Category: Paychecks & Work
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California’s minimum wage hits $17.40 in January, lifting the salary that exempts a worker from overtime to $72,384
If you are a salaried employee in California and your pay lands somewhere in the low seventies, a number just moved on you. The statewide minimum wage rises to $17.40 an hour on January 1, 2027, and because California ties its overtime-exemption salary to twice the minimum wage, that hourly change drags a salary floor…
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Twenty-four Anaheim hotel workers will split $2.75 million after California said the hotel ignored a law requiring their rehire
Almost everyone who gets laid off assumes the job is gone and that whoever the company hires next is none of their business. In one slice of the California economy, that assumption is wrong and expensive. A covered hotel, event center, airport food operation or building services contractor that laid workers off for a pandemic-related…
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When you leave a job, state law sets when your last paycheck and unused vacation must be paid
The last paycheck from a job you are leaving is often the one people worry about most, and for good reason. Whether you quit or were let go, there are rules about how quickly that check has to reach you, and in many states those rules are stricter than most workers realize. Some states also…
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Laid off with no warning? A federal law may owe you up to 60 days of pay
A layoff that lands with no notice can knock a household budget flat before there is any time to react. For workers at larger companies, federal law tries to soften that blow by requiring advance warning, and when an employer fails to give it, the missing notice can convert into real money. Under the WARN…
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Misclassified as a contractor? You may be owed overtime you can reclaim for free
Plenty of workers are handed a 1099 form, told they are independent contractors, and quietly stripped of overtime pay they are legally owed. The paperwork does not decide it. Federal law looks at how the job actually works, and if your employer controls the way you do it, you may be an employee entitled to…
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Never got paid for overtime? You can file a free wage claim with your state
Being shorted on pay is more common than most people think, and getting it back does not require hiring a lawyer or filing a lawsuit. If an employer denied you overtime you earned, paid you under the minimum wage, or shaved hours off your check, you can file a free complaint with a government wage…
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Tipped workers are owed the full minimum wage, and the boss covers any shortfall
If you work for tips, there is a paycheck rule that a lot of workers, and some employers, get wrong. Under federal law your employer can count your tips toward the minimum wage, but it cannot use tips as an excuse to pay you less than the full minimum overall. If your tips plus your…
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The FTC is mailing $23.8 million to Grubhub drivers and diners
Some real money is going out in the mail this month, and it is not a scam. The Federal Trade Commission is sending payments totaling more than $23.8 million to people harmed by the food delivery company Grubhub, splitting the money among drivers the company misled about their pay and diners it treated unfairly. More…
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Pregnant workers have a federal right to job accommodations, and employers who refuse can be taken to court
A pregnant worker should not have to choose between a paycheck and a doctor’s advice to take it easier. Under a federal law now in force, most workers who are pregnant or recovering from childbirth have a right to reasonable accommodations on the job, and an employer that flatly refuses can end up in front…
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You can earn up to $24,480 in 2026 before Social Security trims your check
Plenty of people claim Social Security early and keep working, and that is perfectly allowed. But there is a threshold worth knowing before you pick up extra shifts: in 2026, if you are under full retirement age all year, you can earn up to $24,480 before Social Security starts holding back part of your benefit.…
