Legal Question in Employment Law in California

All employers must be paid their lawful wages, regardless of their legal status. These employees could file a complaint with the California Labor Commissioner to get paid their wages earned. The Labor Commissioner does not inquire about legal status. This does not guarantee that your mother will not lose her job, but with an employer like this, it should not really matter.

Mr. Kirschbaum is correct; only it has been a very long time since California has had a "labor commissioner" handle wage and hour claims. There is now a large bureaucracy for that. So you might have trouble finding resources online under that key word. The current name for the state agency that handles wage claims is the California Department of Industrial Relations, Division of Labor Standards Enforcement. Their website is: http://www.dir.ca.gov/dlse/dlse.html Your mother can file a claim for wages and will not be asked ANYTHING about her immigration status. And if she gets fired for filing the claim, the DLSE will also prosecute her employer for retaliatory firing.

While it is true that the State's DLSE can handle wage violations, the process is slow and cumbersome, and the reality is that there is very little enforcement.

Your mother and her co-workers are, however, entitled to file suit against their employer for unpaid wages, penalties and interest. Her immigration status cannot be used against her in such a lawsuit. I know that because I handled the case that resulted in a Court of Appeal decision affirming that immigration status is irrelevant in lawsuits enforcing labor laws.

I may be able to take on such a case for your mother, and if so, I would do so on a contingency fee basis (no attorneys fees unless we collect on her behalf from the employer).

If your mother would like a no-obligation consultation, please contact my office.