California overtime law is different from — and generally more protective than — federal law.
Under California Labor Code, non-exempt employees are entitled to overtime after 8 hours in a day, double-time after 12 hours, and premium pay on the seventh consecutive workday. Meal breaks are required for shifts over 5 hours, rest breaks for every 4 hours worked. Violations carry premium pay, penalties, and attorney's fees.
What we handle in these cases.
When wage & overtime cases come into the firm, they usually break down into a few recurring patterns.
- Case intake and initial evaluation
- Evidence preservation and demand letter
- Negotiation, mediation, or arbitration
- Litigation and trial preparation when needed
What California law says.
California statutes, applicable Labor Code sections, and controlling case law govern each of these claims. Deadlines vary. Free consultation covers the specific statute of limitations for your situation.
Bring your pay stubs and a rough calendar of your last two years of hours to the consultation. Wage cases add up quickly.
How the case actually gets built.
Every case John accepts follows the same structural approach. Preserve the evidence early. Interview witnesses while memory is fresh. Get the documentary record — HR file, medical records, police reports, ELD data, surveillance video — under a preservation letter before it disappears. Frame the case for trial from day one, even if it settles at mediation months later.
Wage & Overtime cases at the firm follow the same discipline that runs through every John Ramirez case: preserve evidence early, build the case around the documentary record, and prepare for trial even if the case will settle. Trial preparation is what generates leverage at mediation.
Fees and timeline.
Contingency fee. No fee unless we recover.
Employers who cut corners on wage-and-hour law rely on employees not knowing what they are owed. That is the whole strategy.
Ready to talk?
Consultations are free and confidential. When you call the firm, you speak with John. Same-day response. Se habla español.