Employees in medical centers provide crucial services to society. That said, it is only fair that they receive the pay they have worked for. However, even medical employers can violate wage and hour laws, paying their employees less than they deserve or denying them overtime. If you suspect your employer is not doing right by you regarding wage payment, you can take action to hold them accountable.

One of the actions you can take is to consult an experienced employment law attorney. They will help you determine whether you have a case against your employer. If you do, the lawyer can help you file a claim or lawsuit to pursue compensation for the unpaid wages.

At Stop Unpaid Wages, our lawyers have in-depth knowledge of California employment law and wage and hour regulations. You need not lose your rightful wages. We will protect your rights, fight for you,  and ensure you receive what you deserve, regardless of which medical center you work at within California.

The California Medical Industry Overview

California's medical industry is among the most diverse and largest in the country. California’s population, diverse demographics, and immense wealth have resulted in a thriving medical industry that employs many people and provides various services.

Employment within the medical industry in California is a critical aspect of the state’s economy. The medical industry is among the largest sectors in the state and is expected to continue growing in the future. According to data from the California Employment Development Department (EDD), the medical sector added more than 33,000 job opportunities in December 2021, raising the number of job opportunities in that industry to more than 2.2 million.

Also, employment within the medical field is highly specialized, necessitating legally mandated and significant training and education. Not only this, but the medical industry encompasses so many different jobs, like the following:

  • Surgeon
  • Physician
  • Physician assistant
  • Registered nurses (RN)
  • Nurse practitioner
  • Licensed practical nurses (LPN)
  • Medical assistant
  • Occupational therapist
  • Physical therapist
  • Dental assistant
  • Dentist
  • Speech therapist
  • Radiologic technologist
  • Sonographer
  • Diagnostic medical
  • Medical lab technician
  • Medical Coders
  • Medical lab scientist
  • Health information technicians
  • Medical billing specialists
  • Personal care aides
  • Home health aides
  • Hospital administrator
  • Hospice worker

These jobs have professionals working in a wide range of medical centers, including:

  • Hospitals
  • Skilled nursing facilities
  • Nursing facilities
  • Residential care establishments
  • Intermediate care facilities and residential care facilities
  • Assisted living facilities

Employment within the medical industry in California offers competitive wages, many career opportunities, and the opportunity to impact lives. However, the complex and sensitive nature of different occupations within the industry requires extensive protection for these workers.

Wage and Hour Laws and the Medical Industry

The California Labor Code outlines particular conditions for how employees, including those in medical centers, must be paid. It also outlines protections regarding the usually long hours they work. According to these laws, employees, including those at medical centers, have the right to these specific protections:

  • Receiving a minimum wage
  • Receiving final wages promptly
  • Receiving overtime pay
  • Going for rest and meal breaks
  • Receiving workers’ comp insurance

Overtime Laws

Entitlement to overtime wages is another crucial right California wage and hour laws provide to workers at medical centers. California overtime statutes apply only to nonexempt workers. Employers might attempt to bypass overtime regulations by pressuring or requiring workers to work off the clock.

Double Time Overtime

Wage and hour laws in California require medical employers to pay their workers ‘‘double time’’ overtime. This means twice their standard pay rate for any job exceeding twelve hours in a single workday or any job exceeding eight hours on the 7th day of a workweek.

Time and a Half Overtime

A medical employer must pay workers ‘’time and a half’’ overtime. This means 1.5 times the standard pay rate for any job that exceeds eight hours in a single day or forty hours in a single workweek. Workers at medical centers also have the right to receive "time and a half" overtime for the initial eight hours of work they perform on the 7th day of a workweek.

In some instances, employees and employers at medical centers may agree that workers work a maximum of ten hours in a single workday, in a forty-hour workweek, with no overtime pay. That is called an alternative workweek schedule. For this arrangement to be successful, at least two-thirds of the affected employees must approve it.

Minimum Wage Laws

Workers in medical centers must receive their minimum wage as provided under California’s wage and hour statutes for hourly rates. As of Jan. 2, 2025, the minimum wage for most medical center employees is $16.50 hourly. However, for particular medical centers, including those having dialysis clinics or ten thousand or more workers, the minimum wage is $25 per hour after the enactment of Senate Bill (SB) 525. This is just the state minimum wage. Many counties and cities have a higher minimum wage.

California SB 1162 (pay transparency statutes) makes it compulsory for medical employers with fifteen or more workers to incorporate the pay range in their job postings. Employees can also request a pay range for their position.

Job-Protected Leave Laws

Employees at medical centers are also entitled to job-protected leaves per wage and hour laws, as follows:

  • At least an hour of paid sick leave for every thirty hours worked
  • The law does not require employers to provide unpaid or paid vacation time
  • A maximum of four months of unpaid PDL (pregnancy disability leave)
  • Unpaid leave for jury service
  • A maximum of twelve weeks of unpaid family leave via CFRA

Rest and Meal Break Laws

Employment laws in California also require medical center employers to allow workers to have regular rest breaks and meal breaks.

Workers working beyond five hours in a single workday must have at least thirty minutes of a meal break. However, if the worker will not work beyond six hours of the workday, they might agree not to have their meal break. Also, workers who will do the job beyond ten hours a day must have a thirty-minute meal break. The employee can waive their second meal break if they have not waived their first and will not work beyond twelve hours in the day.

Wage and hour statutes also require employees at the medical centers to have rest breaks and rest periods. These employees have the right to receive a rest period of ten minutes for every four hours, or a significant fraction thereof, they work. Nevertheless, workers have no right to rest periods for work shifts lasting less than 3.5 hours. When these breaks are ongoing, the employer might not need the worker to stay on call or perform other tasks.

Note that rest breaks are paid, but meal breaks are unpaid. Your rest break begins when you reach the rest area, which your employer must provide. The rest area must also be a distinct area from the bathrooms.

Whereas these statutes highlight the primary legal protections for employees in California medical centers, several legal options are available if your employer violates your workplace rights. The California Labor Code allows medical employees to bring a wage lawsuit or claim against their employer if they violate these protections. Working closely with an experienced employment attorney can help determine the kind of case you can pursue and how you will approach it.

At the federal level, the FLSA (Fair Labor Standards Act) protects employees’ rights to fair wages for work done. This law provides that workers must receive the national minimum wage for all the hours they have worked and time-and-a-half overtime wages for all hours worked beyond 40 hours in a workweek. Many employers violate federal rules and pressure workers to work without paying overtime or the minimum wage. You can file a wage and hour claim against your medical employer if they have violated federal overtime laws or wage payment rules.

Under the Fair Labor Standards Act, the minimum wage for employees is $7.25 hourly. However, employees working in states paying higher than $7.25 in minimum wage have the right to their state's minimum wage rate. That means since California’s minimum wage for medical center workers is higher, all medical center employees are entitled to the state's minimum wage rate.

Concerning overtime payment, the Fair Labor Standards Act does not cap the hours a worker can work in a single workweek. The cap exists only if the worker is still a minor. However, workers working over forty hours a week must receive one and a half times the standard pay rate for each hour above forty hours.

Except for local and state government bodies, it is unlawful for a company to give a worker compensatory time off from work rather than paid overtime pay. Every workweek stands separately to calculate the hours worked and the compensation amount due.

Exempt Employees

Some employees are exempt from receiving rest and meal breaks, overtime pay, and completing timesheets under the California Labor Code and FLSA. These employees may be paid on a salary basis instead of hourly. Deciding whether a worker is non-exempt or exempt is an essential decision each employer must make before they offer employment to a person to avoid employee misclassification. There are five categories of employees:

  • Particular salespersons who do sales work outside of the office or at other fixed locations
  • These employees do office work or other non-manual duties directly linked to the facility’s general business operations. They exercise independent judgment and discretion in their job performance.
  • These are workers whose duty is mainly to manage a facility or subdivision. They also have firing and hiring authority and routinely directly supervise no less than two full-time workers.
  • Learned professionals. These are workers who do intellectual duties in fields of learning and science. Their duties require consistently exercising discretion and judgment.
  • True NGO volunteers and independent contractors

Prevalent Wage and Hour Law Violations In Medical Centers

Medical centers can commit wage and hour law violations in several ways. Common ones include the following:

  • Requiring workers to do work duties off the clock. Employers violate wage and hour laws by compelling workers to do job tasks off the clock without recording their work hours. This comprises tasks done after clocking out or before clocking in, like shutting down machines when the shift ends and changing into work clothes or setting up equipment at the beginning of the shift.
  • Inaccurately calculating overtime pay owed. Inaccurate overtime pay calculations can happen when medical facilities misinterpret how they should calculate overtime. This usually leads to underpayment. Proper calculation entails including non-discretionary bonuses, commissions, and other benefits in establishing a worker's standard rate before applying the time-and-a-half multiplier as the law requires.
  • Denying overtime wages. Some medical employers try to pay workers the standard rate for the hours they have worked overtime. Other employers decline to pay employees for work done because the overtime hours were unapproved. Denying workers full-time payment violates federal and state laws that ensure fair compensation for prolonged working hours.
  • Misclassifying workers. Some employers misclassify workers as exempt per the law and decline to make any excessive payment for the employee working more than forty hours a week.
  • Requiring workers to remain on call. If you must remain on call and cannot use your free time however you choose, your employer should pay you overtime for the time you are on call. If your employer requires you to be within a particular distance from your office or return phone calls within a brief period, you should receive overtime pay for staying on call and putting your life on hold.
  • Denial of rest and meal breaks. If your employer fails to give or denies your entitled rest and meal breaks, they would have violated California wage and hour laws.
  • Unauthorized deductions. Illegal deductions from a worker's paycheck, like for tools or uniforms, are prohibited under wage and hour laws. They are deemed wage theft.
  • Final paycheck violations. Any medical center that delays payment or neglects to give departing workers their final paycheck has committed wage theft through withholding the owed wages.
  • Off-the-clock work. Medical centers requiring workers to work off the clock without pay violate wage and hour laws. These facilities deprive employees of the wages they deserve.
  • This happens when workers receive less payment than the stipulated minimum wage or agreed-upon salary.
  • Pay stub violations. Employers that fail to provide itemized and accurate pay stubs as the law requires violate wage and hour laws by withholding crucial information from employees.

Steps to Take If Your Employer Violates Your Wage and Hour Laws

Medical center employees are subject to challenging workplace environments. Thus, it is overwhelming and frustrating when medical facilities break the laws, whether by neglecting to uphold safety standards, withholding wages, or retaliating against employees who call them out. However, you need not handle it on your own. You have employment rights and can take various steps to safeguard yourself, seek justice, and hold the employer accountable.

Document Everything

Store comprehensive records to safeguard yourself and build your case. These will act as evidence when you file a claim or lawsuit. Some of the information you will need includes the following:

  • Messages, performance reviews, and emails that reveal a sequence of unjust treatment
  • Times, dates, and descriptions of wage violations
  • Logs or timesheets of your hours worked
  • Any reports you escalated to management, and the action they too,k or lack thereof
  • Pay stubs that show discrepancies in your wages
  • Witness statements from colleagues experiencing the same issues
  • Copies of any bounced checks from your employer

Rigorous documentation will support your lawsuit or claim should you bring a complaint or pursue legal action. The more evidence you document, the higher your chances of recovering damages.

Report or Raise the Violation With Internal Channels

If it is safe, report the violation to your human resource department, compliance officer, or supervisor. Many medical centers have internal avenues for addressing complaints. Present your issues in writing and store copies of your records.

Bring a Wage and Hour Claim

You could bring your claim to the relevant agency if the employer does not take action to address your complaint. Because it is a wage violation, you will bring your claim to the California Labor Commissioner’s Office, also called the California DLSE (Division of Labor Standards and Enforcement). You will file your complaint with the agency mentioned above, whether you are complaining about missed breaks, overtime issues, or unpaid wages.

If you face wage-based discrimination, you can file your claim with the California CRD (Civil Rights Department) or the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). If your medical employer has paid you unfairly based on gender, age, race, or any other protected trait.

If your employer retaliated against you for reporting wage violations or wage-based discrimination, you can bring your retaliation complaint to the California Department of Industrial Relations.

You can file your claim by mail, online, or personally at a local office. The Labor Commissioner’s Office will investigate your case and hold a proceeding to establish whether or not your employer owes you unpaid wages. Should they rule in your favor, they could order the employer to compensate you with the money you are owed.

If the outcome is not in your favor or your employer offers a low settlement amount, you can file a wage and hour claim lawsuit in court. Or, you can join an active class action lawsuit to demand just compensation.

Damages Recoverable In a Medical Care Wage Claim

If your medical employer has violated your wage and hour rights, there are several channels you can pursue to hold them responsible, as mentioned above. One of the ways is to raise an internal administrative complaint. This option would provide various administrative remedies, such as injunctive orders and fines. However, filing a claim with the state body enforcing California employment laws or a civil lawsuit in court provides a way of recovering damages as compensation. In a wage and hour claim or lawsuit, you may recover these damages:

  • Back pay
  • Lost wages, like unpaid wages
  • Liquidated damages
  • Front pay
  • Loss of enjoyment of life or dignity
  • Emotional distress
  • Pain and suffering

Note that the specific damages you will eventually recover in your claim or lawsuit are based on the circumstances and facts of your case. They also depend on the specific law your employer violated. Remember, you may also file a lawsuit against your employer’s directors, officers, managers, or owners if they caused the violation of your wage and hour rights.

And should your employer retaliate against you for filing a wage and hour suit, you will have further cause of action against them.

The Statutes of Limitations for Wage and Hour Lawsuits

Understanding the statute of limitations for filing a wage and hour lawsuit is essential. A statute of limitations is the law that stipulates the timeframe within which you may bring your lawsuit. The statute of limitations is based on the kind of claim you file.

The statute of limitations for wage and hour lawsuits is three years, counted from the date your claim arose. On the other hand, a lawsuit for wrongful termination has a two-year statute of limitations from the day of termination. An experienced employment attorney can assist you in determining what kind of claim you have. They will then ensure you file your claim within the specified statute of limitations so you have the maximum chance of recovering damages.

Find a Skilled Employment Law Attorney Near Me

As a medical employee in California, you have the right to receive the wages you have worked hard for and all the benefits you have earned. It is illegal for your employer to deny your hard-earned payment. If you suspect your employer has violated wage and hour laws, consult an experienced employment law attorney immediately, as you may have grounds for compensation.

At Stop Unpaid Wages, we have committed ourselves to fighting for workers’ rights throughout California. We can help you hold your medical employer responsible for all the payments you failed to receive and any resulting damages. We have highly qualified attorneys ready to fight to ensure you receive what is rightfully yours. Call us today at 424-781-8411 for a consultation. We will thoroughly evaluate the facts of your case and determine whether you have a valid claim.