# Wage And Hour Claims | Wage Theft | Payroll Lawyer > Employee class action lawyers can obtain compensation to victims of paystub errors in addition to the penalties employers must pay for paystub errors. Source: https://worklawyerca.com/payroll-attorney/ 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. --- ## LABOR CLASS ACTION LAWYER Employers who fail to provide proper itemized paystubs owe employees an initial $50 penalty and $100 penalty thereafter up to $4,000. Some of the paystub information employers must provide to hourly workers differs from the information they must provide to salaried workers. This article details some of the differences. > All California employees must be provided a detachable part of a check, or a separate itemization showing the gross and net wages earned. All California employees must be told in writing what amount of money goes towards deductions. Exempt and nonexempt workers must be told what calendar days (period) their paycheck corresponds to. The legal name of the employer must be on the paystub. The itemization on California employee paystubs must explain to hourly employees how many hours they are paid for, and at what rate of pay. If an hourly employee is paid a piece rate the number of piece rates and all applicable piece rates must be itemized. ## WAGE THEFT EXAMPLES ### The Employment Lawyers Group succeeded in several [class actions](https://worklawyerca.com/ciss-class-action/) for paystub violations with the following fact patterns: > 1. **Paystubs failed to list hours spent waiting for on-call, calls as hours worked** > 2. **Hours worked lumped overtime hours into straight pay hours** > 3. **Employees deprived of meal and rest breaks did not have an hour showing on their paystubs for missed meal and rest breaks** > 4. **The paystub listed the name of an entity the employer claimed was not the employer, but was a holding or parent company** > 5. **Off-the-clock work did not appear on the itemizations** > 6. **The number of hours worked, as stated, on the paystubs was wrong because the time clock failed to record all hours worked, or the employer changed the time punches** > 7. **A rate of pay was listed on the paystub that was not the correct rate of pay** > 8. **Multiple rates of pay paid to employees were not listed** > 9. **Pay was diverted into fringe benefits on a prevailing wage job and it was impossible to determine how many hours 401k contributions represented, and the full prevailing wage rate was not listed on the paystub** Case law held meal break violations can lead to California Labor Code Section 226 violations. Perez v. Safety, 253 F.R.D. 508, 517 (N.D. Cal. 2008) precluded summary adjudication on Labor Code Section 226 claims based upon meal break violations when employees presented evidence they worked 100 hours a pay period due to not being relieved from meal breaks whereas the paystubs claimed they worked 80 hours per pay period. ### EMPLOYEE CLASS ACTION A class action lawsuit is the best remedy for paystub errors. Because there is a maximum $4,000 fine, if the employee has not suffered actual damages which are more for the error, paystub lawsuits are most economically handled as class actions. The employee who acts as the class representative is likely to receive a court approved, “Service Award” in addition to their damages. Bell v. Farmers, 115 Cal.App.4th 715, 726 (2004) upheld service awards to give named plaintiffs compensation for their efforts in bringing the case. A number of federal decisions have allowed service awards to named plaintiffs who are not class representatives. Trujillo v. City of Ontario, 2009 WL 263723 (C.D. 2009) awarded service awards of $10,000 to ten of the twelve named plaintiffs. Service awards to two named plaintiffs were justified where they constituted a small percentage of the gross settlement, In Re Mego Fin, 213 F.3d 463. Ingram, 200 F.R.D. 685, 694 (N.D. Georgia 2001) held service awards of $3,000 to non-representative class members who actively participated in the litigation were warranted. Byran v. Pittsburg, 59 F.R.D. 616. 618 (W.D. PA. 1973) awarded the most active members of the plaintiff class service awards. Huguley v. General Motors, 128 F.R.D. 81, 85 (E.D. Mich. 1989) reversed on other grounds at 35 F.3d 1052 (6th Cir. 1994) awarded incentive payments to 88 class members, including named plaintiffs as well as potential and anecdotal witnesses. Roberts v. Texaco, 979 F.Supp. 201-202 (S.D.N.Y. 1997), in general, wrote plaintiffs in employment class actions who are present or former employees put their credentials and recommendations at risk is suing the employer so service awards are justified. In Boyd v. Bank of America SA-13-CV-00561 DOC on January 19, 2016 Hon. David Carter awarded $2,000 to each class member deponent for their time and effort in providing deposition testimony in support of the class and $1,000 to each class member who provided document and interrogatory discovery responses > Typically paystub errors happen in mass. The same legal violation happening in mass is what class action lawsuits are designed for. Paystub violation lawsuits are more cut and dry than other labor and employment cases. The cut and dry nature of these mass wage violations to a number of employees is another reason why they are particularly well suited for class action treatment. A number of our class action clients have come to our firm on the basis their paystub did not make any sense. Many of these clients suspected they were unpaid. Often, we find additional Labor Code violations. Employers who are not particularly concerned with complying with California paystub rules often are violators of other labor laws. Employers who lose paystub violation lawsuits must pay the legal fees and costs of the winning employee. If you were the victim of a paystub error it is best to discuss the situation with an experienced labor attorney. It does not cost you anything, and you may well deserve compensation a labor lawyer in this field is best able to get for you. ### CONTACT OUR EMPLOYEE WAGE LAWYERS AT (818) 783-7300 IF YOU BELIEVE YOU ARE THE VICTIM OF A PAYSTUB VIOLATION OR ARE OWED WAGES ## 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)