OVERTIME LAW

California Overtime and Double Time Rules

Nonexempt employees are entitled to overtime pay. Overtime pay is paid at one and a one half times the employee's regular hourly wage. Overtime comes into play for California employees if they work:

• More than 8 hours a day or 40 hours in a week.

Double time is owed for work more than 12 hours in a day, or on the seventh consecutive work day without a day off.

Caregiver Exception

These general rules do not apply for caregivers in California. Caregivers must work 9 hours in a day or 45 hours in a week to be entitled to overtime.

OVERTIME

OVER 8 HOURS A DAY
or OVER 40 HOURS
A WEEK

DOUBLETIME

12 or MORE
HOURS IN A DAY

CAREGIVER TIME

9 HOURS IN A DAY
45 HOURS IN A WEEK

Defining Nonexempt vs. Exempt Employees

Nonexempt employees are employees who do not use any independent discretion in doing their work, or do so less than 51% of the time. In order to be nonexempt, the employee must earn less than twice the hourly minimum wage.

Besides the test of independent discretion, a number of jobs are classified as exempt. These jobs include lawyers, doctors, and highly creative positions such as artists. Managers, supervisors, and leads are exempt if they are paid more than twice minimum wage for every hour worked AND they either supervise two or more full-time employees, or are expected to use independent discretion in doing their job 51% or more of the time.

California has different overtime rules than federal overtime laws under the FLSA (Fair Labor Standards Act). Many cities and counties also have their own overtime rules based upon their own minimum wage. Our law firm represents multiple employees and classes of employees in overtime lawsuits.

OVERTIME CALIFORNIA: Penalties and Statute of Limitations

Besides recovering the amount of overtime and double time an employee is owed, a lawsuit can recover money for additional Labor Code violations, including:

• Interest on past due overtime.
• California Labor Code 203 penalties: Entitles the employee to one day of pay for each day all of their wages remain unpaid upon employment ending (up to 30 days). There is a three-year statute of limitations for this claim.
• Paystub Violations: A failure to put the correct number of hours worked and the correct rates of pay on a paycheck leads to a potential fine of $100 per paycheck, up to $4,000.00. The statute of limitations for these fines is believed to be one year.

Our law firm has experience in Private Attorney General (PAGA) claims, which are brought on behalf of groups of employees who were not paid all wages due, or whose paystubs are not in compliance with the law. The employee shares in the penalties that would otherwise go to the government.

Working Overtime

Employees can be required to work overtime if they are paid for it. It is not wrongful termination for an employer to fire an employee for refusing to work the required hours of overtime. Statutory overtime claims can go back three years in California, but some claims can go back four years. It is important to promptly hire an overtime attorney and file the claim in court, as the statute of limitations does not freeze during the period of time the employee remains employed.

RECENT OVERTIME PAY VICTORIES FOR EMPLOYMENT LAWYERS GROUP

1. $875,000 for 4 oil field service employees denied meal breaks and on-call
2. $800,000 for 12 employees exposed to overtime and double time abuses
3. $800,000 settlement for emergency workers not paid for all overtime
4. $775,000 for caregivers denied meal breaks, not reimbursed for cell phones
5. $525,000 for overtime due to persons misclassified as independent contractors
6. $350,000 for overtime time not paid at prevailing wage
7. $350,000 for a directional driller whose overtime rate did not include fixed rate bonuses
8. $250,000 for traveling nurse who was on-call
9. $250,000 for 2 oil field service workers whose employer changed their clock-in-out times
10. $150,000 for a solar panel roofer fired, whose normal hourly rate did not include piece rates for overtime purposes