employment california teenager
Question Concerning Responding to Employer of Minor Daughter Paid Under Minimum Wage
<p>My high school daughter worked for about a year for an employer who owns a tutoring company in our town. Due to friction between my daughter and the employer, my daughter recently quit but she realized that she was being underpaid for much of this year (2023) because the minimum wage here in California is currently $15.50 for 2023 but she was still getting paid $14.00, the California minimum wage for 2022, when she recently quit (in August 2023). Now according to my daughter there is a provision in California law which allows employers to pay only 85% of minimum wage for new workers with no prior experience for their first 160 hours of work. For 2023, that &quot;new worker&quot; wage level would work out to $13.17 per hour, but my daughter said that she exceeded her first 160 hours of work for the employer back in March 2023. So, basically, my daughter was being paid under the proper CA 2023 minimum wage for over the past 4 months.</p>
<p>When my daughter contacted her former employer about this problem, the employer was apologetic and emailed back saying that a financial transaction to her to correct for the underpayment would be sent as soon as my daughter emailed back an enclosed payment settlement form. The settlement form basically says &quot;I hereby agree that the net payment of $XXX represents the full and final settlement of my account with Company XXX&quot;, and there are signature lines at the bottom of the form for my daughter's signature as well as my signature as her parent.</p>
<p>I'm currently thinking &quot;Why should I, the parent, need to sign anything here?&quot;. The employer underpaid my daughter and she acknowledges that she underpaid my daughter, so it seems that she is responsible for paying my daughter the money she already owes her for the work that my daughter already did, regardless of whether I sign any form or not. Any thoughts on all of this?</p>

<h2>Read the terms</h2>
<p>It’s quite likely that, if you took this to court, the employer would be liable to pay your daughter interest on the underpayment and possibly be fined by the state for failing to follow the law.</p>
<p>The terms probably are offering to pay the back pay with no interest and your daughter agreeing to confidentiality about the breach. Probably - I haven’t read them.</p>
<p>In other words, they’re asking her to sign a contract saying she gets $XXX now, and can’t make any further claims against them. Such releases are commonplace when setting a dispute and there’s probably nothing underhanded going on. Probably - I haven’t read them.</p>
<p>Because minors can void contracts if they are not in their interest, they want you, as her legal guardian, to also sign so that can’t happen. A relatively prudent precaution on their part.</p>
<p>The alternative is to not sign the document and they presumably won’t pay. It will then be up to you whether to sue them which will cost you money, possibly more than you will get if you win.</p>
<p>As to whether there is a dispute: they want your signature, you don’t want to sign - that’s a dispute. Any admissions they have made in their settlement offer are almost surely without prejudice, meaning they are inadmissible in court. If you want to sue, you would have to prove the underpayment without relying on their admissions. As stated above, maybe there is no underpayment.</p>
<p>Only you and your daughter can decide if this is a good deal.</p>

<p>The form most likely includes a statement somewhere that you won’t take further legal action.  Your underage daughters signature would not be legally binding as she is underage, and so you could get the money and sue.</p>
<p>Your signature on the other hand makes it a legally binding contract on your part and would probably open you up to a breach of contract suit if your daughter was to sue in her own right (either before or after majority).</p>
