California law firms are investigating overtime law violations and providing evaluations for California employees who feel they are due overtime wages. California employees paid salary or hourly may be eligible for overtime pay, whether they are paid weekly, bi-weekly or monthly. Despite many myths, salary does not automatically mean an employee is exempt from overtime pay.

Employees of telecommunications giant AT&T and two of its units, BellSouth Telecommunications Co. and Pacific Bell Telephone Company, says that the company misclassified more than 5,000 first level managers who worked for Pacific Bell in California and other states. First level managers were paid time-and-a-half wages for hours worked in excess of 40 hours per week but after AT&T took over, employees were reclassified as exempt from overtime pay, even though their job description remained the same. Misclassifying employees as exempt from overtime pay is a violation of the federal Fair Labor Standards Act.

If you work in California and you feel that you are owed overtime pay, you may qualify for damages awarded in a possible unpaid overtime class action or lawsuit.