California Overtime Law 2022
Employees working in California are eligible for overtime wages
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Employees working in California are eligible for overtime wages
What is Overtime Law in California?
California overtime law is the law that governs wages and hours of all the non-exempt employees working in the state of California. California is well known for its employee-friendly stance and this law dictates when an employee must be paid wages for overtime.
Under California’s Overtime Law of 2022, employers are required to pay all the eligible employees working in the state of California additional pay for the work done in excess of the standard 8 hours or the standard 40 hours.
All the non-exempt employees who are qualified for overtime are paid 1.5 times the regular rate for all hours worked in excess of 8 hours in a workday, in excess of 40 hours in a workweek, or for the first eight hours worked on the 7th consecutive day worked in any workweek. This is often termed as being paid ‘time and a half’.
Overtime rate of twice the employees regular rate of pay, which is often known as “double time”, applies to hours worked in excess of 12 hours in a workday or in excess of 8 hours on the 7th consecutive workday in a workweek.
Overtime is not required for a regular schedule, which is not more than 10 hours/workday.
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Employers must follow both federal and state overtime rules. Federal overtime requirements are explained in the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). In some cases, if differences exist between California and federal state overtime rules, then an employer must follow the rule that gives the most benefit to the employee. Ideally, California laws provide the most benefits to its employees, as it is well known for its employee-friendly stance.
Defining “Workday”
A workday is typically 24 hours long. A workday can start at any time during the day or night, but the subsequent workday should start at the same time. The workday doesn’t necessarily start at 12 and end 24 hours later. For example: if an employee starts a workday at 8 AM, then the second subsequent workday wouldn’t start until 8 AM the next day. Once the workday is established by the employer, it can only be modified if the change is permanent but not made to avoid overtime pay.
Defining “Workweek”
Similarly, a workweek in California is defined as a 7 consecutive 24 hours period or 168 consecutive hours. A workweek can start at any time of any day as long as the time and day is fixed and recurring, but once 168 consecutive hours are up, so is the workweek. Similar to the workday, a workweek can only be changed or modified if it is permanent and not to avoid overtime pay.
Which employees are eligible for Overtime Wages?
Employees working in the state of California are required to meet certain qualifications to be eligible for overtime rates. They are as follows:
How is Overtime Calculated in California?
Under California’s overtime law 2022, employers should calculate overtime pay based on the regular rate of pay and not the hourly wage. The regular rate of pay includes the hourly pay as well as other types of compensation including commissions, production bonuses, piecework earnings, and the value of meals and lodging.
The amount of overtime depends on the number of days an employee has worked in the workweek and the length of his or her shift. For example: If the employee’s regular rate of pay is $10 an hour, then the standard overtime pay would be $15 an hour in the overtime period and if the employee reaches the qualifications for double overtime, the pay would be $20 an hour.
If the employee receives two different rates in a workweek and if he is entitled to overtime, then the overtime law requires that the employer takes the average of the two rates as the regular rate and pays 1.5 times of it.
Many employers and employees get to know about California Overtime Laws by word of mouth due to which a lot of misconceptions have evolved. Some of the most common ones among them are:
There may be industry-specific overtime limits. Make sure to check the Industrial Welfare Commission Wage Orders, to understand if there are any overtime limits.
Frequently asked questions on California Overtime Laws:
Topics Related to other California Laws
→ For More Information on State-by-State Labor Laws
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