Overtime Laws

Overtime is a common issue that occurs often in the workplace. As an employee, it is important that you are paid for every hour that you work. In the state of California, there are important labor laws put in place in order to protect employees rather than employers with respect to overtime pay.

When it comes to overtime, there are many exemptions, so understanding whether or not you qualify for overtime can be difficult. Most employees are considered eligible for overtime, under either state or federal law. Fortunately, with respect to overtime on both a state and federal level, if the requirements do not overlap the laws will favor the employee rather than the employer in most cases.

Exemptions of Overtime Pay

The California Labor Code establishes requirements for employees that qualify for overtime pay. In order to understand whether or not your rights have been violated, it is important that you understand what constitutes overtime and whether or not you are eligible in your current position.

There are many categories of employees that are considered exempt from overtime pay consideration. The burden of classifying employees under these categories falls to the employers. according to the Fair Labor Standards Act. These categories are, but not limited to:

• Administrative, Executive, and Professional Employees;
• Commission based employees: outside or inside salespersons;
• Computer professionals.

What Constitutes Overtime Pay

Overtime is crucial for employees that are expected to work past their usual hours. With both federal and state laws in place, employers are required to pay employees one and a half times their regular pay rate for hours worked overtime.

In order to ensure that you are paid fairly, it is important that you understand how and when you are eligible to receive overtime pay. Reviewing your schedule and mapping out your hours worked is a great way to figure out if you are owed overtime. Scenarios that qualify you for overtime are as follows, but not limited to:

• Working over 8 hours in a workday;
• Working over 40 hours in the workweek;
• The hours worked on a 7^th consecutive workday out of the week.

In the state of California, there are also protections put in place in order to provide extended overtime for those that work past the guidelines set forth for regular overtime. This type of overtime allows for double your regular hourly wage. Double overtime occurs in the below scenarios, but are not limited to:

• Working over 12 hours in a workday;
• Working over 8 hours on the 7^th consecutive workday in the week.

Unpaid overtime can occur accidentally or as a way for a company to try and save money. It is important to know whether or not you qualify for receiving overtime pay. If your title is listed as exempt, but you feel as though you have been misclassified it is crucial that you protect your rights as a worker in the state of California. Contact our team today to understand the legal remedies that are available to you.