Category Archives: Law Tips

The Importance of Having an Unpaid Wages Attorney by Your Side

As per California Employment and Labor Laws, employers in the state have the legal obligation to pay earned wages in full and on time to their employees. However, the amount and timing of the wages may vary. It may depend on whether the employees work on an hourly, salaried, or commissioned basis. And also if, in addition to their pay, they receive bonuses, insurance, and other benefits. Additionally, there are different employment rules and regulations on the local, state, and federal levels.

That can make it challenging for many employers to comply with the legal requirements. Some employers might take advantage of the complexities to avoid paying their employees proper compensation. If you are in that situation or are unable to figure out exactly how much they owe you, it may be necessary to work with an attorney to set things straight.

Importance of Hiring an Unpaid Wages Attorney

By hiring a competent Wage and Hour attorney Los Angeles employees can check if their employers engage in illegal conduct. They can then take steps to make their employers comply with legal requirements and give them the fair compensation they deserve. Here are some exact reasons why you need to have an Unpaid Wages Attorney by your side:

The attorney will be knowledgeable about employment laws

The attorney will know about the various pay requirements in California for different job roles and hours. They can explain the details of wage and hour laws and how these apply to your particular situation. They will also inform you about the legally mandated compensation you are entitled to receive. For instance, by law, your employer has to pay you a minimum wage, for overtime work, for accrued and untaken vacation time, and for some work-related travel.

The attorney will provide you with a complimentary assessment

When you visit the attorney for the first time, they will assess your case on a complimentary basis and let you know if you have a legal basis for your issue. They will inform you of the options you have, such as suing your employer in court, filing a claim against them with the California state labor department, or contacting the employer to negotiate an informal settlement. Additionally, they will tell you what your chances are of winning the dispute, what you might recover in damages, and the approximate legal costs you could incur.

Based on the information they provide during the free initial consultation, you can decide if it will be worth your while to take the matter to court, to file a claim with the California state labor department, or to settle it through mediation.

The attorney will investigate your case

After you hire the Unpaid Wages attorney, they will investigate your case and gather relevant evidence such as pay stubs, wage records, emails, and so on. They may even hire competent investigators to gather information from your workplace and work colleagues about your work schedule, work duties, and employment policies. They will then use the collected data to support your claim and build a case on your behalf.

The attorney will negotiate on your behalf

In addition to unpaid wages, you may be eligible for overtime pay and penalties for non-payment of wages. You may also be able to bring claims of unfair competition against your employer in California. With their knowledge of wage and hour laws, the Unpaid Wages attorney will be better placed than you to negotiate these matters with your employer in court, during the state labor department hearing, or informally. They may be able to get you more money than you expected to receive.

The attorney will file the case for you

If you decide to sue your employer, the attorney will file a Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) claim in state or federal court on your behalf. They will then have the filed complaint served to your employer. The latter will have to respond to deny or admit the allegations in your complaint. If it is not possible to negotiate a settlement, the matter will proceed to trial. Represented by the competent Wage and Hour Attorney Los Angeles employees may stand a better chance of prevailing and winning against their employer.

Wage and Hour Attorney Guides You on Minimum Wage and Hour Rule

What according to you are the minimum wages stand for? In simple words, the minimum wage concept has come into the picture for the people who continuously work hard and contribute towards the development of society in some or other ways. And in consideration, they have the right to get enough money so that they can fulfill their and their family’s basic needs. And being an employee, if you think that you have been deprived of your right of getting the minimum wages, you can right away get in touch with a wage and hour attorney Los Angeles.

The Federal law governing The Federal Labor Standards Act, the wages are given to the employee is $7.25 per hour. But now many state governments have different minimum wages now and the employee is entitled to get the wages which are the highest of the federal, state, or local.

California Labor Code

If you are working in California state, then the minimum wages are way different. According to state law, you are eligible to get the minimum wage of $12 if your company has 25 or fewer employees. If your company has over 26 employees, then you are entitled to get $13 per hour.

Los Angeles Labor Code

The picture is completely different if you are working in Los Angeles. If you have all the necessary qualifications to do a particular job, then as per the Los Angeles City Living Wage Ordinance, your employer must pay you a minimum of $15 per hour for the work that you are doing.

What if you don’t get paid minimum wages?

You work really hard every second on your job. You show up on time and make sure to meet all the deadlines given by your employer. But you never really realized that you have worked overtime a lot of times in the past one year and you were never compensated for that time. And when you realized you expressed this concern to your employer since it is a case of unpaid wages. But instead of finding a solution to this issue, your employer gave you a strict warning and straightaway told to not to discuss this topic every again.

Well, in this case, you must be thinking that it was your fault that you asked about it. But no, this isn’t your fault as you spoke up to protect your right. Being an hourly employee, you are protected under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) where you can get a solution for every problem of unpaid wages that have been caused because of your employer. Remember that you have all the right to get the right and timely compensation. And if your employer has deprived you of that, he or she must pay the penalty for refusing to pay the money that you have earned.

What a wage and hour attorney can do for you?

Therefore, in order to resolve this whole dispute involving wage and hour law that includes minimum wages issue or the overtime pay, a wage and hour attorney Los Angeles would be able to help you out. The wage and hour attorney has the experience of tapping the malfunctioned records or misclassification of the employees done by the employer which has kept the employees from getting fair and deserving compensation for the job.

The wage and hour attorney would get you all your unpaid wages by negotiating with your employer or by filing a lawsuit. The attorney would not only help you with the lost wages but also make you understand how important it is to understand your rights as an employee and seek a legal consultation when those rights are violated. Therefore, if you are trying to find the best wage and hour attorney in Los Angeles County, you can simply search for “Wage and Hour Attorney Los Angeles” and you would find a lot of options to choose from.

Just remember that by contacting an attorney, you have taken the right step in order to protect your rights and get what you deserve.

Real Estate Attorneys – Five Important Services They Offer

Are you thinking of buying a house soon? Well, this though goes without saying that buying a house is the most expensive investment you would ever make as you pour all your life’s savings into that. And in this case, you would need someone to guide you through the whole process right from choosing the perfect property for you, negotiating the price, and taking care of the documents. Therefore, instead of opting for a real estate agent, it is always recommended to hire a real estate attorney Wheaton IL so that all the legal matter is taken care of.

The real estate attorneys have expertise in dealing with all the property-related legal matters right from sale transactions to property disputes. So, if you have any of these, straightaway call up a good real estate attorney Wheaton IL.

Thus, if you are still confused as to why you need a real estate attorney, then know about these five important services that they offer.

#1 Real Estate closings

Be it commercial or residential, the attorney takes care of all the closings. In simple words, closing means the final settlement, which is the last step to give closure to the real estate transaction of that property. When you decide to purchase a particular property, the closing date is decided ay time and the date is usually finalized weeks or months from the date of the offer. There is all the paperwork that needs to be taken care of which is efficiently done by the real estate attorney. The attorney successfully helps you in transferring the property to your name on the closing date of the transaction.

#2 Negotiating the deals

When it comes to real estate, negotiation is a vital aspect before going ahead with any decision. And people like us, who are first-timers or who do not know the inside outs of the real estate dealings, it is in the best interest to let the attorney do that for you. These attorneys have their ways of handling many types of real estate cases and they offer to negotiate the terms and conditions of the deal on your behalf.

#3 Drafting all the documents

This one remains an important service that the attorneys provide. When it comes to the transaction of a commercial or residential property, tons of paperwork is required. The attorney offers to draft all the necessary papers for you to deal like preparing conveyance transaction deeds, rental agreements, leases, financial documents, contracts to name a few. These documents are needed during every step of the deal and having them prepared by an experienced real estate attorney would leave no room for any mistakes.

#4 Filing litigations

It might happen that your real estate transaction did not come through, and in this case, you must turn to the real estate attorney for legal help as this matter is going to involve a lawsuit. The real estate attorneys represent the clients in the court of law in these cases. The litigation involves certain things that include drafting the pleadings to be filed with the judge, trials, preparing the cross, participating during the hearings to name a few. An attorney offers these services and takes care of it. The attorney also negotiates with the other party for a settlement if that is possible out of court.

#5 Reviews closing papers

A real estate attorney makes sure to go through all the paperwork before the final transaction between you and the seller that is called the closing. This is the part where all the buyer-seller agreements are finalized and if you have an attorney with you then no paperwork would go ahead without his final check. When your attorney gives you thumbs up you can go ahead and sign the papers. The review of these papers is important, and an attorney offers to do that on your behalf.

Be it any kind of real estate transaction or a dispute for that matter, hiring a real estate attorney is going to benefit you at every step as the attorney is well-worse with the real estate laws and can guide you through the whole process.

Tips for Hiring a Wage and Hour Attorney

When you are thinking of a lawsuit, it is understandable that the matter is already serious. Therefore, landing up at the right place where your queries would be answered and certainty of the positive result is given, you feel positive and confident. And that kind of certainty can only be attained at an attorney’s office. Also, when your case is related to your wages, and you do not have clarity about it, then it is in your best interest to look for a wage and hour attorney Los Angeles to know the intricacies of the minimum wage laws.

Why you should hire a wage and hour attorney?

This question must have crossed your mind. If you have experienced that your employer is not making fair compensation for your work, for instance not paying you for all the hours of work that you have done or not paying you the minimum wages or paying you for the overtime, then consider it as the violation of local and state wage and hour law and Federal Labor Standards Act (FLSA).

If you think that any of the above cases have happened to you then you have all the right to consult a lawyer. And here are some helpful tips to get a good wage and hour attorney.

Request for referrals

It is always a good thing to get referrals from friends and family as they would be able to give you first-hand information. Since many of your friends or family have already worked with that wage and hour attorney, you would be able to know the type of work they do, or what was the whole process and the result of the case and how did they charge to name a few.

Background and experience check

The most important thing while looking for a wage and hour attorney is the experience and background. We all know that every case is different, but there has to a few cases that match yours, and from the final verdict of those cases, you would be able to consider the performance of the attorney. You can also pay a visit to the websites of the shortlisted attorneys to know about their area of expertise and background. Look out for an attorney who has immense expertise in wage and hour law and who knows the particulars of rights violations or unfair employment practices or the things related to your issues.

Local bar associations

If you want to be more specific and surer about the wage and hour attorney, then the other way is to look at the local bar association website. Through this bar association website, you can easily get the referrals of the attorneys and then you can do the background checks once you know enough information.

Free consultation and strategy discussion

Usually, most of the attorneys do offer the first consultation for free, but still, you must ask before you proceed. So, when you make an appointment for the first face to face consultation, make sure that you are bringing all the documents that are needed for your case. The documents would help the wage and hour attorney to analyze your case and then based on those documents he would be able to give you a brief action plan. For instance, if your case is of your employer refusing to pay you the minimum wages, then in that case, you must carry your paychecks, company contract that you have signed, and other documents.

Attorney fee

Money is one of the biggest concerns when it comes to court cases. But also, you cannot simply opt for the attorney who is the cheapest and not the costliest. Consider all the aspects and ask the lawyer before finalizing your decision. Since every attorney has different rate cards, consider the one that works best in your case.

Thus, if you need to hire a wage and hour attorney, you exactly know how to proceed. Just make sure that you get all the parameters right and be patient during the whole process. Finding a good attorney is the first step of the whole legal process and these tips will ensure the start of that process.

How an Overtime Lawyer Saves Your Time and Money?

When you start any kind of job, you decide to give your best so that your employer is happy with your work. But at times you do not even realize when you are in the mode of working hard that you are actually staying up for extra hours every week in the office. There might be many cases in which you are staying late. For instance, the deadline is approaching but the production is behind or sometimes bosses stay at work late, so it is mandatory for you to stay till he or she leaves. But have you ever noticed that no matter how many more hours you have worked for a particular week, your paycheck always looks the same?

But if such a situation arises again and again then you must consult an overtime lawyer Los Angeles. Here are a few situations in which you must know when to take legal action against your employer.

• Keeping the employees for extra hours that is called as cheating on hours.

• Misclassification of employees.

• If you have worked less than the required hours in that week, then your employer might shift those overtime hours in a two-week pay period.

The Overtime law is complex and such kind of cases are really complicated to resolve as the chances of getting solid evidence is less. Therefore, if you think that your employer has not paid you the overtime money that comes under the Fair Standards Labor Act (FSLA) and state law then you must contact an overtime lawyer. Here’s what an overtime lawyer can for you.

Protect your rights

Being a salaried employee, you get a decided amount every week or by-weekly in place of the hourly wages. And many salaried employees eligible to work overtime and many of the salaried employees also come under the exemption from the overtime payment. If your employer approves the salary basis test then you do not get paid for overtime, but if the employer fails the salary basis test then it becomes non-exempt.

There are many situations in which your employer simply cheats you on your working hours. And knowing that you are not getting fair pay for what you have been working is where the overtime lawyer comes into the picture. The lawyer helps you understand your rights by making you familiar with what you deserve and where you stand.

The main goal of the overtime lawyer is to win you the compensation for working the extra hours. Not just that, the overtime law also persuades the employer to not shift the burden of the overtime hours on the employees and recruit more people to distribute the workload.

If you come under the non-exempt category, then your employer must pay you one and one-half times of your regular pay for the overtime hours that you have worked of the eight regular hours every day.

Sometimes, your employer forces you to work on a holiday that you had planned with your family. But instead promises you to give you a compensatory paid vacation some other time. But this comp vacation remains illegal if your employer is not offering you a one and one-half times of that vacation. Here in this case, your employer is clearly violating your rights and you can straightaway go to the lawyer to file a lawsuit.

Get your money back

An overtime lawyer works continuously to get your money back from the employer. If you have been not paid for overtime or paid below then the minimum wages or are not given the tips or forced to work more than eight hours and still underpaid, only legal help can be the right thing for you. You overtime lawyer can file a lawsuit against your employer and claim for the additional damages.

Employers often exploit their employees by giving them extra workload and being an employee, you keep doing it because you have a family to feed. But this should not go on longer. If you really think that you have not been rightly compensated, immediately contact “Overtime Lawyer Los Angeles” and find out where you stand and what could work in your case.

What are the Various Services Provided by a Personal Injury Lawyer?

Have you suffered an accident recently? Was it another person’s mistake during that accident? Well, you have a lot of questions and of course the trauma of the accident that you were in. And that is why in such critical cases where your mental and physical well being is at stake, it is best to opt for a personal injury lawyer who will do the legal representation from your side. The Joliet personal injury lawyers are experienced to help the victim who have been through the worst accident to get the recovery of all the financial losses occurred.

We all know that the medical bills are like big holes in the pockets and the suffering of all sorts is other story. And that is why hiring a personal injury lawyer who specializes in tort law is beneficial to cover the civil litigations for your injuries.

These Joliet personal injury lawyers extend their help to the injured or plaintiffs in order to receive compensation for the losses occurred that include pain, suffering, inability to work physically, medical bills, legal costs, emotional distress, lawyer fees to name a few. Not just that, they also save the client from getting defraud by insurance companies.

Few types of personal injury cases are:

• Auto accidents
• Car accidents
• Dog bites
• Slip and fall accidents
• Pedestrian accidents
• Medical malpractice
• Construction accidents
• Spinal cord injuries
• Brain injuries

Services provided by Personal Injury Lawyers

Negotiation

The main aim of the personal injury lawyer is to win the compensation for the losses that you have suffered. And to do that, it is important to negotiate the legalities of the case with the other party. Be it a workplace accident or an accident on the road, an experienced personal injury lawyer knows the ways to negotiate the settlements with the opposition and the insurance companies.

Thorough Investigation

A personal injury lawyer provides the service of a complete detailed investigation in the case. It is their first step to investigate everything regarding the case before getting started. If you have met with a road accident and you go to an attorney, he or she will conduct a thorough investigation to find you the ways to receive the desired compensation for the losses.

Accident claims

These accidents are very common, and it is difficult to determine whose fault it was. These accidents are dangerous especially if there are motorcycle accidents. And the insurance companies can fool you here by charging you big medical bills. A personal injury lawyer knows the ways to provide you a solution through their expertise.

Preparing and sending demand letters

After your attorney investigates the whole accident, he prepares a demand letter stating all the facts and other details from the investigation regarding the accident along with the cost of damages and sends it out to the insurance company from your side.

Pleadings

Once the demand letter is sent to the insurance company, and it refuses to agree on the settlement, then the personal injury lawyer prepares the pleading against the offender. These are legal arguments that state how the offender has committed the accident and the details of the damages that the client should be settled with are also mentioned.

Court Trials

If your case by chance goes for the trial, then your personal injury lawyer represents you at the court of law. The lawyer will make sure to win what’s best for you. Many times, it is possible that the settlement is made out of the court in order to avoid the trial hassles. But if the other party is not cooperating, then your lawyer has no other option to go for a court trial and seek for required settlement.

Therefore, if you have met with an accident where it is someone else’s fault, then you have all the right to seek compensation for your loss with the best Joliet personal injury lawyers. A lawyer will help you to level up the game as the other party is also likely to have a lawyer. Thus, it becomes a necessity to go under legal procedures to avail of what you deserve.

How Can a Personal Injury Attorney Help You?

Victims of personal injuries have a lot on their plate. If they are too injured to take care of legal matters; their families too can be under a lot of mental and financial strain. Fighting legal battles can be extremely difficult at such times. So, hiring a lawyer can help victims and their families greatly.

Here’s how a personal injury attorney can help you.

By providing you, legal counsel

It’s difficult for a layperson to understand the legal process and fight it out with the negligent party. If the party at fault turns out to be a person or entity in power then it becomes even more intimidating to file claims. So, a personal injury attorney can help you by providing you guidance on the matter.

Lawyers can even help you understand if you actually have a case. Injuries or accidents due to the negligence of another person or entity are classified as personal injury cases. But often the accident cases are not straightforward; such as those in the case of slip and falls. Auto accident cases can also become complicated when it becomes necessary to find the cause of the accident. Was it the driver’s fault? Perhaps the accident was the result of a faulty auto part.

Only a personal injury lawyer can help victims understand the complexity of their cases. You can find a local lawyer by conducting simple online searches using keywords with your locations such as personal injury lawyer Joliet or something on similar lines. Laws regarding personal injury can differ from state to state. So, it is important to seek counsel from a personal injury lawyer practicing in your area.

By securing evidence

Personal injury attorneys will secure evidence to help your case without delay. Without legal representation; it can be extremely difficult for victims to find evidence from the accident scene. The other party can even tamper with the evidence. It can get lost too.

Your lawyer will also try and speak with witnesses of the accident. The lawyer will speak with your doctors and other medical experts to understand your case better and try to use their statements to solidify your claim.

By helping you calculate and file a claim

Before you can file a claim, you need to determine the compensation amount. It is not easy to do so when bills are mounting up and you are still battling with your injuries.

Your lawyer will consider many factors to arrive at a compensation figure. These can be your current and estimated future medical bills and other expenses. If you have suffered a loss of income for life due to your injuries including permanent or temporary disabilities then your lawyer will account for this factor too. Other considerations can be – emotional distress or psychological problems due to injuries and financial strain, transportation costs (if you can’t drive anymore due to your injuries), cost of physical therapy (whether temporary or for life), etc.

By negotiating with the other party’s representatives

Negotiations for personal injury cases can be tough and endless. The negligent party will, of course, not like to pay any money to the victim. In many cases, their representatives (insurers and lawyers) even attempt to bully the victims (who are without representation) to accept a low payout sum or nothing at all.

But your lawyer can handle tough negotiations and you won’t need to deal with the negligent party’s representatives at all. Experienced personal injury lawyers are expert negotiators and are used to dealing with insurers and other attorneys.

By going to trial

On rare occasions, negotiations can fail too. It can be due to foul play by the negligent party or their refusal to pay the entirety of the claim amount.

In such circumstances, you have the option to go to trial. If you do, your lawyer can file the necessary paperwork for the same and complete other preparations for the case. Your lawyer will try to convince the witnesses (if any) and experts to testify in court on your behalf. The lawyer will present the evidence in court, prepare opening and closing arguments, and stop the negligent party’s attempts to derail the case.