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Defining California Overtime Pay

California has some of the most progressive overtime laws in the United States. Let’s discuss California overtime pay and its essential components.

What Is Overtime Pay in California?

California’s overtime law states that employers must pay all eligible employees overtime should they work more than eight hours a day or 40 hours per week. Non-exempt employees who qualify for overtime should be paid 1.5 times or double the regular rate for all hours worked.

Who Does and Does Not Receive California Overtime Pay?

Not everyone can receive California overtime pay. Here are the workers not entitled to overtime pay.

Exempt Employees

To be an exempt employee, a worker must:

  • Have a “white collar” job. A white-collar job consists of administrative, professional, or executive duties.
  • Receive a fixed salary not less than twice the minimum wage for a full-time job in California.

Outside Salespersons

People who do outside sales are not entitled to overtime pay in California if they fall under the following conditions:

  • They are at least 18 years old
  • At least half of the work time is spent away from the employer’s business place
  • The person sells services, items, contracts, or facility use

Unionized Employees

Unionized employees are not entitled to California overtime pay if their collective bargaining agreement provides for the following:

  • Wages, work hours, and work conditions
  • A regular hourly wage that’s 30% or higher than the minimum wage in California
  • Wage rates for overtime hours

Jobs With Specific Overtime Rules

The following common jobs are not entitled to California overtime pay:

  • Camp counselors
  • Workers in the agriculture sector
  • Managers of retirement homes
  • Personal attendants
  • 24-hour nannies
  • Stay-in household workers
  • The employer’s immediate family

Independent Contractors

Independent contractors are people who:

  • Deliver a specified result for a certain pay
  • Control the means through which a result is accomplished

Employees With an Alternative Workweek Schedule

An alternative workweek schedule features a written agreement between a group of employees and their employer. The written agreement usually consists of an agreement that the employees may work up to ten hours a day without overtime compensation.

Who Receives Overtime Pay in California?

  • Non-exempt employees who are at least 18 years old
  • Non-exempt employees who work more than eight hours per day

When Do California Overtime Rules Apply?

According to state law, non-exempt employees in California should receive mandatory overtime pay. The law applies if the employees work beyond the full-time work schedule. Moreover, the law states that the employees cannot waive their right to overtime pay.

Additionally, non-exempt employees required to work for a seventh consecutive day of work in a workweek must receive overtime pay.

How Much Is California Overtime Pay?

Generally, California’s overtime rate of pay consists of “time and a half.” However, this only applies if the overtime calculations are one and one-half times the regular rate of pay of the worker. The law also states that employers must pay the employees’ wages equivalent to double time.

Additional California Overtime Pay Laws

Worked hours include not only time spent working in the office, but also the following:

  • Meal breaks (if the employee works during his/her break)
  • Other breaks (usually lasts for 10 minutes for every four hours of work)
  • On-call periods (only if the employee has sufficient time to go to work when called on)
  • Preparation (as long as the preparation is crucial and indispensable to the employee’s job)
  • Commuting (if the employee travels on transportation provided by the employer or if the employee must travel to a work site far from the office)

Employers have seven calendar days after the payroll period closes to pay overtime wages. This applies to employees who get paid weekly, twice a week, or twice a month.

Workers cannot opt-out of and waive their right to receiving overtime pay. Under California state law, individuals eligible for overtime payments must receive them. If your employer is refusing to pay you overtime, the team at Cohelan Khoury & Singer wants to help. Contact our unpaid overtime attorneys today for a free consultation — (800) 724-4157

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