The question you ask is very difficult to answer fully to prepare you for such a hearing in a short answer like this. My question is why have you not hired an attorney to assist you with the issue you are bringing? Generally, but not always, an attorney prosecuting your case will increase the value of your claim and the pressure to be brought against the employer to pay more in settlement. Depending on your claims there are possible additional penalties and avenues of recovery that an attorney can help you find and prosecute. An in a lawsuit outside of the Labor Board process for many claims there is the right to force your employer to pay for your attorney fees.

Before you go any further it would be wise to locate and consult with an experienced employment law attorney as soon as possible to explore your facts and determine your options. I would suggest you look either on this site in the Find a Lawyer section, or go to www.cela.org, the home page for the California Employment Lawyers Association, an organization whose members are dedicated to the representation of employees against their employers.

Most employment attorneys who practice this area of law work offer a free or low cost consultation in the beginning and then, if the matter has merit and value, will usually agree to work on a contingency basis, meaning you can hire an attorney without paying any money until the matter results in a positive outcome for you. Many advance all the costs of the litigation as well. Do not let fear of fees and costs keep you from finding a good attorney.

After learning about the alternative available to you, you can then decide to continue in the Labor Board process or move to the other process.

Good luck to you.

At the conference you will meet in the office of one of the nonattorney employees of the DLSE along with your former employer. The DLSE employee will ask you questions about your claims: dates worked, amounts paid, amounts owed, etc., etc. Then he/she will ask questions of your former employer about their defense of your claims. Then, the employee will pressure you to settle - many times for less than what you are owed. That way the case is resolved and the file is off his/her desk and no hearing is scheduled. If the case does not settle, months (sometimes nearly one year) a hearing will be scheduled and you appear before an administrative law judge and have to prove your claim with testimony, documents, witnesses, etc. If the judge believes you, within a few weeks, you will get a ruling and then it is up to you to collect the money owed. And, the employer (or you) can appeal the matter to Superior Court where the matter starts over as if the DLSE hearing never went forward. As you can see, this can be a dragged out matter if you continue before the DLSE. In my opinion, it is almost always better and much more efficient to hire the services of an employment law attorney. If you do so and your employer owes you overtime from work you performed in the past 4 years, the law requires the employer to pay your attorney's fees plus their own and that is usually an excellent incentive for them to pay up. It may be much easier and more efficient to dismiss your DLSE claim and have an attorney write a demand letter to your former employer and make an attempt to get the money owed to you without a lawsuit. Call an employment law attorney to discuss the facts. Many of us offer a free consultation.