California Overtime Laws [Guide for 2023]

Despite being the third most expensive state in the United States, California overtime laws are generous for hourly paid employees.

But, managing overtime can get tricky when you run a business where:

Employees have flexible working hours Not all employees are paid by the hour Not everyone is entitled to overtime pay

Since it can be easy to miscalculate overtime, understanding the exceptions, exemptions, and special circumstances of California overtime laws is critical to staying compliant and avoiding penalties.

In this article, we'll look at which workers are eligible for and exempt from overtime pay, how to calculate payments, and how Homebase can help you track overtime.

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Which employees are entitled to overtime in California?

Let's start by looking at who is entitled to overtime, and how much.

Per the State of California, non-exempt employees must earn x1.5 their hourly wage for overtime work when:

They are 18 or older (or 16 to 17 when they have no work restrictions) They work more than 8 hours a day, 40 hours a week or 6 days a week

Workers also have the right to double their normal rate of pay when:

They work more than 12 hours a day They work more than 8 hours on the 7th working day of the week

As California Labor Code 510 explains:

"(a) Eight hours of work constitutes one working day. Any work of more than eight hours in a working day and any work of more than 40 hours in a work week. work and the first eight hours worked on the seventh day of work of a work week shall be compensated at a rate of at least one and one-half of an employee's regular rate of pay Any work of more than 12 hours in a day be paid at a rate of at least twice an employee's normal rate of pay, and any work in excess of eight hours on the seventh day of a work week shall be paid at a rate of at least twice the an employee's normal rate of pay."

But what types of employees are not exempt?

In a nutshell, non-exempt employees are covered by the Industrial Welfare Commission's wage orders, which include hourly workers like:

Cashiers Waiters Retail Associates Drivers Bartenders cooks Janitors Guards

Note: Workers are only entitled to overtime for hours worked during the week. For example, working on a day off only counts as overtime if the employee worked normally the rest of the week. This means that they will not receive overtime if they compensate for a sick day.

Which employees are exempt from overtime laws?

It is the law - not an individual company - that determines whether or not an employee is exempt.

Specific categories of exempt employees who are not eligible for overtime pay include:

White-collar workers in managerial, administrative and professional positions who earn at least double the minimum wage Employees in the computer software industry who earn more than $41 per hour Salespeople who spend more than half of their time away from the business location Government employees