There are several legal protections for California workers. You should be free from discrimination, be provided proper meal and rest breaks, and be paid for the work you perform. That might sound simple enough, but employers fail to abide by state and federal employment laws all the time. Oftentimes the result is that innocent and hardworking individuals like you are taken advantage of, and sometimes the employer reaps benefits in turn.
You can’t let your employer getting away with treating you unfairly under the law. Yet, that’s exactly what’s going to happen unless you take action to hold your employer accountable. We know that can be stressful to think about, but you can educate yourself on the law and find guidance to help you navigate your case. That’s why in this post we want to look at overtime payment miscalculations, how they occur, and what you can do about them.
How overtime payments are miscalculated
Under the law, you should be paid one and a half times your hourly pay rate for any time over 40 hours per week worked, so long as you aren’t an exempt employee. You should also be paid one and a half times your normal rate of pay for any time worked in excess of eight hours in a single day. If you work more than 12 hours in a day, then anything beyond that point should be compensated at double your normal pay rate.
That sounds easy enough to calculate, but employers intentionally and unintentionally make errors all the time that cut workers short. Here are some ways they do that:
- Failing to take all of your pay into account: Sure, your employer should take your regular hourly rate into consideration when figuring out how much to pay you for overtime, but there may be other types of compensation that affects that overtime rate. Commissions, bonuses and allowances should also be added into the calculation if they’re a part of your regular compensation.
- Refusing to include all overtime hours: A lot of employers try to skimp on paying overtime by refusing to recognize all hours worked. This often includes situations where employees are required to conduct pre-shift and post-shift work without pay.
- Averaging weeks in a pay period: Some employers think they can get away without paying overtime by averaging time worked over a two-week period. For example, if you work 50 hours one week and 30 hours the next, your employer might say that you averaged 40 hours per week for the pay period and therefore don’t qualify for overtime. However, overtime pay kicks in when you exceed 40 hours of work in a given week. Therefore, in this example, you should’ve been paid for 10 hours of overtime in the first week.
What should you do if you suspect that your employer has miscalculated overtime?
If you think that your employer has shortchanged you on overtime, then you need to start gathering evidence to support that claim. Your work logs, timesheets and communications with your employer can be critical here.
While you might be able to recover the pay that you’re owed by simply talking to your employer, you shouldn’t count on that being successful. Instead, be prepared for them to deny your request. Once you have evidence to support your position, though, you may be in a strong negotiating position to resolve your case, find accountability and recover the compensation you’re owed. If you’d like to learn more about how to do that, then please continue to read our blog and browse our website.