Trend Alert: Today’s Workers’ Comp Claim is Tomorrow’s Wage & Hour Headache

05.07.2025

Workers’ Compensation claims and wage and hour lawsuits discovered they make great travel companions. Employers should heed notice that their response to a Workers’ Compensation claim could directly lead to a wage and hour lawsuit.

Plaintiffs’ attorneys are increasingly accepting workers’ compensation claims hoping they will facilitate separate wage and hour lawsuits. Employer disclosures of time and pay records through the workers’ compensation process can reveal vulnerabilities in employer record keeping with potential violations leading counsel to file separate civil wage and hour claims against the employer.

These lawsuits can come in the individual variety, seeking relatively modest compensation on behalf of the same employee who filed for workers’ compensation. But, more likely, these wage and hour claims can take the form of monstrous class action lawsuits seeking lucrative penalties for plaintiffs’ attorneys through the Private Attorneys General Act (“PAGA”). These suits prove costly even for employers with comprehensive wage and hour policies.

From the plaintiffs’ counsel perspective, the one-two punch makes practical sense. An employee seeks counsel to navigate their workers’ compensation claim after suffering a workplace injury. In the process of handling that claim, attorneys may fish for time and pay records, or an earnest and well-intentioned employer may provide them as part of the broader production of personnel records. However, these documents, are likely not relevant to the claim at issue. The time and pay records may then provide a direct on-ramp to a civil suit, either handled by those same attorneys or referred to specialized wage and hour counsel.

Employers in California are already aware that they are likely to encounter wage and hour cases given the prevalence of such actions. These cases, even for organizations with relatively strong compliance and record keeping, can prove costly and time-consuming given that they can cover large numbers of employees for claims extending up to four years back. Employers, however, may not yet know that their response to workers’ compensation claims may inadvertently end up encouraging another legal headache.

Key Takeaways

Employers should consult with their regular employment lawyer regarding responses to applicant attorneys’ request for records and subpoenas related to workers’ compensation claims to clearly understand their rights and obligations when producing documents. Separate and apart from open workers’ compensation claims, employers should consult their counsel to review their procedures and take the opportunity to generally assess their wage and hour compliance.

Employers with questions about the potential for wage and hour claims from workers’ compensation filings may contact the authors of this post or their usual counsel at AALRR. AALRR attorneys can help with payroll and personnel file requests, subpoenas or demands. They can further help employers by conducting wage and hour audits.