Inside the Berman Hearing: How California Wage Claims Are Actually Decided

The Berman hearing is a real evidentiary proceeding — sworn testimony, exhibits, questioning — but built so workers can win without a lawyer.

What California Law Says

Hearings under Labor Code section 98 are conducted by a Deputy Labor Commissioner who takes evidence and issues a written Order, Decision, or Award. Formal rules of evidence are relaxed, and incomplete employer records are construed against the employer.

How to Fight Back, Step by Step

1. Organize exhibits chronologically with a one-page damages summary on top.
2. Prepare your testimony as a timeline: the job, the pay arrangement, the hours, what went unpaid.
3. Bring witnesses or signed declarations from coworkers who saw your hours.
4. Answer only what is asked; do not argue with the employer — address the deputy.
5. Request the decision be mailed and calendar the 10-day appeal window that follows.

Common Questions

What if the employer brings a lawyer and I have none?

The deputy runs the hearing and levels the field; workers with clean documentation regularly prevail against represented employers.

My employer kept no time records. Fatal?

The opposite — your reasonable reconstruction becomes the default evidence, and the employer bears the burden of disproving it.