New owner of company owes me a raise, backpay, and overtime. What can I do?

I’m sorry you’re going through so much at once. Situations like this are easier to sort out when the issues are separated, because each one follows different rules.

Under California law, unpaid overtime counts as wages, and so does the extra hour of pay owed for a missed meal or rest break. Wage claims can generally reach back three years. A promised raise or bonus is less certain. Whether it can be recovered usually depends on how clearly it was promised and whether the employee relied on that promise, which is why emails and texts can be important. Unused vacation or PTO generally must be paid out when employment ends, but unused sick leave usually does not.

An employee who is discharged is owed final pay immediately. When an employee resigns without notice, final pay is generally due within 72 hours. If it is paid late and the delay is willful, the law allows a penalty of up to 30 days’ pay on top of the wages owed.

An owner’s death does not by itself erase wage debts. A corporation or LLC generally keeps its obligations no matter who runs it. If the owner ran the business as a sole proprietorship, claims may need to be made against the owner’s estate, which has its own deadlines. California also has rules that can make a successor business responsible for unpaid wage judgments.

Quitting because conditions became intolerable can sometimes be treated as a termination, if the employer caused those conditions or knew about them. Courts set a high bar for this.

Anyone can file a wage claim with the Labor Commissioner. Because the outcome always depends on the specific facts, an employment attorney can review the full situation and explain the options.