If your employer is engaging in unfair labor practices, there are generally two alternatives available to you: hire an attorney or file a claim with the Fresno Labor Board office.
The Fresno Labor Board ensures that all workers are treated fairly under federal and state law, and investigates claims related to unpaid wages & overtime, meal & rest period violations, and other labor board violations. However, there are many things to consider prior to contacting the Fresno Labor Board:
- If you file a Fresno labor board claim, you may not be able to require your employer to provide the evidence you need to prove the violation occurred. Even if you win, your employer may appeal the decision to a trial court, in which case you would have to essentially win your case twice before you would be entitled to any recovery.
- The statute of limitations for labor board cases is only 3 years, whereas an attorney can often extend many claims to 4 years. This can allow you to recover one additional year’s worth of unpaid wages & overtime.
- Labor board claims are not eligible for civil penalties under California law. Only filing a lawsuit can allow aggrieved employees to recover civil penalties on behalf of themselves, as well as other similarly situated employees with the company, pursuant to California’s Private Attorney General Act.
- The Fresno Labor Board has experienced severe budget cuts in recent years, which means that there are now fewer labor board employees working on many more cases at a time. The impact of these budget cuts cause claims to be processed much slower, and claimants may even have difficulty speaking to a labor board employee regarding their claim.
For these reasons, it is often in your best interest to hire an attorney to represent you in your Fresno labor board claim. You may need an experienced attorney to ensure that you can maximize your claim. When hiring an attorney to pursue a claim, you can be sure that your attorney is pursuing the case aggressively and will provide status updates at any time requested.
Get The Wages You Are Owed
At Cunningham Law, APC, our Fresno labor board lawyers can review your case during a free consultation to determine if you have a possible claim. We have recovered millions of dollars in settlements, and are ideally sized and configured to deliver the highest quality service to each and every one of our clients. It is this level of personal commitment to our clients’ needs that truly sets us apart from our competition.
To learn more about hiring an attorney, call the employment lawyers of Cunningham Law, APC at (951) 213-4786 today.