How Do California Overtime Laws Cover Coronavirus Home Workers?

The novel coronavirus pandemic has become something of a ubiquitous topic, and there’s no question why. Across the country, lockdowns have led to an increasing number of businesses asking employees to work from home. This represents a particular challenge to both workers and employers when it comes to following California overtime laws, the National Law Review reported.

The execution of overtime laws is made even more complex by the fact that the coronavirus is generally regarded as an “act of God” as laid out by the California Employment Law Report. According to the report, employers are not required to pay overtime wages when work is interrupted by a cause outside the employer’s control — an act of God.

However, this only applies to certain types of overtime pay. If you believe you have been wrongly denied overtime pay during the pandemic, you may need to seek legal assistance to get the pay you’ve earned.

What Are California Overtime Laws?

According to the California Department of Industrial Relations (DIR), under California overtime laws, any employee “shall not be employed more than eight hours in any workday or more than 40 hours in any workweek” without being compensated with overtime pay.

Overtime pay is to be awarded at a rate of no less than one and one-half times the employee’s regular rate of pay. Employers are also required to pay double the normal rate for any hours worked over 12 in one day or for any hours worked over eight on the seventh consecutive workday.

California overtime laws also lay out instances in which an employee may be guaranteed pay for hours they didn’t work. For instance, if an employee reports for their shift but is sent home due to a lack of work, “reporting time pay” must be given. The employee will be paid half of the scheduled amount, no less than two and no more than four hours.

How Do California Overtime Laws Apply During the Coronavirus Pandemic?

There are several guidelines of California overtime laws that may come into play as employers begin to determine what they owe their employees for work done at home during the pandemic. Reporting time pay, as described above, may be owed to employees who have gone to work during the pandemic only to be sent home. But this depends on the reason for the employee’s absence.

Employers have the right to reduce hours for their workers, but they may be required to pay their employees a minimum amount of “call-in pay,” similar to reporting time pay, for days when they are sent home from a scheduled shift. However, these hours are not counted into hours actually worked and thus do not contribute to overtime pay calculations. If an employer increases employee hours due to reduced staffing or increased demand, proper overtime pay must be provided.

Overtime hours may be particularly hard to calculate during the coronavirus pandemic. Non-exempt employees working from home may have difficulty clocking the appropriate hours, and employers are likely to have difficulty verifying any hours worked. Employers are encouraged to utilize software that allows employees to clock their hours remotely.

What Rights Do You Have as an Employee?

As a non-exempt employee, you are guaranteed several rights under California overtime laws. You are guaranteed overtime pay of at least one and one-half your regular rate, and your employer is obligated to pay for any overtime hours, regardless of whether they were pre-authorized.

An employee also has the right to refuse to work on the seventh day in a workweek and may file a wage claim if they believe they have been paid unfairly. If the employee’s employer retaliates against them for filing a wage claim, the employee may then file a discrimination/retaliation complaint with the California Labor Commissioner’s Office.

How to File a Coronavirus California Overtime Lawsuit

If you believe you have been denied overtime pay in violation of California overtime laws because of coronavirus, you have a few options for seeking compensation.

First, according to the DIR, you have the right to file a wage claim. In this case, a settlement conference will likely be held between the employee and employer. If that fails, a hearing officer may attempt to make a decision on the claim.

If the wage claim is settled in your employer’s favor, you have the right to appeal the decision in civil court. You may also be able to file an overtime lawsuit, which, if settled in your favor, may win you full compensation as well as attorney fees.

Join a Free California Expense Reimbursement Class Action Lawsuit Investigation

If you are working from home as a result of coronavirus mandate and it is resulting in excessive hours or unreimbursed expenses, you may be eligible to join this California coronavirus home office expenses class action lawsuit investigation.

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This article is not legal advice. It is presented
for informational purposes only.