What If My Employer Doesn’t Pay Overtime?

In most cases, California labor law requires that companies pay their employees overtime.

However, it can be helpful to understand the nuances surrounding these laws so that you can be prepared to recognize overtime rules violations and seek proper compensation.

California overtime law requires that employees do not work more than 40 hours a work week or 8 hours a day without receiving overtime compensation, which should be one and a half times that of regular wages. Overtime beyond this should be compensated with twice the regular rate of pay.

Some employees are considered exempt, meaning that standard California overtime law no longer applies.

Employers are required to pay for overtime even if that time is unauthorized. However, if that time is unauthorized by the employer, they can discipline employees for violating company policy. Even so, the employer is still required to pay overtime wages.

In California, most workers are entitled to overtime for all work past eight hours in a day or 40 hours in a week, or for work performed on a seventh consecutive day. Simply being paid a salary does not make an employee exempt from overtime.

Salaried employees are entitled to overtime compensation as well, provided that an overtime exemption does not apply to them. Salaried employees who are exempt specifically from overtime through the Industrial Welfare Commission Wage Orders would not be paid overtime.

California Overtime Rules

According to California labor law, overtime pay is based on hourly wages, salaries, shift differentials, non-discretionary bonuses and commissions. Failure to include those when determining overtime pay is an overtime bonus violation.

In California, there are penalties for failure to meet wage and hour laws, such as underpayment or unpaid wages, paying wages with insufficient funds, failure to provide meal or rest breaks, failure to provide one day’s rest in seven, and failure to pay wages timely upon termination. California law also requires penalties for unlawful deductions from wages.

Filing a California Wage and Hour Claim

The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) and several California state laws govern the rights of employees to fair wages and working conditions in California. Employers who cut corners and disregard these rights can be held legally accountable by employees not to mention the fact that they may face stiff penalties.

California wage and hour lawsuits may be filed within three years from the date that the claim arose. (Some penalties, however, are subject to a deadline of one year.) Wage claims can either be filed with the Division of Labor Standards Enforcement or a lawsuit can be filed in court against the employer to recover the lost wages.

Included in the file should be as much information and documentation as possible. This includes the name, location, and method of doing business with the employer, as well as any other documents which support the claim.

If you are employed in California and believe that your employer has violated state or federal overtime rules, you may qualify for damages that may be awarded in a possible class action lawsuit.

Join a Free California Overtime, Wage & Hour Class Action Lawsuit Investigation

If you were forced to work off the clock or without overtime pay in California within the past 2 to 3 years, you have rights – and you don’t have to take on the company alone.

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