An employer withholds a portion of final wages based on a genuine, reasonable dispute about the amount owed. If a court later finds a small amount was in fact due, are waiting-time penalties automatic?

Explicación

Waiting-time penalties under Labor Code §203 require a 'willful' failure to pay. A genuine, good-faith dispute over whether wages were owed (based on a reasonable, if ultimately incorrect, legal position) can negate willfulness and defeat the penalty. The dispute must be bona fide, not a pretext to delay clearly owed wages, and there is no dollar threshold for the defense.