China's courts will favor worker claims for overtime payments in lawsuits where neither the employee nor the employer can provide proof of time worked, the Supreme People's Court declared Tuesday.

The court's judicial explanation stipulates that an employer also has a burden of proof if employees sue for overtime payments.

Lawsuits brought by workers against employers for overtime payments had increased significantly since the implementation of the Law on Mediation and Arbitration of Labor Disputes on May 1, 2008, said the explanation, the third on the law issued by the Supreme People's Court.

Sun Jungong, spokesman for the Supreme People's Court, said courts around the country received more than 295,500 lawsuits regarding labor disbutes in 2008, up 95.3 percent from the previous year.

From January to August this year, more than 207,400 new lawsuits were filed, said Sun.

"The sharp increase in the labor disputes lawsuits reflects changing social and economic relations," said Sun. "The international financial crisis also worsened many employers' abilities to meet employee demands to raise salaries."

Sun said some employers ignored workers' interests and rights, and even deliberately broke the law for profit.