California Employment Lawyer

When Your Job Crosses the Line

California has some of the strongest worker-protection laws in the country. That does not stop some employers from breaking them. Wages get shorted. Breaks get skipped. Managers cross lines that should never be crossed. People who report problems get pushed out. A California employment lawyer is the person who puts the law back on your side.

KBK Lawyers represents employees, not employers. We never have, and we never will. The whole point of our employment practice is to hold California businesses accountable when they treat their workers as if the rules do not apply.

Employment Practice Areas We Handle

Our team represents California employees across a broad range of workplace disputes. Each of the practice areas below is its own sub-practice with deep firm-side experience. Follow the links to learn what your case is worth and how the process works in that specific matter.

  • Wage and Hour — Unpaid wages, off-the-clock work, and overtime violations under the California Labor Code.
  • Wrongful Termination — Firings that violate public policy, the Labor Code, or California’s anti-retaliation protections.
  • Workplace Discrimination — FEHA cases based on race, age, gender, disability, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity, pregnancy, or national origin.
  • Sexual Harassment — Hostile work environment and quid pro quo claims.
  • Retaliation — Adverse action against employees who reported wage violations, harassment, or unsafe conditions.
  • Unpaid Overtime — California daily and weekly overtime rule violations and exempt-status misclassification.
  • Meal and Rest Break Violations — Premium pay for missed or interrupted breaks.
  • PAGA Representative Actions — Private Attorneys General Act claims on behalf of yourself and similarly situated employees.
  • Whistleblower Protections — Labor Code 1102.5 and Sarbanes-Oxley claims for employees who reported illegal activity.
  • Independent Contractor Misclassification — Dynamex, Borello, and AB 5 cases for workers wrongly classified as 1099 contractors.
  • Family and Medical Leave — FMLA, CFRA, and PDL interference and retaliation claims.
  • Severance Agreement Review — Negotiation and review of separation packages before you sign.

California Law Is on Your Side

California’s Labor Code, FEHA (Fair Employment and Housing Act), and PAGA give employees rights that exist nowhere else in the country. Among them:

  • Daily and weekly overtime, not just weekly
  • Meal and rest break premiums that turn into one hour of pay per missed break
  • Waiting-time penalties of up to thirty days of wages if a final paycheck is late
  • Strict protections against retaliation for reporting violations
  • Attorneys’ fee shifting on most wage and discrimination claims, meaning the employer pays your legal fees if you win

A California employment lawyer who knows these statutes inside and out can often turn what feels like a small problem into a serious case.

Why KBK Lawyers

Our firm has handled employment and consumer-class work alongside the rest of our practice for years. Brian Kabateck is a past President of Consumer Attorneys of California and a past President of the Consumer Attorneys Association of Los Angeles, and our team includes lawyers with experience taking employment matters from pre-litigation demand letters through trial in California state and federal courts. A California employment lawyer at our firm will treat your story with the seriousness it deserves and tell you straight whether you have a case.

KBK Lawyers has a proven track record of holding powerful employers and public entities accountable for workplace violations. The firm secured a $1.8 million settlement in a high-profile whistleblower and wrongful termination lawsuit against a California municipality, protecting workers who stand up against institutional wrongdoing and ensuring their rights are vindicated under the law.

What You Might Recover

  • Back pay and front pay
  • Unpaid overtime, meal-and-rest premiums, and waiting-time penalties
  • Emotional distress damages in discrimination and harassment cases
  • Punitive damages where the conduct was malicious, fraudulent, or oppressive
  • Reinstatement to your job, when that is what you want
  • Attorneys’ fees and costs, paid by the employer

Deadlines You Cannot Miss

  • Most wage and hour claims allow three years (or four years under unfair-competition law)
  • FEHA discrimination, harassment, and retaliation claims require filing with the California Civil Rights Department, generally within three years of the last violation
  • PAGA claims require a written notice to the LWDA and the employer within one year of the last violation
  • Wrongful termination in violation of public policy claims allow two years

A California employment lawyer at our firm can map every deadline that applies to your case on day one.

If You Are Still Employed

Many employees worry that calling a California employment lawyer means quitting tomorrow. It does not. We can review your situation confidentially, suggest steps to document what is happening, and tell you whether to wait, file a formal complaint, or move toward litigation. The decision is always yours.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do I have to pay a California employment lawyer at KBK Lawyers up front?

No. Our employment cases are handled on contingency, and the law shifts attorneys’ fees to the employer in most successful matters.

Retaliation for exercising your legal rights is itself unlawful. If it happens, the retaliation claim is often worth more than the original case.

California has narrowed the reach of mandatory arbitration in recent years, and many agreements have enforceability problems. Bring the agreement to your free consultation and we will review it.