What is overtime in California

Many employees wonder, “what is overtime in California?” Under California labor laws companies are required to pay employees overtime for working more than 8 hours in a day or 40 hours in a week. Note that this is different than federal overtime laws which only require employers to pay employees additional compensation when they work more than 40 hours in a week. Under California wage & hour laws, employees are also supposed to be paid overtime when they work 7 consecutive workdays in the same workweek. 

Despite the fact that many employees wonder what is overtime in California, most employers are very familiar with the rules. In fact, companies often violate overtime laws because labor is the most expensive overhead cost for companies and cutting back on wages is the best way to alleviate some of this overhead. Even though they anticipate law suits for such practices, the lawsuits almost always settle for a fraction of what they would have otherwise been paying in actual overtime compensation.

                                                                                  

If you are wondering, “what is overtime in California” contact a California overtime lawyer. Most experienced employment lawyers work on a contingent fee basis. This simply means that that if they don’t win, you don’t pay. If they do win, they keep a percentage as payment. Furthermore, most overtime lawyers offer a free consultation. In this consultation (usually done over the phone) you have the opportunity to divulge your side of the story and see if you have a good case against your employer. There is virtually nothing to lose by simply contacting an overtime lawyer and discussing your situation for a few minutes.

So what is overtime in California? Some important things to remember are that if you are a non-exempt employee, you are entitled to overtime at one-and-a-half times your regular rate of pay for all hours worked past 8 in any workday. You are also entitled to double-time (twice your regular rate of pay) for all hours worked past 12 in a single workday. There are many other unique things that make California labor law favorable to the employee. Take the time to educate yourself and see if you possible are entitled to lost overtime wages.