Employees who work overtime must be paid overtime. Period. Employers who fail to pay their employees for overtime hours are committing wage theft.
Employers in California are required to pay their employees at the correct overtime rate when their employees work overtime. Overtime in California is earned as follows:
- One and one-half times the employee’s “regular rate of pay” for all hours worked in excess of eight (8) hours up to twelve (12) hours in any workday.
- One and one-half times the employee’s “regular rate of pay” for the first eight (8) hours worked on the seventh consecutive day in a workweek.
- One and one-half times the employee’s “regular rate of pay” for all hours worked in a workweek that exceed 40 hours.
- Double the employee’s “regular rate of pay” for all hours worked in excess of twelve (12) hours in any workday.
- Double the employee’s “regular rate of pay” for all hours worked in excess of eight (8) hours on the seventh consecutive day of work in a workweek.
An employee’s “regular rate of pay” or purposes of calculating overtime can be more than just his/her hourly rate. An employee’s “regular rate of pay” includes various kinds of pay the employee receives, such as his/her hourly rate, salary, piece work earnings, bonus, and commissions. If an employee is paid an hourly rate and a commission, then his/her “regular rate of pay” for purposes of overtime will be more than just his/her hour rate.
An employer must pay an employee for overtime hours at the correct overtime rate even if the employee worked overtime without authorization from the employer. An employer is allowed to discipline an employee for working unauthorized overtime, but the employer may not fail to pay overtime.
Not all employees are entitled to overtime. In California, there are a number of “exemptions” from the overtime law. Thee will be discussed in the section titled “Misclassification as Salaried Employee.”
