Legal Question in Employment Law in California

If you do not actually qualify as exempt, then of course you can file individual actions or if there are enough of you a class action. If you are all in a single location, however, you most likely will not qualify for a class action - that applies to larger groups of people. You need to be careful though, because the labor rules in the tech industry are somewhat different than other industries. So make sure you are looking at the right wage order in thinking you are not in any way exempt. That would be a pretty big mistake for a company to make.

If you were nonexempt (depends on duties) and worked over 8 hours in a workday OR over 40 in a workweek, you are owed time and one-half and double time for hours over 12 in a workday. Any time worked on the 7th consecutive day in a workweek is paid at time and one-half and then double time after that. For each meal and rest period in which you did not have the "opportunity" to take, you are owed 1 hour of pay. OT adds 10% interest per annum and your employer "shall" pay your attorneys' fees. The deadline/statute of limitations for filing a wage claim is 3 years and sometimes 4 if your attorney can add a cause of action for unlawful business practices. Call an employment law attorney to discuss - especially your duties so as to determine whether you were, in fact, misclassified. Gather all your time records and keep them at home as well as copies of your payroll/checks. Many of us offer a free initial phone consultation and may be able to help you at no cost to you.

Class action? No.

All of you should all join in one lawsuit to spread and share the legal costs.

If you are improperly classified as exempt, then you each have grounds for a lawsuit to recover your unpaid compensation, OT, interest, penalties, and if you win, your attorney fees.

If serious about getting counsel to help in this, feel free to contact me. Or contact local counsel through the Lawyer Referral Service.