Working Off The Clock- Overtime Laws in California
California has great general provisions. In this state nonexempt employees who are over 18 years of age and minor employees between the age of 17 and 18 years that are not required by the law to attend school and not prohibited to engage in work, cannot be employed for over 8 hours in any working day or over 40 hours in a workweek unless they will receive overtime pay. The Californian overtime laws protect workers from the abuses related to work. The following are some of the overtime laws that your company may be violating:
The Minimum Wage in California
Since January 1st 2014, the minimum wage in California should be $9 per hour worked. Therefore, if the wage in your organization is below this, you might be breaking the labor law.
California Time and a Half
Every employer should pay their workers one and a half times the hour rate if they are working overtime. Unlike the Federal law that dictates overtime should be the additional hours a person has worked after 40 hours in a week, in California overtime is also after the 8th working hour in any work day.
California Double Time
In addition to the one and a half times the hour rate an individual get for the overtime they work, they should also get double the normal rate when working after the 12th hour in a single day.
California Seventh Day Rule
All California workers also enjoy protection for working 7 consecutive days. In this case, the employer has to pay the 7th day at a time and a half the normal rate and pay double this amount after the 8th hour.
Working Off the Clock
This isn’t allowed. According to California labor laws, an employer shouldn’t require workers to finish closing duties, to change into uniform at work or even to complete the work while clocked out. A worker should report to the relevant authorities when this happens.
Stand By or On-Call Pay
The California law states that an employee should get full payment when they are under the control of their employer. Any worker on call or standby status falls under this rule but more often employers do not pay them accordingly.
The California overtime laws seem to be fairly straightforward. However, in most cases they are usually complex than anticipated. Some workers are lawfully exempt form the overtime pay laws and are entitled to the overtime pay under the federal law and the California labor law. The employees are within three categories including professional, executive and administrative. There are employers who classify their workers “exempt” as a way of avoiding to pay them overtime.
If you, or someone you know, are facing legal issues in the workplace United Employees Law Group has the answers. Call Today for your free and confidential case review. Please feel free to CONTACT US with any questions about this blog or your exact situation.
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