# Workers Misclassified Independent Contractors Owed Wages > Misclassified as an independent contractor? You may be owed wages, overtime, and penalties. Our California lawyers help employees recover what they're due. Source: https://worklawyerca.com/independent-contractor/ Firm: Employment Lawyers Group — employee-side employment lawyers since 1993. Serving Los Angeles County, California. Phone: (818) 783-7300 (calling is the fastest way to reach the legal team) Office: 13418 Ventura Blvd, Sherman Oaks, CA 91423 Contact form: https://worklawyerca.com/contact/ Consultations are free and confidential; cases are taken on contingency. --- Small employers are notorious for misclassifying their employees as independent contractors in order to avoid labor laws. However, our firm has prevailed against large employers that misclassified their employees as independent contractors. Thus, both large and small employers can be guilty of misclassifying their employees as independent contractors. Employees misclassified as independent contractors are owed overtime, double time, meal breaks, and rest breaks if they are nonexempt. If they are exempt employees they are owed 30 days waiting time penalties if they were not fully paid on time, and PAGA penalties for a failure to pay them as often as employees must be paid. If you worked on the premises of the employer using their tools, were supervised by them, and subject to their work and reporting rules it is unlikely you were an independent contractor. California Labor Code Section 2750.5 creates a rebuttable presumption a person performing services without a license is an employee. Employers can rebut the presumption of employment if: 1.) The individual has the right to control, and discretion as to the manner of performance of the services in the result of the work and means to accomplish it; 2.) The individual is customarily engaged in an independently established business; 3.) The individual’s independence is not a subterfuge to avoid employee status; 4) Cumulative factors in establishing one is an independent contractor include substantial investment other than personal services in the business, holding out to be business for oneself, bargaining to complete a specific project for compensation by the project rather than time, control over the place the work is performed, supplying the tools or instrumentalities used in the work, hiring employees, customarily performing work that requires a particular skill, holding a license, and performing work not customarily within the employee’s business. It is difficult for a California employer to prevail in a misclassification case. Whether a worker has been misclassified as an independent is typically a factually intensive issue in which the employer loses. Our labor lawyers would like to hear about your misclassification situation. CALL (818) 783-7300 ## OVERTIME FOR INDEPENDENT CONTRACTORS Independent contractors who do the same work as an employee performing the same position are probably not independent contractors. [CLICK HERE TO READ ABOUT OVERTIME](https://worklawyerca.com/overtime-pay-lawyer-los-angeles/) If the work being done is the general work the business is engaged in the worker is most likely an employee. If the worker is paid by the hour, forced to keep track of their hours, and generally supervised by the company they are an employee. > Cumulative factors in establishing > an independent contractor include Our law firm has handled cases in which misclassified employees are owed great amounts of overtime. In a Federal Collective Action $525,000 was obtained. Recently $800,000 was obtained for a group of 12. We obtained $175,000 for adult night club performers who were misclassified, and $120,000 against a large employer who misclassified a few writers as independent contractors. If the employer’s goal is to get somebody to work many hours a day, or per week, and avoid paying them overtime because they are called an independent contractor the case may have great value. Overtime rules are somewhat complicated. For example, if the employee does not get a day off after a certain amount of time they may be entitled to double time for their shift. Overtime is both daily and weekly. If the employee is working many hours a week the overtime claim can add up. A failure to pay overtime and/or double time leads to many Labor Code penalties. The value of an overtime case is not merely the overtime, and interest. ## MISCLASSIFIED AS INDEPENDENT CONTRACTOR Employees misclassified as independent contractors have several labor issues besides merely being entitled to overtime and double time. The misclassification of an employee as an independent contractor creates Private Attorney General (PAGA) issues. Under this special section of the California Labor Code our law firm can sue for penalties normally only the Industrial Welfare Commission can obtain. In PAGA lawsuits the employee ends up getting 25% of the otherwise government penalties. PAGA penalties add up quickly. We have handled many PAGA actions in which thousands of dollars in PAGA penalties exist for each employee, for each pay period. PAGA penalties may exceed the actual money owed to the employee for the non-PAGA pay due. Employees improperly called independent contractors may find themselves in need of [workers compensation](https://worklawyerca.com/los-angeles-workers-compensation/) remedies if they are hurt on the job. If you were injured at work and your employer is denying that you were an employee please contact our office at (818) 783-7300. Our law firm has experience proving employers have misclassified the worker, and so the worker is entitled to the legal remedies an employee is entitled to. Please let us assist you. Although past success is not a guarantee nor prediction of future success, our misclassification case results have included: - $800,000 for translators misclassified as employees - $525,000 for persons reporting disaster claims who were called independent contractors - $175,000 for a few stripers misclassified as independent contractors - $120,000 for a few writers misclassified as independent contractors - A private attorney general (PAGA) recovery for massage therapists misclassified - A settled wrongful termination lawsuit for a supervisor who was fired for complaining the subordinates were misclassified Call (818) 783-7300 to speak to an Labor Lawyer ## Our Firm: No Upfront Fees or Costs ### Contingency Fee Representation All employment cases for employees are taken on a **contingency basis**. We are only paid a fee **when and if we win** your case, and we **advance all litigation costs**. Our goal is to make expert legal representation accessible to every hardworking employee. ### Serving Los Angeles County We have proudly served all of Los Angeles County since 1993. Ready to discuss your case? (818) 783-7300 Submit A Contact Form The Employment Lawyers Group has successfully handled 2,000+ Separate California Employment Cases ## Media Engagements ## Sample Case Results breach of commission contract $1,150,000 Unpaid commissions of two plaintiffs unpaid wages $875,000 For 4 oil field service industry workers whose times worked were not recorded on timesheets and were on-call forced to work without pay standby pay case $800,000 Controlled stand by class action settlement Disclaimer: These results are based on the facts of these specific cases and do not guarantee or predict a similar result in any future case. ## Practice Areas [Discrimination Age, Disability, FMLA/CFRA, Gender, National Origin, Pregnancy, Race, and Sexual Orientation discrimination claims.](https://worklawyerca.com/discrimination-attorney-8-facts-to-prove/) [Unpaid Wages & Overtime Recovering earnings for overtime, bonuses, commissions, meal & rest break violations, and prevailing wage claims.](https://worklawyerca.com/unpaid-wages-attorney-los-angeles/) [Sexual Harassment Compassionate and effective representation for sexual harassment and hostile work environment claims.](https://worklawyerca.com/sexual-harassment/) [Wrongful Termination Representing employees terminated in violation of public policy, contracts, or California and federal law.](https://worklawyerca.com/wrongful-termination-settlements/) [Leaves & Retaliation Protecting employees who face adverse actions after reporting illegal activity or taking protected medical leave.](https://worklawyerca.com/leave-of-absence-lawyer-los-angeles/) [Whistleblowers Advocating for employees who report fraud, waste, or abuse under California and federal whistleblower protection laws.](https://worklawyerca.com/los-angeles-whistle-blower-lawyer/) ## Our California Locations ### Bakersfield [BakersfieldLaborAttorney.com](https://bakersfieldlaborattorney.com) 5401 Business Park S, #214, Bakersfield CA 93309 [(661) 412-9600](tel:6614129600) ### Los Angeles [EmployeeLawCA.com](https://employeelawca.com/) 611 Wilshire Blvd, #1023, Los Angeles CA 90017 [(323) 525-1600](tel:3235251600) ### Orange County [WorkLawyerOC.com](https://worklawyeroc.com) 2522 Chambers Rd, #100, Tustin CA 92780 [(714) 210-8000](tel:7142108000) ### Riverside [RiversideEmploymentLawyer.com](https://riversideemploymentlawyer.com) 9496 Magnolia Ave, #208, Riverside CA 92503 [(951) 367-1000](tel:9513671000) ### Sacramento [SacramentoLaborAttorney.com](https://sacramentolaborattorney.com) 777 Campus Commons Rd, #200, Sacramento CA 95825 [(916) 340-0000](tel:9163400000) ### San Bernardino [EmploymentAttorneySanBernardino.com](https://employmentattorneysanbernardino.com) 337 N. Vineyard Ave, #400, Ontario CA 91764 [(909) 663-2100](tel:9096632100) ### San Diego [SanDiegoEmployeeLawyer.com](https://sandiegoemployeelawyer.com) 330 "A" St, #60, San Diego CA 92101 [(619) 320-3000](tel:6193203000) ### San Francisco / Bay Area [BayAreaEmploymentAttorney.net](https://bayareaemploymentattorney.net) 524 Union St, #400, San Francisco CA 94133 [(877) 525-0700](tel:8775250700) ### San Jose / Silicon Valley [SiValleyLaborLawyer.com](https://sivalleylaborlawyer.com) 111 N. Market St, #300, San Jose CA 95113 [(877) 525-0700](tel:8775250700) ### Sherman Oaks [WorkLawyerCA.com](https://worklawyerca.com) 13418 Ventura Blvd, Sherman Oaks CA 91423 [(818) 783-7300](tel:8187837300) ### Torrance / South Bay [JobTerminationLaw.com](https://jobterminationlaw.com/) 3655 Torrance Blvd, 3rd Floor, Torrance CA 90503 [(310) 842-8600](tel:3108428600) ### Ventura / Oxnard [VenturaEmploymentLawyer.com](https://venturaemploymentlawyer.com) 4030 West Hemlock St, Oxnard CA 93035 [(805) 200-0100](tel:8052000100) ### Additional Sites [BostonLaborLaw.com](https://bostonlaborlaw.com) [DcLaborAttorney.com](https://dclaborattorney.com) [FresnoEmployeeLawyer.com](https://fresnoemployeelawyer.com) [JobLawyer.net](https://joblawyer.net) [MarylandLaborAttorney.com](https://marylandlaborattorney.com/) [ModemStud.com](https://modemstud.com) [VintageLosAngeles.org](https://vintagelosangeles.org) [WorkplaceLawyer.org](https://workplacelawyer.org) ## About Firm Founder, Karl Gerber Firm Founder, **Karl Gerber**, has been an employment and wrongful termination attorney since **1993**. He has represented a wide range of employees throughout California. Mr. Gerber has won **51 of the binding arbitrations and jury trials** he first chaired, and a number of his appeals are published. This deep trial experience is the foundation of the firm's strategic approach to litigation. The employment attorneys employed by the Employment Lawyers Group have worked at the firm well in excess of five years, have also tried many different labor cases, and have all been **extensively trained on employment and wrongful termination law by Karl Gerber**. [Meet Karl Gerber](https://worklawyerca.com/karl-gerber/) ## Ready to Discuss Your Case? Your rights as an employee matter. Submit a contact form and we'll get back to you. Submit A Contact Form [Call (818) 783-7300 Now](tel:8187837300)