All employees are entitled to overtime if they work more than 40 hours weekly or 8 hours in a day. Those who work more than 12 hours daily are owed double time. Double time is also available for employees who work seven consecutive days in a week with no day off. The rules are not applicable to caregivers who are required by law to work for 45 hours weekly or 9 hours daily to qualify for overtime. Overtime pay is only entitled to employees who are nonexempt.

The California State laws define a nonexempt employee as an employee who doesn’t utilize any of the independent discretion or exercises his or her independent discretion averagely 51% less of his or her working time.

There are jobs that have been qualified as exempt without using only the determination of independent discretion. Examples of these jobs include doctors, lawyers and creative jobs like artists or designers. The following employees (leads, managers and supervisors), are only qualified for an overtime if they receive more than twice the minimum wage for each hour they have worked, or are either supervising a minimum of two full-time staff members or are required to make use of the independent discretion when carrying out their duties for a minimum of 51% of their working time.

The State of California currently has different legislation that are related to overtime. The rules are different from federal overtime laws that are found under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). Many overtime legal experts are familiar with overtime legislation within their region. This is because the overtime laws vary from one state to another.

If an employer fails to pay the overtime or double time pay, then he/she can be sued for violating the Labor Code and generate interest related to the previous double-time and overtime wages. If the overtime and double-time earnings are not paid when the work contract ends, the employer will get a penalty (California Labor Code 203). Rates must be included for commissioned staff or piece rate workers. The claim (California Labor Code Section 203) has a statute of limitations lasting three years.

Some of the main differences between California Law and Federal law are the statutes of limitations and the penalty scheme. Federal law isn’t based on the daily double time or overtime. Instead, the Federal Laws uses federal minimum wage requirements. California overtime isn’t the same as Federal overtime.

There are instances when workers might be needed to work overtime. This arrangement is legal as long as the employee receives his wages for the extra hours worked. However, if a worker refuses to work for the extra hours, he or she can be fired. This category of termination is not illegal. Dealing with issues of overtime and double time can be very taxing to a company. Overtime claims made by workers can date back up to four years. California legal claims happens to be a three-year statute regarding limitations in California. These statues are not frozen even when the worker is still hired by the employer who is causing the overtime violations.

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