4 Overtime Laws In California To Know About

If you work in California, you may know that you deserve to get paid for every hour you work. Did you know that you might deserve overtime pay in some situations? It’s true!

It’s also true that many employers ‘overlook’ paying their employees overtime. In some cases, California employers mistakenly think they only have to pay overtime when an employee works more than 40 hours a week, for example. However, in other cases, employers don’t pay overtime simply to save money.

Failure to pay overtime can have significant consequences for employers, but many workers do not realize that they are entitled to this extra pay. Here’s what you need to know about overtime laws in California.

4 Overtime Laws Every California Worker Should Know

Employers Are Required To Pay Overtime, Whether It Is Authorized Or Not

California law requires employers to pay workers all overtime – even unauthorized overtime. While they must pay for unauthorized overtime, employers can discipline workers for violating any policy that prohibits working overtime without prior authorization.

Overtime Pay Is At Least 1.5 Times Your Regular Pay

California law requires employers to pay overtime at a rate of 1.5 times the regular pay for all hours worked. In some cases, overtime can pay more.

Specifically:

• When an employee works more than 8 hours but less than 12 hours in a single day, they receive 1.5 times their regular pay rate for those extra hours; they receive double their normal rate of pay after working 12 hours in a single day.
• When an employee works six days in a row, they receive 1.5 times their regular rate for the first eight hours on the seventh consecutive workday and double their normal rate of pay after the first eight hours

The 8 And 80 System

Hospitals and residential care homes may opt for the eight and eighty (8 and 80) system, which allows them to pay time and a half to employees who work more than 8 hours in a day or 80 hours in a 2-week pay period. These employers may use both the 8 and 80 system and the standard 40-hour overtime system in one workplace for different employees, but they cannot use both systems for one individual worker.

Some Employees Are Not Eligible For Overtime Pay

Your boss may not have to pay you overtime if you are:

• Employed directly by the city, county or the State of California
• In a union and are covered by a collective bargaining agreement
• A professional, administrator, or executive
• A taxicab driver
• An app-based rideshare and delivery driver
• A truck driver

Did You Work Overtime, But Did Not Get Paid For It? Contact Your Employment Attorneys At D.Law!

Working overtime is hard, and you deserve compensation for your extra labor. If you worked overtime and didn’t get paid appropriately, contact or call D.Law. Our employment lawyer can help you protect your right to overtime as a worker in the Bay Area, San Diego, Fresno, Los Angeles, and other California cities.