The Law is on Your Side
CLIFFORD BENDAU — ATTORNEY & FOUNDER
The only way to ensure that companies treat their employees fairly is to make the alternative too expensive.
In other words, our mission is to make it more expensive to violate the law than to pay you as the law requires.
We've spent our careers working to ensure that employers who cheat their employees and rob them of their hard-earned wages don't get away with it.
We work for employees, and we have never charged a client a single penny out-of-pocket for our services.
We do not work for employers. We work only for you!
You Will Never Pay Us
Federal and state wage law recognizes that someone in your position cannot afford to hire a lawyer to recover these wages (even if you could, it would make no sense for you to pay us upwards of $500 to $600 per hour or more to recover them). Fortunately, the same laws say that, where you win your case, your employer would not only have to pay you up to 3 TIMES the amount they owe you, but they would also have to pay us our attorneys’ fees at our hourly rate separate and apart from what they must pay you. In other words, the law says that you are entitled to have an attorney every bit as competent as the lawyers your employer can afford, and that your employer must pay for your lawyer if you win your case. If you don’t win, the law says you do not have to pay your employer’s attorneys’ fees. This means WE DON’T HAVE TO CHARGE YOU ANYTHING AT ALL OUT OF POCKET. Our fee is either: up to 40% of the total recovery, OR our fees at our hourly rate as paid by the employer, whichever is greater. If there is no recovery, you owe us NOTHING. We also advance all costs out of our own pockets. For example, costs $405 to file a federal lawsuit. We pay for that. It can cost anywhere between $100 and $500 (or more sometimes) to serve the lawsuit on the employer. We pay for that as well, and, as the law requires, we expect reimbursement from your employer — never from you. The entire idea is that you pay us nothing, and we take on the risk of not recovering because we believe in your case and that we will win. Of course, not all cases are successful, and we cannot always recover for everyone. But we guarantee that you will NEVER pay us a penny out of your own pocket to recover unpaid wages. That is how serious federal and state law take the payment of your wages. Never let your employer push you around or tell you otherwise. The Law is on your side.
Wage Myths
FACT: The Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”) protects you from substandard wages and oppressive working conditions.
The Fair Labor Standards Act (also called the "FLSA") prescribes standards for minimum wage and overtime wages. It applies to most employees in almost all industries–both public and private. Congress enacted the FLSA in 1938 with the goal of protecting all covered workers from substandard wages and poor working conditions.
The FLSA requires employers to pay their employees at least the federal minimum wage ($7.25/hour) and to pay one-and-one-half times the regular rate of pay for all overtime (time worked in excess of 40 hours per week).
FACT: The Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”) makes your employer pay for your lawyer.
Many employers want the best of both worlds – they want to pay you as little as possible and get the most work out of you that they possibly can. They think they can get away with it, too, because most employees won't do anything about it (I can’t tell you how many times a client has told us their boss refused to pay and said “so, sue me” or “you can’t afford a lawyer.”
Enter: Bendau Law – we use the FLSA and associated state wage laws to recover your unpaid wages and additional damages without you having to pay us a penny out of pocket. In fact, the law requires your employer to not only pay you up to 2 (or even up to 3) times the amount they owe you, but it also requires your employer to pay us at our hourly rate separately from what they pay you. Plus, we front all out-of-pocket costs on your behalf. If you don’t recover, you owe us nothing, and we almost never even have to take a percentage of your recover.
Our philosophy is that you pay us nothing, and we take on the risk of non-recovery because we believe in you and your case.
Fact: Under federal law, ALL employees who work more than 40 hours per week are entitled to overtime.
Even if you’re paid a salary, you’re owed time-and-a-half for all time worked over 40 hours per week, unless you (1) earn a guaranteed salary not subject to reductions for quality or quantity of work performed or partial-day absences (called “Salary Basis”), and (2) fit plainly and unmistakably into one of the exemption categories, such as the following:
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Executives
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Bona Fide Administrative Employees
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Learned Professionals
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Creative Professionals
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Computer Employees
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Highly Compensated Employees ($107,432 per year)
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Outside Salespersons, Teachers, Lawyers, and Doctors (no salary basis requirement).
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FACT: You are not a true independent contractor unless you are in business for yourself.
If your boss controls your work (what will be done and how), you are an employee under the law (even if 1099ed). Employers often misclassify employees as 1099 independent contractors to avoid paying overtime and employment taxes. However, the law (and not your boss) decides whether you’re an independent contractor.
If you are a 1099 worker, you may have been misclassified (and therefore entitled to overtime) if you have been required to:
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Wear a uniform
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Follow a work schedule set by your boss
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Use your employer’s tools
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Drive a company car
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Work more than 40 hours in at least one week
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Refrain from working for your employer’s competitors
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FACT: A contractual agreement not to get overtime is ILLEGAL (void) under federal law.
The Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”) is the national minimum wage and overtime statute. The United States Supreme Court holds that “FLSA rights cannot be abridged by contract or otherwise waived because this would ‘nullify the purposes’ of the statute.” Barrentine v. Arkansas-Best Freight Sys., Inc., 450 U.S. 728, 740 (1981).
This means that you do not have the legal ability to waive your right to be paid minimum wage or overtime under federal law. If you should have been paid overtime but weren’t, you are entitled to overtime (plus additional damages), even if you signed a contract agreeing not to be paid overtime.
FACT: You don’t need to have any evidence at all.
It is your employer’s responsibility to keep and maintain all pertinent records of your employment. While having your records in your possession can be helpful, your employer is legally obligated to keep and maintain all records pertaining to your employment (e.g., hours worked, regular rate paid, overtime paid) for a minimum of three years.
If your employer fails to maintain those records, then the United States Supreme Court says we can use your best estimates to establish a reasonable inference of what you’re owed. Anderson v. Mt. Clemens Pottery Co., 328 U.S. 680, 687-88 (1946). Then, your employer has the burden to disprove that inference. If your employer fails to do that, then we can use your estimates to establish your damages, even if they’re only approximations.
FACT: Your immigration status has no bearing on your right to recover unpaid wages under federal law.
Federal law makes it quite clear that inquiry into your immigration status is improper, irrelevant, and intrusive, and, as a result, your employer and their lawyers are legally prohibited from even bringing it up in support of their defense against your claim.
In fact, employers and attorneys who have attempted to use employees’ immigration status to intimidate, harass, or scare employees into dropping their legitimate claims have faced major backlash from judges, including the imposition of sanctions or the awarding of retaliation damages to employees.
FACT: Your employer is legally prohibited from withholding your paycheck, even if you cost them money, cause them damage, quit without notice, don’t return your uniform, etc. – and even if you signed a contract saying they can.
Failure to pay you anything at all for the time you worked in a workweek or pay period violates the FLSA and entitles you to be paid twice the amount owed to you (without you having to pay us anything at all).
FACT: Under the FLSA, a minimum wage violation occurs if payment is not made on payday.
This means that, even if your employer pays what they owe you, if it’s even a single day late, they have violated the FLSA’s minimum wage protections as a result. This entitles you to be paid twice the amount owed to you (without you having to pay us anything at all)
FACT: SIZE DOESN’T MATTER!
Our motto is no case is too small. Why? Federal wage law works differently than the contingency/percentage fees you’re probably familiar with. Where you win, the law literally requires your employer to pay us our attorneys’ fees at our hourly rate in addition to what they have to pay you.
We have litigated cases over less than $100. We once had a client whose employer refused to pay our client $100 that she earned for two shifts she worked. The lower court didn’t give her the ruling she deserved, so we brought the case up on appeal to the Ninth Circuit, obtained a reversal, got the client paid $300, and then the employer had to pay us our hourly rate for every billable minute.
NO CASE is too small.
Results You Can Count On
$2,050.00 Settlement
"I was taken advantage of at my place of work. Not only did I have to endure weeks of poor treatment but I also got a whole week of a hard-earned check taken away. I was screwed. I told an uncle what was going on. He told me I should take this to court. I was afraid because I couldn't afford it. I was sure to lose the case to begin with. When I decided to ask around for a lawyer, Clifford Bendau was referred for my specific situation.
Long story short after my man Cliff heard what was going on, it took little time for me to be compensated. I was able to walk away from my employer with a smile on my face and my chest high. I paid nothing and received more than I asked for - truly a blessing, thank you Cliff."
– Francisco B.
Former Client
$2,500.00 Settlement
"I am very grateful to the Bendau team. It is gratifying to meet people like him and his entire team. They helped me throughout the process of recovering my check, they clear up all your doubts, and they are always in communication with you. Do not be afraid of not having papers or of not being informed with laws. They take care of everything. trust him and all his team. I did and recovered my money that I thought was lost.
Thank you very much to the Bendau team."
– Gerson F.
Former Client
$840.00 Settlement
"I just want to start off by saying how an amazing experience I've had with this process. Cliff, you have left me speechless! First time I reached out in a matter of minutes you replied with full action. A man of his word indeed. This is a check I made from working with Clifford and he paid in full! Respect. If you have ever worked and did not get paid this is the man to talk to.
Thank you Cliff!"
– Sunny V.
Former Client
$998.40 Settlement
"I want to thank Mr. Bendau for his great help to recover my unpaid work days. Thanks to him I was able to recover them. I am really grateful. And I give my testimony of his ability to help in these cases.
Thank you very much."
– Lilian G.
Former Client
$1,486.00 Settlement
"While no one likes to sue anyone, I recently had to, for my employer decided not to pay me my last wages upon me leaving my job. Cliff also assured me that no matter what I would not have to pay out of my own pocket for any of his services as well. He definitely is a man of his word. He also told me not to worry, that he would take care of everything, and believe me he did just that.
If you're looking for an attorney who is willing to stand up for you and your rights then I highly recommend Cliff Bendau. He is the attorney to handle any injustice that an employer may be causing you and your family. Cliff went above and beyond to make sure I was taken care of, in fact, he made me feel like I was family. I can't thank you enough Cliff, you are amazing, and you truly kept your word."
- Patty
Former Client
$9,500.00 Settlement
"Muchísimas gracias por triplicarme el dinero que no me quisieron pagar. La verdad yo pensé que había perdido mis horas de trabajo...pero gracias a usted conseguí mi dinero de gratis y no gasté ningún dólar de mi bolsa.
La verdad, muchas gracias de nuevo. Voy a recomendarlo. Hizo muy bien trabajo. Gracias por pelear los derechos de nosotros. Gracias por hacer el trabajo sin cobrar ningún dólar."
- Cesar S.
Former Client
Still Have Questions?
Reach out to Clifford Bendau at cliffordbendau@bendaulaw.com
