You work hard every day during your regular workweek. Sometimes the nature of the job or your employer’s policies require you to work beyond your standard workweek. If so, you may be owed overtime pay under California law.
When must a worker be paid overtime?
Under California law, employees who work more than 8 hours a day and more than 40 hours in a week must be paid one-and-a-half times their regular rate of pay for any hours worked over the 40-hour workweek. This rate is commonly known as “time and a half.” You are owed double your regular rate of pay if you work more than 12 hours a workday and if you work more than 8 hours on the 7th day in a row of your workweek.
The regular rate of pay is based on what compensation you normally earn. This could be an hourly rate of pay or a salary. That being said, some salaried employees are exempt from state overtime requirements, and employers do not have to pay them overtime.
Does overtime need to be authorized by my employer?
Overtime does not need to be authorized by your employer to be compensable. Under California law, employers must pay employees overtime, whether the overtime hours were authorized or not. And, while an employer can discipline employees who violates workplace rules regarding overtime and authorization, the employee still must be paid overtime wages for the time worked above and beyond the 40-hour workweek.
Employers must pay compensable overtime owed
If you work overtime and you do not fall under an overtime exemption you deserve to be paid appropriately per state law. If you believe you are not being paid the overtime wages you deserve, then you may want to learn more about what steps you need to take to exercise your rights under California law. This may include filing a claim with the Labor Commissioner’s Office or pursuing a legal claim against your employer.