Are you owed pay from a San Francisco 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
- My offer letter calls me a salaried 'operations lead,' but I spend the week doing the same hourly tasks as the team I supposedly manage, with no overtime pay. The law calls it → possible misclassification 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.
San Francisco workers who are not exempt are owed pay for all time on the clock, plus California daily overtime past eight hours, premiums for skipped meal or rest breaks, reimbursement of job expenses, itemized pay stubs, and final wages on time. Several state wage claims look back three years, while restitution can reach four and wage-statement penalties only one.
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 San Francisco.
- Every underpaid paycheck can open its own clock, so the longer you wait, the more likely the earliest weeks of unpaid work fall outside the period you can still recover.
- California's common three-year period is not the only clock. A restitution theory can reach back four years, while the wage-statement penalty runs on a one-year clock, and the federal FLSA gives two years, or three if the violation was willful.
- A salary, a manager title, or a signed contractor agreement does not decide whether you were classified correctly. The duties you actually perform and the governing legal test do.
- State and federal wage claims do not share one deadline or one filing door. Identify every route that might apply before assuming the longest window protects you.
Where do you file a wage and hour claim in San Francisco?
California Labor Commissioner, Division of Labor Standards Enforcement
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, San Francisco District Office
Serves San Francisco, San Mateo, Napa, Del Norte, Humboldt, Mendocino, Alameda, and Contra Costa counties.
90 7th Street, Suite 12-100San Francisco, CA 94103-6719
(415) 625-7720 WHD complaint / inquiry form →
Superior Court of California, County of San Francisco
Civic Center Courthouse400 McAllister Street
San Francisco, CA 94102
The filing path, step by step
- 1Gather the proof while you still have access: schedules, punch records, pay stubs, written wage policies, and Slack or text messages about work done before or after a shift, along with your own honest estimate of every hour you were on duty.
- 2For a California wage claim, file with the Labor Commissioner's Office (DLSE). The San Francisco district office is at 455 Golden Gate Avenue, 9th Floor, Suite 9628. The state process can recover unpaid wages, overtime, meal and rest premiums, expense reimbursement, and waiting-time penalties.
- 3For a federal minimum-wage or overtime issue, the U.S. Department of Labor Wage and Hour Division accepts complaints through an online form, by phone, or in person at its San Francisco District Office, 90 7th Street, Suite 12-100.
- 4State and federal routes carry different coverage, remedies, and deadlines. An attorney can weigh whether an agency claim, an individual lawsuit, or a class and representative action best matches the pay problem you and your coworkers are facing.
Wage-and-hour information in other California cities
- FresnoWage-and-hour information
- Long BeachWage-and-hour information
- Los AngelesWage-and-hour information
- Orange CountyWage-and-hour information
- RiversideWage-and-hour information
- SacramentoWage-and-hour information
Asked by San Francisco workers.
I'm salaried at a San Francisco startup but do the same work as the hourly team. Can I still be owed overtime?
Possibly. A salary and an impressive title do not by themselves create an overtime exemption; the real test looks at your duties, your level of discretion, your pay, and the applicable California and federal standards. Save your schedules and a plain description of a typical week.
The app logs my delivery time but not the waiting between trips. Does that time count?
It may. Time you are required to stay available and under the platform's control can be compensable, and unreimbursed mileage and phone costs raise separate issues. Keep your own record of hours and expenses; how a company labels you does not settle whether the time was owed.
My SF employer auto-deducts a lunch even on days I never stop working. What should I document?
Hold onto your time punches, posted schedules, and any messages showing you were the only person covering the floor, and note each shift you worked straight through. Most nonexempt employees in California are entitled to a duty-free meal period and paid rest breaks, within the limits the law sets.
Do I file with the state Labor Commissioner or the federal Wage and Hour Division?
It depends on the law your claim rests on. State wage rights, such as daily overtime, break premiums, expense reimbursement, and waiting-time penalties, run through California's Labor Commissioner. A federal minimum-wage or FLSA overtime problem goes to the U.S. Department of Labor. Some facts open both doors, each with its own remedies and clock.