What are the differences between California labor law and Federal?
The California Labor Code Has More Protections Than The Federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA)
Generally, California labor law is much more favorable to workers’ rights than federal labor law. The 2023 minimum wage in California ($15.50) is higher than the federal minimum wage ($7.25). California requires workers get paid for all hours worked, whereas federal labor law allows uncompensated hours for tasks that are “ancillary” to the employee’s primary job duties. Workers who are misclassified as independent contractors in California can recover hefty penalties under the California labor code, whereas federal labor law has no penalties recoverable by workers.
California also requires employers provide reimbursement for all business expenses, whereas federal labor law allows an employer to refuse to pay business expenses as long as workers are earning minimum wage (once you factor in owed reimbursement for business expenses). California requires unpaid meal and paid rest breaks, whereas federal law does not. California guarantees workers a certain number of sick days, and any vacation days they earn can be cashed out at the end of their employment. Federal law has no similar mechanism.
Lastly, federal law strictly ignores time that employees are forced to work off-the-clock if it is in smaller than, generally, a 10-minute increment. California off-the-clock law does not adopt this federal de minimis doctrine, and will compensate smaller amounts of time if they add up to a larger amount.
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Our Employment Law Practice
Girard Gibbs consists of seasoned trial lawyers, leading employment attorneys, and experienced complex litigators. Our attorneys have been appointed by judges in California and around the country to leadership positions and have achieved landmark recoveries in high-stakes cases. We have recovered over a billion dollars for our clients against the world’s largest corporations.
Girard Gibbs frequently represents classes of employees nationwide in state and federal litigation against their employers for over 20 years. We’ve represented employees in a wide range of cases including employee misclassification, overtime, minimum wage, exempt employees, vacation pay & mass layoffs. Our firm has successfully stopped unlawful employment practices across the country, ensuring that employees get the pay and benefits they are owed.
Girard Gibbs LLP has earned Tier-1 rankings for Mass Tort and Class Action Litigation and has been named in the U.S. News – Best Lawyers “Best Law Firms” list for four consecutive years since 2013. Our advocacy has been nationally recognized by the courts, our peers, and our clients.
Linda has recovered millions of dollars prosecuting fraud, breach of contract, and breach of fiduciary cases against large banks and insurance companies.
Ashleigh Musser
Ashleigh represents consumers and employees in class actions and mass arbitration involving consumer protection and employment law.
Jeff represents workers and consumers in complex class actions involving data breaches and privacy, employment law, and other corporate misconduct.
About Us
Gibbs Mura is a California-based law firm committed to protecting the rights of clients nationwide who have been harmed by corporate misconduct. We represent individuals, whistleblowers, employees, and small businesses across the U.S. against the world’s largest corporations. Our award-winning lawyers have achieved landmark recoveries and billions of dollars for our clients in high-stakes class action and individual cases involving consumer protection, data breach, digital privacy, and federal and California employment lawsuits. Our attorneys have received numerous honors for their work, including “Top Plaintiff Lawyers in California,” “Top Class Action Attorneys Under 40,” “Consumer Protection MVP,” “Best Lawyers in America,” and “Top Cybersecurity/ Privacy Attorneys Under 40.”
If you’ve been misclassified, denied overtime pay, or not reimbursed for business related expenses you may have a claim. Speak to our employment attorneys for a free consultation.
