Moreover, for hourly positions, overtime work performed in excess of 12 hours in any workday, or in excess of eight hours on any seventh day of work in a workweek, is compensable at a “double time” rate.
Federal law, however, does not include an eight hour workday overtime rule, just a 40 hour workweek provision. What the overtime law may be in a particular state outside of California will largely depend on whether that state maintains overtime laws more protective than the federal standard. Return to Overtime Law FAQs
Overtime laws were created as a method of penalizing employers who worked laborers beyond particular time limitations, an incentive that served to:
- promote fuller employment
- reduce rates of accident and injury
- protect family cohesion by allowing parents to spend more time with their families (versus being at work)
It is an interesting historical note that these reasons are what compelled, at the federal level, Congress to respond to the failing national economy in the wake of The Great Depression by enacting the Fair Labor Standards Act in 1938. Return to Overtime Law FAQs
While some jobs in California (e.g., underground miners, smelter workers) fall under specific prohibitions against working overtime hours, people in most job positions can be compelled to work overtime hours, but they must be paid for it. Certain workers governed by Industrial Welfare Commission (IWC) Wage Orders such as Nos. 8, 13 and 16 can refuse to work more than 72 hours in a workweek. Return to Overtime Law FAQs
California Wage Orders are what govern the wages, hours and working conditions of persons employed in specific industries and/or holding specific occupations. An Order is an “industry” Order if its title contains the word “industry.” Otherwise, it is an “occupational” Order.
In order to determine which IWC Order applies to an employee or business, it is first necessary to determine if a business is covered by an industry Order. An industry Order (i.e., Order Nos. 1-3 and 5-13) regulates wages, hours and working conditions in specific industries. The remaining Orders (i.e., Order Nos. 4 and 14-17) only apply when a business is not covered by an industry Order.
A few examples (courtesy of the Department of Labor Standards Enforcement) of how a particular job position can fall under different Orders, depending on the nature of the business that employs it, can be found by clicking here. Moreover, it is largely these Wage Orders that dictate whether particular jobs are entitled to overtime pay and meal and rest breaks. Return to Overtime Law FAQs
Overtime pay is a right defined by the law, not by your employer. Nevertheless, countless companies deny employees overtime pay on the false basis that these people are exempt executives (i.e., managers), administrators, professionals, or the like, although they do not meet (or even know) the legal test for these exemptions. This reality has unquestionably led to one of the biggest “cover-ups” in business history and to the filing of thousands of lawsuits over the past decade alone to stop these unlawful practices.
If you haven’t heard about this, don’t be surprised; you will. Return to Overtime Law FAQs
Since federal and state laws, not employers, dictate who is entitled to overtime pay, a number of legal tests must be examined to determine whether your employer has properly classified you. There are many overtime exemptions, and some are more complicated than others, but on those occasions where workers were properly exempted, it is usually because they met one or more of the following six tests to be:
- Executives
- Administrators
- Professionals
- Computer Professionals
- Outside Salespersons
- Commissioned Salespersons
These exemptions are based on a somewhat technical analysis of actual job functions performed by specific classes of employees. Please contact us to discuss whether any of these exemptions may apply to your particular employment situation. You may also wish to click here to see the U.S. Department of Labor’s discussion of these exemptions (federal law). Also, please note that these are not the only exemptions available under California or federal law; they’re just the most commonly-abused. Return to Overtime Law FAQs
Many people mistakenly believe that agreeing to a flat salary or commission-based pay structure means they have waived their right to overtime pay; overtime pay entitlement simply cannot be waived. Return to Overtime Law FAQs
Misclassification, in this context, refers to the practice of referring to and paying employees as overtime-exempt workers, thereby denying them overtime pay and/or benefits such as entitlements to meal and rest periods. As indicated above, the label an employer chooses to place upon an employee is not determinative of whether the law actually entitles that worker to overtime pay. Employers don’t write the law and it is extremely common for them to get it wrong. Given the thousands of overtime misclassification class actions filed in recent years, this should not come as a surprise. Return to Overtime Law FAQs
Misclassifying employees, based upon corporate greed, happens all the time. Since overtime laws have been around in this nation since the time of The Great Depression, no employer can claim ignorance. Return to Overtime Law FAQs
No. In fact, in our experience, very few salaried workers keep track of their overtime hours, and why would they? Their employers have convinced them that they were properly classified and, until recently, what reason was there for these workers to question it?
According to California and federal law, the employer has the burden of maintaining and providing written time records. If the employer has not kept these records, you are allowed to provide an estimate of the amount of overtime you have worked, and you can do that on a daily, weekly, or any other basis. As in any type of dispute, however, written evidence (e.g., time slips, journal or calendar entries, notes, computer or register time logs) is always helpful, so save whatever documentation you have if you are considering an action to recover your overtime pay, but don’t let the lack of such records give you reason for concern. Return to Overtime Law FAQs
