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California Overtime Law Requires Daily Overtime Pay

Posted on by Michael Lore

California overtime law defines overtime as any hours worked over an 8 hour day or 40 per week.  Though the Federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) forms the basis for most employee wage and hour regulations, most state overtime laws vary by state. California is only 1 of 4 states that require daily overtime pay.  If your company has instituted an alternative workweek in which you work 10 hours a day for 4 days a week, then there is an exception. 

California Overtime Rate of Pay

  • Unless you meet an exemption, California pays daily overtime, as well as, weekly.
  • Daily overtime is any hours worked over an 8 hour day.
  • Alternative workweeks that meet California’s guidelines are paid daily overtime for hours worked over 10 hours a day after a 40 hour workweek.
  • Weekly overtime is mandated by the FLSA, and consists of any hours over a 40-hour workweek.
  • Overtime is calculated as 1.5 times an employee’s regular rate of pay.
  • 2 times an employee’s regular rate of pay is paid for hours worked over 12 in a day, or any hours over 8 when worked on the 7th consecutive day in a week.

The "regular rate of pay" is determined by dividing the total compensation received by the number of hours worked. In the case of salaried employees, the maximum hours to be divided by, for most cases, are 40 hours.  Rate of pay for piece rate employees and other complicated applications is not so straightforward. If you are not sure what applies in your situation, contact an overtime lawyer who can determine if you are getting paid properly.

Facts Concerning California Overtime Law

  • California overtime law is more complicated than in other states, and the deck is stacked against employers who fail to comply with them.
  • There are many factors that determine whether or not you are exempt from receiving overtime pay under California law and these exemptions can be confusing to both employers and employees.
  • California overtime laws have been changing, which makes it more challenging for employers to follow these changes and comply with the State overtime regulations.
  • Unfortunately, it is common for employers to purposefully misclassify employees as being exempt from any overtime pay, and the majority of workers have no knowledge of their protection under California overtime law.
  • You are protected under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) against retaliation from your employer if you seek justice for overtime compensation violations.

The complications over changing requirements for computing overtime pay have always been a point of difficulty for employers in California.  Under the FLSA, overtime pay is defined as any hours worked over a 40-hour workweek.  But in the state of California, they also have daily overtime computations that call for overtime pay for any hours worked over an 8-hour day as well.  One of the things that make California so difficult to follow is that for years, state regulations required daily overtime in addition to overtime for hours worked in a 40 week.  All of a sudden, state legislature changed the law to only accommodate for a 40-hour workweek.  Soon after, the law changed again, and now California is required to acknowledge daily overtime payments effective January 1, 2001.  In August of 2004, “White Collar Exemptions” were implemented to their overtime laws as a modification to the FLSA, and then on January 1, 2007, a category for physicians and surgeons was added.

Fluctuating rate calculations are not the only challenge to California employers.  The rules that determine whether or not an employee is exempt from overtime pay are tricky as well.

Here’s the bottom line.  The odds of your employer misclassifying you as exempt from overtime pay often stems from confusion alone over California overtime law.  Potential miscalculations for overtime pay, if you are in fact non-exempt, are also common.  If you feel that you are not receiving the appropriate rate from your employer, contact an overtime lawyer today.  The Lore Law Firm specializes in overtime law and will be able to help you decide whether or not you have a case.