You Gave Them Your Time. Now it's Time To Get Your Money back.
Working long hours means sacrificing time with your family and your personal life. If your employer avoided paying your legally required time-and-a-half or double-time, they are breaking California law. We help workers hold employers accountable and recover the overtime pay they rightfully earned.
Stealing overtime rarely looks like a blatant refusal to pay. Usually, it’s disguised as "just finishing up a quick task," being labeled a "salaried manager" when you mostly do heavy lifting, or dealing with a payroll system that miraculously rounds your hours down. These aren't "glitches." They are calculated tactics designed to save the company money at your expense. If your paycheck doesn't reflect the grueling hours you put in, it’s time to push back.
Being asked to set up, clean up, answer emails, or run errands before you clock in or after you clock out. If you are working, you must be paid.
In California, overtime isn't just about working more than 40 hours a week. If you work more than 8 hours in a single day, you are owed time-and-a-half.
Putting you on a salary and calling you a "manager" doesn't strip away your right to overtime. If your daily duties are mostly regular work, you likely still deserve overtime pay.
Private employers cannot legally offer you "comp time" (extra time off later) instead of paying you your legally earned overtime wages on your current paycheck.
Wage theft thrives in the shadows. Employers bank on the hope that you won't notice the missing hours, or that you'll be too afraid to speak up.
That is why this work matters.
At The Ghol Firm, we shine a light on payroll records, timecards, and company policies. We do the math, find the missing money, and demand every cent you are owed—plus penalties.
“Employers will use every trick in the book to avoid paying overtime. We look past the excuses, do the exact math, and get our clients the money they worked for.” — Avi Gholian, Founding Attorney
We work on a contingency basis. You pay nothing out of pocket, and we only get paid if we win your case.
California has the strongest overtime protections in the country. We use the Labor Code to your absolute advantage.
We know how to audit payroll records and expose the gaps. A precise, fact-based claim is often all it takes to force an employer to pay up.
You do not need to figure this out alone. We keep the process clear, explain what matters, and help you understand what comes next.
No high-pressure sales. Just an honest talk about your situation and how we can help.
We listen to your schedule, how you were paid, and figure out if your employer violated California overtime laws.
We look at your pay stubs, timecards, text messages, and daily tasks to find the hidden, unpaid hours.
We calculate exactly what you are owed—including time-and-a-half, double-time, and legally mandated penalties for late pay.
Whether through negotiation, a wage claim, or litigation, we take the fight to your employer to recover your stolen wages.
Legal News & Stories
Fired After Reporting Illegal Conduct? California Whistleblower Retaliation Rights If you reported something illegal at work and were fired soon
Misclassified as a 1099 Contractor in California? You May Actually Be an Employee Your employer may call you a “1099
Sexual Harassment in California: Texts, Videos, Remote Work, and Workplace Rights Sexual harassment does not have to happen behind a
Caregiver Rights in California: When Sleep Time Must Be Paid Many caregivers are told the same thing: “You can sleep
Your Overtime and Meal Break Premiums May Be Too Low Here is the hidden wage issue many California employees never
Employer’s Duty to Engage in the Interactive Process in California If you told your employer you needed help because of
If you put in the extra hours, you deserve the extra pay. Contact us today for a free, confidential consultation. We fight for your rights on a contingency basis—you pay nothing unless we win.
California law is highly protective of workers. You are owed time-and-a-half (1.5x) your regular rate for any hours worked over 8 in a single day, or over 40 in a single week. You are owed double-time (2x) for hours worked over 12 in a single day, or for hours worked beyond 8 hours on your seventh consecutive day of work in a single workweek.
Very likely, yes. Simply being paid a salary does not mean you lose your right to overtime. To be truly “exempt” from overtime in California, you must perform high-level administrative, executive, or professional duties at least 51% of the time, and you must make a strict minimum salary. If your boss just calls you a manager but you spend all day doing the same manual tasks as everyone else, you probably deserve overtime.
It doesn’t matter. Under California law, if your employer “knew or should have known” that you were working off the clock or putting in extra hours, they must pay you for it—even if the overtime was unauthorized or discouraged by company policy.
Misclassification is one of the most common tricks employers use to steal overtime. In California, it is very difficult for a company to legally classify a worker as an independent contractor due to the strict “ABC test.” If the company controls when, where, and how you do your job, you are likely an employee under the law, and you are fully entitled to overtime pay.
Yes. Paying you a flat daily rate, a “piece rate,” or commission does not cancel out California’s overtime laws. Your employer must still track your hours. If you work more than 8 hours in a day or 40 hours in a week, they are required to calculate your “regular hourly rate” based on your total earnings and pay you the proper overtime premium on top of it.
No. It is strictly illegal under California law for an employer to fire, demote, cut hours, or otherwise retaliate against you for asking about your pay or filing a wage claim. If they try to punish you for speaking up, you may be entitled to significant additional compensation through a retaliation or wrongful termination lawsuit.
In California, the standard statute of limitations for filing an unpaid wage claim is three years from the date the overtime was stolen. However, this can often be extended to four years under California’s Unfair Competition Law. Don’t wait to take action—the longer you wait, the harder it can be to secure company payroll records.
