California workers may qualify for a misclassified employee investigation

Some California employees may have been improperly denied overtime wages and breaks.

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California workers who were misclassified as exempt employees or independent contractors — including salaried managers who spent most of their time performing non-management duties — may qualify to pursue unpaid wages, overtime pay or other compensation.

What to know about the misclassified employee class action lawsuit investigation

• Core Issue: Some California companies may have improperly classified workers as exempt employees, salaried employees or independent contractors, potentially resulting in unpaid overtime wages, missed breaks or other compensation issues.

• Who it Affects: This investigation may affect California workers who were labeled as managers, supervisors, salaried employees or independent contractors but spent most of their time performing regular job duties rather than managing employees or operating an independent business.

• Legal Status: Attorneys are actively investigating claims.

• Harm/Impact: Workers who were misclassified may have missed out on overtime pay, meal and rest break compensation, expense reimbursements or other benefits they may have been legally owed.

• Take Action: If you worked as an exempt employee, salaried employee or contractor in California in the past four years and were not paid for every hour you worked, you may qualify to pursue compensation. Complete the form on this page to verify your eligibility.

What is the misclassified employee class action lawsuit investigation about?

California workers are filing misclassified employee lawsuits against employers who labeled them as exempt employees, salaried employees or independent contractors — a designation that may have denied them overtime pay, breaks and other workplace protections.

These claims allege that some employers may have:

• Classified workers as exempt or salaried employees, even though they spent most of their time performing non-managerial duties, or classified workers as independent contractors, despite maintaining significant control over their work  
• Required employees to work long hours without overtime pay
• Failed to pay exempt or salaried employees at or above the minimum salary required under California law
• Denied meal breaks, rest breaks or other compensation required under California labor laws
• Failed to provide benefits or protections that employees may have legally been entitled to receive

When employers misclassify workers this way, those workers may lose thousands of dollars in unpaid overtime and benefits — and California law may entitle them to recover those wages plus penalties.

Case updates

Legal status as of June 2026

• Attorneys are actively investigating claims. 

This page was last reviewed and updated in June 2026 to reflect the latest case developments.

How employee misclassification can cause lasting harm

Employee misclassification can have serious financial and personal consequences for workers. Employees who are improperly classified as exempt employees, salaried employees or independent contractors may experience a variety of issues, including: 

• Financial losses: Misclassified employees may not receive overtime pay or other wages they earned. This can add up to substantial amounts over time. 
• Loss of personal time: Some workers may be expected to remain available outside normal work hours, cover additional hours or complete job duties without additional compensation, reducing time spent with family and friends.
• Stress, pressure and burnout: Employees who regularly work long hours without proper pay or workplace protections may experience increased stress, exhaustion and burnout over time.

If you believe that you were misclassified or if you experienced other types of wage and hour violations, you may qualify to seek unpaid wages, unpaid overtime or other compensation through this investigation.

When salaried employees are misclassified 

Some California employees may have been improperly classified as salaried or exempt employees. Under California law, employees generally must meet specific criteria to qualify as exempt from overtime requirements, including:

• Spend more than 50% of their work time performing managerial or supervisory duties
• Meet California’s salary requirements for exempt employees

Unfortunately, some employers may automatically classify workers as exempt based on their job titles — such as assistant manager, supervisor, e-commerce manager or team lead — even if they do not meet these criteria. In many instances, these positions spend the majority of their time performing the same tasks as hourly workers, which may violate California labor laws.

Kroger recently faced multiple lawsuits alleging that employees were misclassified as managers and assistant managers while still being expected to stock shelves, sweep floors and operate registers for more than 40 hours per week.

Workers who were labeled as managers or supervisors but spent most of their shifts performing regular job duties may have lost significant overtime wages and other compensation over time.

When independent contracts are misclassified 

Some California workers may have been improperly classified as independent contractors instead of employees. Under California law, workers generally may qualify as employees when:

• The company controls or has the ability to control how the work is performed
• The work being performed is central to the company’s business
• The workers are not operating an independent business of their own

These issues may affect workers across many industries, including trucking, delivery services, construction, warehouses and other industries that rely heavily on contract labor.

Workers who were improperly classified as independent contractors may have missed out on overtime pay, expense reimbursements, meal breaks, rest breaks and other workplace protections.

Fill out the form on this page to see if you qualify for a free case evaluation.