California Overtime Law

California State Labor Laws Concerning Overtime & Doubletime (Double-time) are Stringent

In January of 2000, new overtime regulations went into effect for the state of California. Hourly workers working more than 8 hours in a work day must be paid mandatory overtime pay for all hours over 8 hours. Additionally, workers working more than 12 hours in a workday must be paid double time. Workers working 7 days straight in a single work week must be paid overtime for their first 8 hours on the 7th day, and double time after 8 hours.

The total number of hours worked in a single workday reset at the beginning of the workday, which is typically midnight. The total number of hours worked in a single workweek reset at the start of the first workday of a new workweek. Vacation, sick, holiday, and other "unworked" hours do not count toward daily or weekly overtime thresholds.

Additinally, overtime and double time hours do not "pyramid", meaning that any hours worked at overtime or double time rates do not count toward the US Federal FLSA overtime threshold of 40 hours.

There are exceptions to these California overtime laws.

California Division of Labor Standards Enforcement can assess penalties.

Employers failing to observe these new regulations can be assessed penalties by the "DLSE" in the amount of $50 per unpaid worker for each pay period the worker wasn't paid correctly. A complaint by a single employee can trigger a full review of an employer's records, potentially resulting in penalties if any employee pay calculations are out of compliance.

Exceptions to California Labor Laws

There are only two exceptions to these overtime pay requirements. A worker working under a collective bargaining agreement that provides for some overtime pay, and specifies that the worker will receive at least 30% above the state minimum wage.

The second exception is where employers implement an "alternative workweek schedule", and such a schedule receives approval of two/thirds of their workforce. This allows employees to work four day shifts of up to 10 hours without receiving overtime, so long as the total hours don't go over 40 hours.

Labor Law Terms and Definitions
Term	Definition
Overtime Pay Rate	A rate of pay calculated at 1.5 times an employee's hourly regular rate of pay.
Double Time Pay Rate	A rate of pay calculated at 2.0 times an employee's hourly regular rate of page
Workday or Work Day	A 24 hour period, typically starting at midnight.
Workweek	A seven day, 168 hour period of time.

By Alfred Heyman. Google+.

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