Employment

What your employer owes you and what to do when it goes unpaid: breaks, overtime, final pay, worker classification and retaliation.

5 items

The ABC test: employee or independent contractor?In California the default is employee. For most work, a business that treats someone as a contractor must prove all three parts of a test — and the middle one is where many arrangements run into trouble.
Filing a Labor Commissioner wage claim, step by stepCalifornia's wage claim process is designed to work without a lawyer. It is free to file, it can take months, and it resolves many claims too small to justify litigation.
What counts as wrongful termination in California?California is an at-will state, which means many firings are lawful even when they feel unfair. The exceptions are specific, and wrongful termination claims are built on them.
When must your final paycheck arrive after you leave?Immediately if you are fired or laid off, and within 72 hours if you quit without notice — and if an employer willfully pays late, a penalty of a day's wages for each day, up to thirty days.
Meal and rest break rules under California labor lawCalifornia requires meal periods and paid rest periods at defined intervals; a meal period can be unpaid only if you are fully relieved of duty. When a break is not provided, the remedy is an extra hour of pay at your regular rate — not the length of the break.