Has anyone ever sued an employer for vilolation of labor laws and personal rights? If so what was your experience?

You haven’t given specifics, which I can certainly understand. If you are sure that labor laws have been violated, you have some chance of success. The road is long though. You need to decide if it is something that you can or want to fit into your life.

Am I right that you are in California? Here is some information on current law:

“To begin, SB 1809 substantially curbs the PAGA by providing that an aggrieved employee may bring a lawsuit against his or her employer for Labor Code violations only after complying with procedural and administrative requirements. Before bringing a lawsuit for most claims, an employee must provide written notice of the alleged claim to his or her employer and to the Labor and Workforce Development Agency. This notice allows the Agency an opportunity to investigate certain specified claims and an employee may bring a lawsuit on these claims only if the Agency chooses not to investigate the claim or does not issue a citation against the employer based on the claim. Moreover, for some claims, an employer will be given an opportunity to avoid a lawsuit by correcting the alleged violation.

Likewise, in regard to claims for violations of health and safety laws, an employee must also provide written notice of the claim to the Division of Occupational Safety and Health (Cal/OSHA) before bringing a lawsuit. The employee may bring a lawsuit on the claim only if Cal/OSHA does not issue a citation to the employer on the claim and the employer fails to correct the alleged violation.

In addition to the procedural requirements for bringing lawsuits under the PAGA, SB 1809 also exempts some of the more minor and technical Labor Code provisions from the Act. Thus, an employee may no longer bring a lawsuit under the PAGA for violations of posting, notice, reporting, or filing requirements of the Labor Code, except where the filing or reporting requirement involves mandatory payroll or workplace injury reporting.

Finally, for claims that do result in lawsuits under the PAGA, SB 1809 gives the courts discretion to adjust the amount of monetary penalties awarded to employees in order to avoid awards that are unjust, arbitrary, oppressive or confiscatory.

Conclusion
Although SB 1809 provides some relief to employers from lawsuits brought under the PAGA, employers must remain cautious and aware of potential claims.”

Good luck, whatever course you choose.

Thank you Marina. The information is greatly appreciated.

I should have, and I regret it to this day.

I am with delerium on this.

If you can prove your case, go for it. A co-worker here could prove that he was treated unfairly based on past practice and won $800,000…. of course it is in appeals now… but he could prove that his rights were violated.

A good attorney should be able to tell you, after reviewing the facts and evidence, if the case is worth it. They’ll take your case on and wait for the pay from the job if they really believe in it.