California Labor Code

Understand Your Rights to Overtime under the California Labor Code

Under the California Labor Code, Section 200, “wages” consist of “all amounts for labor performed by employees of every description, whether the amount is fixed or ascertained by the standard of time, task, piece, commission basis, or other method of calculation.” California labor laws consider wages to be compensation for the services and duties performed by employees. Wages can take many forms, such as money, board, lodging, clothing, food, gas, etc.

The California Labor Code Protects Employee Overtime Wages

In California, the presumption is that all non-exempt employees are entitled to be paid overtime wages at one and a half times their regular rate of pay for all hours worked in excess of eight hours in a workday, forty hours in a workweek, or the first eight hours of a seventh consecutive workday. If you think that your current or former employer may have cheated you out of wages by failing to pay overtime, contact us today for a free, confidential consultation with an experienced attorney at the San Diego-based employment law firm of Blumenthal, Nordrehaug & Bhowmik.

Call 800-568-8020 for a Free Evaluation of Your Rights to Overtime Wages

Under the California Labor Code, certain employees are exempt from hour and wage requirements, which include overtime pay requirements. Hence, employers in California are required to determine whether their employees are exempt or non-exempt from overtime wages. If you think that you have been misclassified as an exempt employee under California labor laws, contact us today. We have a strong record of representing workers in individual and class action lawsuits on a contingency basis for violations of the California Labor Code.

According to the California Labor Code, Section 204, “All wages… earned by any person in any employment are due and payable twice during each calendar month, on days designated in advance by the employer as the regular paydays.” California holds to the principle that wages are not ordinary debts; they are preferred over all other claims due to the economic position of the average worker and his or her dependence on the regular payment of wages for the necessities of life. In other words, under California labor laws, wages are protected for the benefit of employees. An employer who fails to pay employees the proper amount of money owed can face significant penalties and back pay damages. It is important to note that these penalties are different than those under the Fair Labor Standards Act.