(continued from Answer above)

Even if your employer violated the law, there may be many reasons not to do anything about it just now. Taking action could result in the loss of your job due to employer retaliation. While it is illegal to retaliate against an employee who makes a good faith complaint about unlawful pay practices, all the law does is provide a remedy after the fact; the law cannot prevent your employer from taking retaliatory action in the first place. You may find yourself out of a job in this terrible economy and unable to find a replacement. No law suit, no matter how successful, can ever give you back the lost time and lost peace of mind that are taken from you during any litigation.

There is an alternative, though it involves waiting. California law requires an employer to pay an employee all accrued wages, vacation, PTO, and ascertainable commissions AT THE TIME the employer ends the employment relationship. If the employee quits without advance notice, the employer has 72 hours to make this payment.

If the employer does not pay as required, there is a penalty against the employer and in favor of the employee: the employee’s pay continues as if the employee were still working, every day until the employer pays in full, up to a maximum of 30 days. The employee is entitled to interest at 10 per cent per annum on the unpaid amount. Also, if the employee must go to court to get his or her pay, then the employee is awarded reasonable attorney’s fees and costs of suit.

So when your employment with this employer ends you can PROBABLY pursue a wage claim or lawsuit if you are not paid everything as required. Your best bet is always to consult one or more experienced employment law attorneys with whom you can discuss the details of your situation and go over your time limits. Please do not rely on general information from a public site such as Avvo.

Keep track of all the information related to this situation. Write down the details using names, dates, location, witnesses, times of day – as much as you can. Save copies of any documents. Keep all this at home, not at work, to make sure it remains private.

When you are ready: The Division of Labor Standards Enforcement (DLSE) is a sub-agency within the California Department of Industrial Relations. http://www.dir.ca.gov/dlse/. Some people refer to the DLSE as the Labor Commissioner. The DLSE enforces California's wage and hour laws, including those pertaining to overtime, rest and meal breaks, and more. The link for information on filing a wage claim is here: http://www.dir.ca.gov/dlse/howtofilewageclaim.htm.

You advice is always excellent, Ms. Spencer. But, with this post I think you outdid yerself (sic).

Thank you. I cheat, you know. I use macros. No way I would have the time to type out such long responses otherwise!

I knew as much. Still, I don't remember reading the "waiting" part before which is the advice I thought was particularly helpful. Askers are frequently more concerned with their “right to sue” than they should be, IMO. They fail to understand the practical implications and that it costs $s – usually more $s than any Asker is willing or able to pay – and frequently more than their claim is worth.

To the fact of giving a copy of the law my employer has already been done a week ago by another coworker. Adhoc phone policy has not changed.