My question involves employment and labor law for the state of: California
I would like to know if the following strategy is a good idea in order quickly settle a compliant with my previous employer. Yesterday I went to a labor commission conference in San Jose, California where my employer offered me a low-ball offer to settle my claim that I did not accept. The deputy commissioner let them know that they could potentially owe me about $20K.
In addition to this company not paying me a portion of my final paycheck, this company (they are a consulting company) acted in a very poor and unprofessional manner with the client I was working for and cost me 8 weeks of work (a gross loss of about $24K) because they were being difficult. They even lied at the conference but I had the proof.
Naturally, I am very pissed. I want to know if giving them 10 days to pay me half of the amount (10K) or I will expose their unreasonableness online, how they treated the client and didn’t pay me.
I know I have an airtight case. I have everything in writing and electronic format. It is even organized in a binder with exhibits A through R. I can stage a website in less than a day and there are zillions of places where I can promote my story with this company without saying who I am. So far, I have said nothing except discuss it with friends, etc.
Is this a good idea to get paid quickly so I can move on? Should I hire a lawyer? What is the best strategy?
Thank you for taking the time to read this and respond. I really appreciate the advice.

