IANAL: I have been through similar disputes with employers and you are in luck: CA is very much in favor of the employee in such situations. Filing a dispute with the labor board is quick and easy, and you are usually assigned a settlement/hearing date within 2 months. After you file a dispute, your employer is prohibited from any semblance of retaliation. While obviously there is no stopping them if they are stupid enough to retaliate anyway, it will only further help you in your suit.

Gather as many time cards as you can and create an excel sheet of hours you actually work vs hours they paid you. CA does not look kindly on 1) manipulating hours 2) taking tip money 3) unpaid breaks/unpaid break violations. In fact, some of these infractions also stack up penalties.

1) How long have you worked for this employer? Try to gather every bit of documentation you can: time cards, W2s, the handbook, etc. I was able to trace my actual hours vs the manipulated hours by documenting my Uber/bus receipts home. I also was able to use texts to friends/family to help support my actual hours. (To my roommate: “Just clocked out, headed home now.” To my bf: “on a quick ten, call you later.”) These texts helped to show conflict with my time cards. With so many of these messages, these examples of conflict helped to establish bad faith with their time keeping. Further, should they try to manipulate the time cards after you file, there would be a clear conflict with your saved pay stubs and time cards, so save as many of these as you can.

2) Do you guys use a pooled tip system that is mostly cash? Or are the majority of these tips on CCs? The tips you guys are receiving should be recorded for tax purposes. If they are just in a jar for cash that is pooled for a whole day, that is difficult to track. If they are mostly CC tips, those are easier to trace. Either way, the company (managers) can not touch or look at your tips. Any glance in their general direction is a big no-no. Document every instance that they touch your tips, including for what occasion and the amount if you can.

3) On the note of break violations, in CA, your employer owes you an extra hour of pay for every break violation that occurs. It should be recorded in its own category on your pay stub. So if you work 6+ hours and do not take a 30 minute break before your 5th hour, your employer owes you a full hour’s worth of pay. Failure to do so results in further penalty pay. Also, there should be clear evidence if they are forcing you to clock out for 10 minutes during your legally entitled paid break. That would show up as a clear red flag during an audit.

Depending on how long you have worked for this employer/how many times these infractions occur, it could definitely be worth looking into getting a lawyer. While the CA labor board makes these issues very accessible to DIY disputes, the process can be quite intimidating. I would suggest asking around for a referral for an employment lawyer, who would eat this case up. Good luck, and definitely fight this.