Legal Question in Employment Law in California

Sounds like you should be. There is no such thing as 'partly pregnant', nor partly exempt. You can either file a claim with the Labor Commissioner, or file a lawsuit. Either way you can hire an attorney and be entitled to your fees if you win. Feel free to contact me.

They clearly are not trying to claim you are an exempt employee, or they would not be paying you overtime. Given you don't make the threshold salary, it would be foolish for them to try to claim you are exempt. What is less clear from your question is what "perks" exactly are the other non-exempt employees getting that you are not. You are not entitled to be paid for time off the clock, except for two ten minute breaks in an 8 hour shift. They are required to give you at least a half hour meal break, but that does not have to be paid. If they give other non-exempt employees their meal break paid, that does not obligate them to give it to you. If you have not been getting two paid "tens" and an unpaid "half" per 8 hour shift, then Mr. Nelson is right that you have a Division of Labor Standards Enforcement claim. Bear in mind, however, that the current state of the law (this changes back and forth periodically) is that they only have to "allow" you to take the breaks. They are not responsible for making sure you take them.