IS THERE A STATE PENALTY FOR UNPAID WAGES IN CALIFORNIA?
Yes. There are several penalties for unpaid wages in California. Waiting Time Penalties: First, an employer who “willfully” fails to pay all wages owed at the end of an employee’s employment will have to pay a maximum of 30 days of wages as a penalty. The thirty days of wages are whatever an employee makes in one day (including an average of overtime hours worked), times the employee’s rate of pay, times 30. For example, if an employee is not paid overtime (the amount of unpaid overtime does not matter), then she will likely be entitled to waiting-time penalties. If she averaged two overtime hours a day, five days a week, and if she made $20 per hour as her regular rate of pay (making her overtime rate $30/hour), her waiting-time penalties would be $6,600. We calculate her waiting-time penalties as follows: 30 days x (8 hours x $20) + (2 hours x $30) = 30 days x ($160) + ($60) = 30 days x ($220) = $6,600. In our experience, these waiting-time penalties are commonly awarded against empl
