Employee’s Imprecise Evidence of Hours Worked Sufficient for Unpaid Overtime and Deficient Wage Statement Claims

On January 4, 2019, the court of appeal published its decision in Furry v. East Bay Publishing, LLC holding that an employee’s “imprecise evidence” of overtime worked can provide a sufficient basis for damages when his employer failed to keep accurate records of the time he worked. The employer had mistakenly classified its “marketing director” as “exempt,” and the employee’s pay stubs did not indicate the straight time or overtime hours worked, or the rates for straight, overtime, or double time. The Furry court held that the employee’s testimony was sufficient to “shift the onus to the employer to either provide a specific detail on the amount of overtime or to disprove by evidence what was not correct with the employee’s figures,” which it failed to do.