If you work more than 8 hours a day or more than 40 hours in a week, you qualify for overtime pay in California. However, it is not a straightforward process. With all the exemptions and exceptions, California overtime laws can be complex and confusing. But when your overtime pay is miscalculated, it costs you money. This means that it is vital for employees to fully understand the overtime pay laws to make sure they receive full compensation for the hours they work.
Below are the main points for California Overtime Laws:
| State and Federal Statutes |
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| Pay Rates for Overtime in California | Overtime pay is time and a half the normal rate of pay for employees for:
Employees will be paid double the normal pay rate as overtime pay for:
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| Possible Solutions | You may be entitled to the following if an employer wrongfully withheld overtime pay:
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| Wage Complaint Filing Process |
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Note: It is essential to conduct your research or to speak with an attorney qualified in California wage laws. These laws are subject to change. You need to make sure you verify any information about wage laws.
State overtime laws in California require nonexempt employees be paid at time and a half their normal rate of pay for any hours worked over 8 hours in a single day. The same is true for any hours worked over 40 in a single workweek. If an employee works more than 12 hours a day, their rate is doubled. Additionally, if they work more than 8 hours on their seventh day in a row for the same workweek, their hourly rate is also doubled.
Employers must follow both state and federal overtime laws. The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) governs federal overtime requirements. If there is a conflict between state and federal overtime rules, the employer must follow the laws that benefit the employee the greatest. California law often provides the most benefits to their employees.
Industrial Welfare Commission (IWC) Orders cover employees who are nonexempt with provisions. These provisions regulate the hours, wages, and overtime pay for employees. They also provide guidelines for specific occupations and industries in California. Employees are presumed to be nonexempt in California and are thus entitled to overtime pay.
The burden of classifying an employee as exempt rests on the employer to prove. An employer cannot simply label an employee as exempt. There are particular requirements in place for an employee to be classified as exempt under the law. Here are the following exemptions recognized by California.
Overtime pay calculations use the regular rate of pay that you receive for completing normal tasks at a specific place of employment. This rate serves as your base rate for calculating overtime pay. This includes commissions, piecework earnings, salary, and hourly earnings. And it is not acceptable to use a rate less than the federally mandated minimum wage to calculate overtime pay.
Your hourly pay constitutes your regular rate of pay if you are an hourly employee. The regular rate of pay includes a nondiscretionary bonus when based upon production, proficiency, or hours worked. Not included in determining the regular rate of pay are paid bonuses, holiday gifts, or other gifts.
While the workweek schedule does not have to be Monday to Sunday, it does need to be fixed. This means that a workweek schedule should consist of seven consecutive 24 hour days. Employers are free to start and end their schedule on any day of the week as long as it follows those guidelines.
While an employer may not intend to make errors calculating your overtime pay, these errors do happen, and they are common. Regardless, you are still entitled to overtime pay even though there are errors.
These are the common violation of overtime laws:
If you feel that an employer has taken advantage of you or someone you care about, please get in touch with the Lemberg Law legal team. Complete our form for a FREE case evaluation, or call 475-277-2200 NOW. You may be entitled to compensation for damages, injuries, or lost wages for Federal and state wage law violations.
Sergei Lemberg is a lawyer whose practice focuses on consumer law, class actions and personal injury litigation. He has been repeatedly recognized as the “most active consumer attorney” in the country. In 2020, Mr. Lemberg represented Noah Duguid in the United States Supreme Court in the case entitled Duguid v. Facebook. He is the author of Defanging Debt Collectors, a book that teaches consumers how to battle debt collectors and win.
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