Legal Question in Employment Law in California

Re: Breach of contract?

With those facts and proof, you can file a Claim with the Labor Commissioner for unpaid comp, plus interest, plus penalties. Contact me if interested in help in the claim, or if you then are retaliated against.

Re: Breach of contract?

If you were promised that you would be paid a certain percentage and they are not paying you that percentage, you have a claim for unpaid wages. You can file a claim with the Labor Commissioner or contact me if you wnat futher assistance.

Re: Breach of contract?

The short answer to your question is No; your employer cannot retroactively reduce your rate of pay unless its agreed to by you.

You should file a claim with the Wage and Hour Board for unpaid wages. You will need to use the records you obtained to prove your case unless the employer volunteers correct financials.

Your employer may well take action against you

for copying the records, including firing you. If you are being cheated upwards to $15,000 over a 6 month period, maybe losing this job is not such a hardship. Also, even if your employer fires you for copying the records, you can still pursue a civil lawsuit, claiming wrongful discharge in violation of public policy and illegal reprisal for protected activity.

In a case somewhat similar to yours, an employee copied an employer's documents for use in a contemplated lawsuit. When the employer discovered the unauthorized copying, it argued

that the employee's discrimination case should be dismissed since the employer had grounds to fire the employee for the unauthorized copying. The case went all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court, which held that the employee could still pursue

the discrimination case. However, the Court also held that even though the lawsuit was not barred the employer could raise the subsequently discovered misconduct as a defense to the employee's claim for lost wages since the employee had no right to employment after engaging in the copying misconduct.

In your situation, to the extent you are seeking back wages owed that you already earned, your misconduct in copying the records without authorization does not appear to be a viable defense to the claim, but may be a basis for your termination, which you could still challenge. Clearly, there are lots of legal issues and a court could go either way, depending on the state of the evidence.

Ultimately, this may be a situation where there is room to negotiate since both sides have grounds to be concerned about how their conduct will be judged.

Good Luck.