What Is Considered Overtime in California?

Overtime in California may be subject to different laws and regulations than those enforced on a federal level, entitling workers to more rights.

How is overtime determined on a federal level?

The federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) requires employers to pay their workers overtime pay for all hours worked over 40 hours in a single work week. Overtime pay is required to be at least one and a half times an employee’s regular rate of pay.

How is overtime in California determined?

California state law also requires overtime to be paid for all hours worked over 40 hours in a single work week. However, the state’s law has additional requirements as well.

If an employee works over eight hours a day, they must be compensated at their time and a half overtime rate for all hours worked over eight in a single day. Similarly, if an employee works over 12 hours in a day, they must be compensated at double their normal rate of pay for all hours in excess of 12 in a single day.

The differences do not stop here. Employees may be entitled to overtime in California if they work seven days in a row in a workweek. In these situations, employees are compensated at time and a half for the first eight hours worked on the seventh consecutive day and at double their regular rate of pay for any hours worked over eight hours on the seventh consecutive day.

What is “rate of pay” and how is it calculated?

Rate of pay is used to denote the amount an employee earns in an hour. Although this obviously includes hourly pay, this may also include other sources of income. The FLSA requires a calculated rate of pay to include bonus payments in addition to hourly rates or salary.

How is rate of pay calculated in California?

In California, rate of pay is calculated using hourly earnings, salary, piecework earnings, commissions, nondiscretionary bonuses, and other types of remuneration. Rate of pay calculation in California does not include expense reimbursements, premium pay for weekends or holidays, discretionary bonuses, and other specific examples.

Who is eligible for overtime?

Retail and restaurant workers are usually the victims of unpaid overtime. To note, there are exceptions for overtime eligibility on both a federal and state level. On a federal level, overtime exemption may apply in numerous situations including for salaried managers and certain professionals.

In California, a number of positions are not eligible for overtime pay, including the following employees:

• Executive, administrative, and professional employees
• Employees in the computer software field who are paid an hourly rate
• State employees
• Outside salespersons
• Family members of the employer
• Certain drivers
• Professional actors
• Commercial fishing boat crew members

A full list of exempt California employees is available on the California Department of Industrial Relations’ website.

What do I do if I was denied overtime?

If you were denied overtime pay in California or if your compensation was calculated wrong, you may be able to take legal action. California wage and hour lawsuits have been settled in the millions of dollars.

A qualified labor attorney can help evaluate your case and determine if you can recover unpaid wages owed to you under federal and state laws.

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