How far back can I recover unpaid wages in Los Angeles?

Most California wage claims reach back three years from when you file, and up to four years when brought under the Unfair Competition Law. Penalties such as meal and rest break premiums and waiting-time penalties have their own limits, so it is best to act before the oldest amounts fall outside the window.

I'm paid a salary — does that mean I can't get overtime?

No. Being paid a salary does not automatically make you exempt. Exemption depends on your actual job duties and meeting a minimum salary threshold. Many salaried employees are misclassified and are legally entitled to daily and weekly overtime they were never paid.

How does California overtime differ from federal overtime?

California is more protective. You earn 1.5x your regular rate after 8 hours in a single workday (not just 40 in a week) and 2x after 12 hours in a day. Missed or interrupted meal and rest breaks also trigger one hour of premium pay each.

Should I file with the Labor Commissioner or go to court?

You can do either. The California Labor Commissioner (DLSE) offers an administrative claim process, while a court lawsuit can be better for larger or more complex cases, including class or PAGA claims. We can review your facts and recommend the path that fits, including a case in the Los Angeles Superior Court at the Stanley Mosk Courthouse.

What does it cost to bring a wage claim?

Most unpaid-wage cases are handled on contingency, so there is no upfront fee. California wage laws also shift attorney's fees onto an employer who violated them, meaning a prevailing employee can often have those fees paid by the employer rather than out of the recovery.

Los Angeles Wage and Hour Lawyer

If your Los Angeles employer denied your overtime, skipped your meal or rest breaks, or held back your final paycheck, California law may let you recover those wages plus penalties. Attorney Mihran M. Ghazaryan represents LA employees — not employers — in unpaid wage and overtime claims. California's protections beat federal law: overtime is owed daily, breaks carry premium pay, and a violating employer can be ordered to pay your attorney's fees. Most cases are handled on contingency, so you owe nothing up front. Consultations available in English, Armenian, and Russian.

Unpaid Wages & Overtime matters in Los Angeles

Wage violations in Los Angeles workplaces

Los Angeles has one of the largest and most varied workforces in the country, and several of its core industries are where wage-and-hour problems surface most often. Warehousing and logistics operations near the ports and across the eastern LA corridor frequently push workers past eight hours a day without paying the correct daily overtime. The garment and manufacturing districts downtown have a long history of piece-rate and off-the-clock pay disputes. Hospitality, restaurants, retail, building services, security, home care, and on-demand delivery round out the sectors where employees most often call about unpaid time.

None of this means every employer in these fields is breaking the law. But it does mean the patterns are familiar: clocking out before the work is finished, "rounding" that only ever favors the company, automatic meal-break deductions for breaks that were never taken, and treating hourly work as if it were salaried.

What California actually requires

California overtime is calculated by the day, not just the week. You earn 1.5x your regular rate after 8 hours in a workday and after 40 hours in a week, and 2x after 12 hours in a day. Non-exempt employees are entitled to an uninterrupted 30-minute meal period before the end of the fifth hour, and to paid 10-minute rest breaks. When a meal or rest break is missed, late, or interrupted, you are owed one hour of premium pay for that day.

Being paid a salary does not automatically make you exempt. Misclassification — labeling a worker "exempt" or an "independent contractor" to avoid overtime — is one of the most common violations. So is off-the-clock work, which is compensable no matter how the employer logs it.

Final pay and the LA County courts

When employment ends, California sets strict deadlines for your last check. If an employer willfully fails to pay everything owed on time, waiting-time penalties under Labor Code §203 add up to 30 days of additional wages. Unpaid-wage claims generally reach back three years, and up to four years under the Unfair Competition Law.

You can pursue these wages by filing with the California Labor Commissioner (DLSE), or by filing a lawsuit in the Los Angeles Superior Court, where civil wage cases are heard at the Stanley Mosk Courthouse downtown. Attorney Ghazaryan can advise which path fits your situation and represent you through it.

How the fees work

California wage statutes shift fees onto a violating employer, which is why these cases are usually handled on contingency: you pay no hourly fee, and the firm is paid from a recovery or fee award. If you suspect you were underpaid, keep your pay stubs, schedules, and any time records, and reach out for a confidential review.

How Mihran M. Ghazaryan helps with unpaid wages & overtime

Mihran M. Ghazaryan reconstructs what you were actually owed from pay stubs, schedules, and the hours you really worked — the overtime, off-the-clock time, and missed breaks an employer hoped you wouldn't track. He tests a 'salaried' or 'contractor' label against your real duties, and pursues the penalties California stacks on top of unpaid wages. These cases are typically contingency, with fees often shifted onto the employer that broke the law.

Types of wage and hour claims we handle

Unpaid overtime & off-the-clock work

California overtime starts after 8 hours in a day (not just 40 in a week), plus double-time rules. Work performed before clocking in or after clocking out is compensable.

Meal & rest break violations

Employees are generally owed a 30-minute meal period and paid rest breaks; missed or interrupted breaks trigger premium pay.

Misclassification & final pay

Being labeled 'exempt' or an independent contractor to avoid overtime, and waiting-time penalties when final wages aren't paid on time.

What you may be able to recover

Every wage claim case is different, but California law lets wronged employees pursue several categories of relief. We document each one — pay records, performance reviews, communications — so nothing is left on the table.

Back pay and lost benefits

Wages, commissions, and benefits you lost from the date of the wrongful act — a core remedy in wrongful-termination and discrimination claims.

Front pay

Future earnings you're likely to lose when reinstatement isn't realistic, measured until you can reasonably be expected to find comparable work.

Emotional distress

Compensation for the anxiety, humiliation, and harm to wellbeing that unlawful treatment at work can cause.

Penalties and punitive damages

Statutory penalties for wage violations, and — where an employer acted with malice or oppression — punitive damages meant to deter the conduct.

Attorney's fees and costs

Many California employment statutes shift the employee's reasonable attorney's fees and costs onto an employer that broke the law.

Reinstatement and policy change

Where it fits the case, getting your job back or forcing the employer to correct the practice that harmed you.

How we work

Free, confidential consultation

We listen first and tell you plainly whether you appear to have a claim. The conversation is confidential and there's no fee to have it — and we're careful if you're still employed.

Preserve the record

Offer letters, handbooks, performance reviews, emails and texts, pay stubs, and a dated timeline. The contemporaneous record is what wins an employment case, so we lock it down early.

Administrative exhaustion and the demand

FEHA claims generally require a complaint with the Civil Rights Department and a right-to-sue notice first. We handle that step, then present a documented demand to the employer.

Litigation when necessary

Many matters resolve through negotiation or mediation. When an employer won't be reasonable, we file and prepare the case fully — which is usually what moves the number.

What to do right away

Keep your pay stubs, schedules, and any record of hours actually worked.

Note when you missed or were interrupted during meal and rest breaks.

Save communications about your classification, duties, and pay.

Don't rely on memory alone — contemporaneous records drive these claims.

Talk to a lawyer about whether to file with the Labor Commissioner or in court.

The information on this website is for general information purposes only. Nothing on this site should be taken as legal advice for any individual case or situation. This information is not intended to create, and receipt or viewing does not constitute, an attorney-client relationship.