Do you have Time for a Life after Work? Is it Worth your Time? Do you get Overtime Pay?
The federal labor laws do not require that overtime rates be paid to hourly employees until they have reached a total of 40 hours. Here in California the labor laws give overtime to hourly employees whenever they work more than 8 hours in a day and after they reach 40 regular hours.
This can be rather costly for employers in industries that typically have shifts longer than 8 hours. For instance, hospitals regularly schedule nurses (LVN and RN) to work 10-12 hours a day. Under California law these nurses should be paid at 1.5 times for all hours after 8 in that day. If an employer wanted to forgo paying daily overtime they do have one option, alternative work week schedules.
First, the employer must ask the affected employees to vote on whether or not they want to have an alternative work week schedule. Usually this means that the employees will work either 4 ten hour days or 3 twelve hour days, giving the employees 3-4 days off a week. Once the employees vote on whether or not they are willing to forgo daily overtime for this schedule, the vote must be counted and then there must be a two thirds majority to pass this decision. If the alternative work week is accepted by two thirds of the affected employees then the next step is for the employer to complete registration with the state. Once the state has accepted this, the company will be listed in their database http://www.dir.ca.gov/databases/oprl/dlsr-awe.html
It is important to note that even though a company has registered for an alternative work week they still must follow certain California labor laws such as:
• Double time pay after 12 hours
• Second 30 min lunch break if the shift is 10 hours or more
• Third 10 minute break for 12 hour shifts
• And of course 1.5 time the regular rate of pay for anything over 40 hours
Labor law is complex; if you have any questions regarding your employment it is recommended that you contact a California labor law attorney who can help you understand your rights and in many cases will review your situation without charge.
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