What You Need to Know about Nurse Overtime Pay in California

Nurses often work long shifts and under stressful conditions, such as in the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Despite this, some employers may fail to provide nurses with the compensation they’re entitled to receive for the amount of time they’ve worked.

California has strict laws that help protect nurses from wrongful wage-withholding practices. Employers are legally required to provide nurse overtime pay in California — and those who don’t may be in violation of the state’s labor law.

Mandatory Overtime Pay for Nurses

Workers in California — including nurses — are offered a significant amount of benefits. By law, employees must be paid one and a half times their standard rate of pay if they’ve worked more than eight hours in any day and more than 40 hours in a workweek. If they’ve worked over 12 hours in a workday, they are entitled to double their regular pay rate.

Some professions are exempt from mandatory overtime pay, according to the California Department of Industrial Relations (DIR). However, California law specifically states the exemption doesn’t apply to nurses unless they are midwives, anesthetists, or certified nurse practitioners.

If the employer and the nurses agree to an alternative workweek, nurses may work up to 12 hours a shift. However, they must still be paid overtime for all time worked beyond 40 hours.

Alternative workweeks can only be implemented if an election is conducted by a secret ballot allowing the nurses to vote for or against the proposition, the schedule is regular and fixed, and the employer registers the workweek with the California Division of Labor Statistics and Research.

If the employer did not register, the arrangement is not legally valid.

Even if a nurse has traveled from another state, they are still protected by laws concerning nurse overtime pay in California if they are working within the state.

Mandatory Meal and Rest Breaks Under California Labor Law

California labor law provides workers with the right to have an uninterrupted meal and rest period.

Once a nurse works five hours, their employer must provide them with a 30-minute unpaid meal break. However, if their shift is no more than six hours, the meal break can be waived if the nurse and their employer agree.

California law requires employers to provide a second 30-minute meal break if a worker is on the clock for 10 hours or more a day. An employee can forgo the second meal break upon the employer’s mutual consent as long as the first break was taken.

Whether it’s the first or second meal break, a nurse must be relieved of all duties; if they are working during their meal break, they are entitled to be paid for it.

Also, on-duty meal breaks are only permissible in California if the nature of the employment would prevent the worker from being entirely relieved of their duties. An on-duty paid meal break must be agreed to in writing.

In addition, all workers — including nurses — in California must be provided with an off-duty, 10-minute break for every four hours worked, according to the DIR.

Nurse Overtime Pay in California State Facilities

California has particular laws governing overtime for nurses who are employed by state facilities.

Specifically, A.B. 2155 prohibits nurses and certified nursing assistants (CNAs) employed at state facilities from being forced to work overtime, except in limited circumstances.

This means nurses cannot be scheduled to work overtime or compelled to work additional hours on the spot. However, there are exceptions to this rule, including:

• Catastrophic events that were not anticipated
• Emergencies
• Natural disasters
• Acts of terrorism
• An emergency declared by the state facility
• Disease outbreaks

While nurses and CNAs may voluntarily agree to work extra hours, employers cannot terminate or discriminate against nurses who refuse to accept additional hours.

Have Any Nurse Overtime Pay Lawsuits Been Filed?

The alleged failure of some employers to provide nurse overtime pay in California has led some unions and employees to take legal action.

In 2018, a California nurse filed a class action lawsuit against Care Meridian and Mentor Management, claiming that the companies systematically denied overtime for nurses in an attempt to lower overhead costs.

In October 2020, the SEIU 1021 labor union filed a lawsuit on behalf of a group of nurses against San Francisco and its Department of Public Health, raising allegations of federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) violations.

According to the union’s website, the union had specifically negotiated an agreement “to address the widespread problem of managers offering overtime pay only to have payroll take it away.”

The union believes 90,000 hours of overtime pay are unpaid annually, according to its website.

The union also contends on the website that the alleged “wage theft” is being used to conceal understaffing and its goal in filing the lawsuit is to ensure an adequate number of nurses are staffed to meet patients’ needs and that they are paid fairly.

If you are a nurse in California and have been subjected to violations of California labor law, there are protections in place, and you may be able to file a lawsuit and pursue compensation. Filing a lawsuit can be a daunting prospect, so Top Class Actions has laid the groundwork for you by connecting you with an experienced attorney. Consulting an attorney can help you determine if you have a claim, navigate the complexities of litigation, and maximize your potential compensation.