initial conversation about what happened and when.
- 02
We assess the record
We identify possible claims, deadlines and evidence that may matter.
- 03
If we take the case
We handle the filing strategy, negotiations and litigation.
Deadlines can depend on where and how you file
California and federal claims may follow different filing routes. These are general time limits, not sequential steps.
Generally, for many statutory California wage claims.
Potentially, for restitution through California's unfair-competition claim.
Generally, for the shorter wage-statement-penalty claim.
Other claims and exceptions may have different or shorter deadlines. Contact counsel promptly so the applicable dates can be reviewed.
California Labor Code and IWC Wage Orders
Cal. Lab. Code §§ 201–204, 226, 510, 512, 1194; applicable IWC Wage Order
Primary source, Cal. Lab. Code §§ 201–204, 226, 510, 512, 1194; applicable IWC Wage Order ↗Share what happened in about two minutes. The firm will review your submission and contact you about possible options and next steps. There is no cost or obligation to request a review.
Deadlines and filing issues for workers in Los Angeles.
- Each underpaid paycheck can start its own clock, waiting does not merely delay the case; it can cause the oldest weeks or months of unpaid work to fall outside the recoverable period.
- California's commonly used three-year statutory period is not universal, a restitution route can reach four years, while the wage-statement-penalty claim uses a shorter one-year clock.
- A salary, manager title, or independent-contractor agreement does not answer whether you were properly classified; the work performed and the governing legal test matter.
- California and federal wage claims do not all use the same deadline or filing path. Identify every potentially applicable route before relying on the longest period.
Where do you file a wage and hour claim in Los Angeles?
California Labor Commissioner, Division of Labor Standards Enforcement
Los Angeles District Office320 West Fourth Street, Suite 450
Los Angeles, CA 90013
(213) 620-6330
California wage claims may be filed online, by email, by mail, or in person. The office below is the Los Angeles district office; other cities should use the filing link if no matching district office is listed.
State wage-claim filing →U.S. Department of Labor, Wage and Hour Division, Los Angeles District Office
Serves San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara, Ventura, and parts of Los Angeles County. Eastern portions of Los Angeles County may be served by the West Covina District Office.
312 N. Spring Street, Suite 701Los Angeles, CA 90012
(213) 894-6375 WHD complaint / inquiry form →
Los Angeles County Superior Court
Stanley Mosk Courthouse111 North Hill Street
Los Angeles, CA 90012
The filing path, step by step
- 1Preserve schedules, time records, pay stubs, written pay policies, texts about work before or after a shift, and your own best estimate of the hours you actually worked.
- 2For a California wage claim, use the Labor Commissioner's filing process or the Los Angeles DLSE district office at 320 West Fourth Street, Suite 450. The state process can address unpaid wages, overtime, break premiums, final pay, and other covered claims.
- 3For a federal minimum-wage or overtime concern, contact the U.S. Department of Labor Wage and Hour Division through its complaint and inquiry form, by phone, or through the Los Angeles District Office at 312 N. Spring Street, Suite 701.
- 4State and federal wage routes have different coverage rules, remedies, and clocks. A lawyer can determine whether an agency claim, an individual court case, or a class and representative action fits the pay practice affecting you and your coworkers.
Wage-and-hour information in other California cities
- FresnoWage-and-hour information
- Long BeachWage-and-hour information
- Orange CountyWage-and-hour information
- RiversideWage-and-hour information
- SacramentoWage-and-hour information
- San BernardinoWage-and-hour information
Asked by Los Angeles workers.
I'm salaried at an LA company but spend most of my time doing the same work as the hourly staff. Can I still be owed overtime?
Possibly. Salary and a manager title do not by themselves establish an overtime exemption. The actual duties, salary level, discretion, and applicable California and federal tests matter. Preserve your schedules and a description of what you do during a typical week.
My Los Angeles employer records a meal break even when I keep working. What should I save?
Keep time records, schedules, messages showing there was no coverage, and notes identifying the days you worked through or had an interrupted break. California generally provides meal and rest protections for most nonexempt employees, subject to the governing rules and exceptions.
Should I contact the California Labor Commissioner or the U.S. Department of Labor?
The California Labor Commissioner handles covered state wage claims, while the U.S. Department of Labor Wage and Hour Division enforces federal wage laws including the FLSA. Some facts may support both routes, but their coverage, remedies, and deadlines are not identical.
Can one Los Angeles worker bring a wage case affecting the whole job?
Sometimes. When one timekeeping, break, reimbursement, or classification policy affects workers in the same way, a claim may be brought on behalf of a class or through another representative procedure, subject to the requirements for that procedure.