Your Rights During a Wage Claim Investigation

Workers who file DLSE claims have rights during the investigation process — rights that many don’t exercise because they don’t know they exist. Understanding those rights changes how workers engage with the process.

Access to Records

Employers are required to maintain payroll records for three years and provide copies to employees upon request. Workers who request their records before filing a claim — or during the investigation — are using the system correctly. Those records often contain the evidence needed to prove the claim.

Employers who destroy or alter records face additional penalties. The obligation to preserve records is not suspended when a claim is filed. Destruction after a claim is filed is spoliation and can result in adverse inferences at the hearing. Workers who suspect record destruction should document that suspicion in writing.

The California Wage Theft Recovery System gives workers the exact tools and templates to document violations, calculate what they’re owed, and file the right claims at the right agencies — without paying an attorney to get started. Request your free evaluation here.