California labor laws are some of the most protective laws for employees in the United States. Some states have little or no labor code and simply follow the Fair Labor Standards Act, the federal law. However, California labor law is typically much more restrictive and has evolved through progressive thinking and unfortunately, abusive employer conduct, necessitating increased legislation to protect employees. Labor laws in California are designed to protect employees from workplace abuse.

Recent court decisions have defined California labor law in the following areas:

• meal and break periods
• on call duty
• IT and Computer Software exemptions
• California labor law “four ten hour days” which is better known as the alternative work week. California labor law 4 day 10 hour work week must be implemented under CA labor law and must include a vote of employees, and the recording of such vote with the California Department of Labor Standards Enforcement.

State of California labor laws have been instrumental in leading the way to protect employees and CA labor laws have been the model that many other states have followed. Labor laws in California also provide employers with a guideline to follow to avoid costly labor claims and morale problems. California labor law, as with any body of law, has gradually developed over time into what is in place today in the State of California.

As each situation arises, new law is created either through a governing case or legislatively by statute. California state labor laws were created to not only protect the employee from abuse, but to give employers a guideline to follow in order to head off expensive and time consuming court battles and employee disputes. CA labor law seeks to inform and also punish employers who fail to comply; and ignorance, of course, is no excuse for breaking the law. California labor laws when violated often expose employers to damages, interest, penalties and sometimes attorney fees of the employee. A claim can be devastating to the employer so careful study of the California labor laws is essential. State of California labor laws are commonly interpreted by a qualified California overtime lawyer or California labor law attorney as California wage and labor laws are often complicated and are constantly changing. The complex labor laws employers face today also make it prudent for employers to consult with competent California labor law attorneys to interpret California state labor law overtime pay and other regulations for compliance. The CA labor code is multi-faceted from exemptions from overtime pay, to timekeeping requirements, to payment of final wages and as such, failure to understand and comply with these regulations exposes employers to severe penalties.

When California labor law questions arise, it is wise and prudent for an employer to seek counsel before acting. The simplest of violations of pay, vacation or other California labor law, could cause a domino effect of claims, especially for medium and large companies. Employers should remember that word of a violation spreads fast, and the employer can find themselves facing multiple violations from numerous employees if a policy is implemented in violation of the State of California labor laws.

A careful step by step approach should be followed by employees when an alleged violation of California labor law occurs including:

• A review of the employee handbook and company memos to begin the grievance process.
• Documenting a grievance to management including the specific California labor law violation and gathering of evidence and witnesses.
• Seeking the advice of a California labor law attorney if the complaint goes unresolved.
• Have the California labor law attorney interpret recent case law and statutes regarding your alleged CA labor law violation.
• Request that your California labor law attorney send a demand or file a lawsuit on your behalf to enforce your rights of recovery for the alleged California state labor laws violation.

It is all too common for employees to ignore, complain or sabotage the employment relationship before taking action to enforce their rights under the California labor laws. Many times these actions serve to hinder the enforcement of such California employment labor laws and when a complaint is finally lodged by the employee, the employer uses such conduct to discredit the employee. This is the reason it is smart to seek the counsel of a California labor law attorney before this occurs.