How do I know if I am receiving a fair wage?

I think my employer is paying me less than the minimum wage. How do I know if I am receiving the correct wage?

Unfortunately, employers too often do not pay their employees what they are legally required to pay them. A UCLA study found that more than one in ten workers who work in low wage industries in Los Angeles frequently experience violations of minimum wage, overtime and rest break violations. These types of violations are known as wage theft.

So, it is quite possible that your employer is not paying the legal minimum wage.

First, in order to determine whether or not your employer is paying you the correct wage, you need to document your pay rate. It does not matter what the employer says they are paying you or what you think you are earning. What matters is what is on your paystub. In California, employers must provide employees with an itemized wage statement. Even if you are paid in cash, the employer must provide a written wage statement. The wage statement should clearly show how many hours worked in the pay period and the wage.

The best way to document wage theft is to keep copies of all paystubs and write down any other information that you think is important. For example, some people keep a log daily of when they punch in and punch out of work and when they take their breaks. The log should be as detailed as possible.

Second, you need to determine the correct minimum wage for your work. There are a surprising number of minimum wage laws in California and the County of Los Angeles. California has a minimum wage, as does the County of Los Angeles and some cities, such as the City of Los Angeles. It can be confusing but it also means that your employer might be paying you below the legally required wage. Below are some of these laws with their rates. Your employer must pay the highest rate. So for example, if you work at a restaurant in Los Angeles that has more than 26 employees, the employer must pay the Los Angeles City Minimum wage which is $15.00, not the lower $14.00 minimum wage of the California law.

Third, you should ensure that your employer is paying you for all of the hours that you work. California has strong, pro-worker laws that require regular paid breaks of 10 minutes every four hours and an unpaid lunch of 30 minutes for 5 hours of work. Overtime must be paid at time and a half of your regular rate for hours worked over 8 in one day or 40 in a week. Again, documenting all hours worked and not worked is critical.

Finally, if you believe that you might be a victim of wage theft, you should consult an attorney who specializes in wage and hour violations, such as Legal Aid of Los Angeles or file a complaint with the California Department of Labor Standards. The directions on how to file a claim are found: HERE.

*CPI. Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W) for the Los Angeles metropolitan area (Los Angeles-Riverside-Orange County, CA), which is published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics.