Legal Question in Civil Litigation in California

The legal rate is 7% per year. That is applied from the date each paycheck was due, until paid, for each unpaid paycheck or unpaid wages due on a partial paycheck. So if it takes 9 months between when a particular check was due and when you get paid, you would get 9/12 of 7% or 5.25%. On the next month's paycheck you would get 8/12 or 4.67%.

You should also be aware that if you are a full time employee, even if making minimum wage, you are owed more than you can sue for in small claims court. And even if you are owed less than the $10,000 small claims limit, you are probably WAY better off filing a claim with the Division of Labor Standards Enforcement. Unlike small claims, where it is entirely on you to prove your case by a preponderance of the evidence, the DLSE will investigate the claim. You will still have to demonstrate you are owed the wages, but it is way easier to demonstrate something to an investigating agency than prove the same thing in court. You can file wage claims here: http://www.dir.ca.gov/dlse/howtofilewageclaim.htm