California overtime rules, explained with examples
Daily overtime, double time, the seventh-day rule, and why "salaried" does not always mean "exempt."
When overtime is owed
Under Labor Code 510, non-exempt employees are owed:
| Hours | Rate |
|---|---|
| Over 8 in one workday | 1.5 times the regular rate |
| Over 40 in one workweek | 1.5 times the regular rate |
| First 8 hours on the seventh consecutive day of work in a workweek | 1.5 times the regular rate |
| Over 12 in one workday | 2 times the regular rate |
| Over 8 on the seventh consecutive day in a workweek | 2 times the regular rate |
Hours are not counted twice: an hour that is both daily and weekly overtime is paid once at the overtime rate.
Examples
Four 10-hour days. A worker without an approved alternative workweek schedule works four 10-hour days (40 hours). Even though the week is only 40 hours, the last two hours each day are daily overtime: 8 overtime hours in total.
One long day. A worker works 14 hours in one day: 8 regular hours, 4 hours at time-and-a-half (hours 9 to 12), and 2 hours at double time (hours 13 and 14).
Employers can adopt an alternative workweek schedule (for example, four 10-hour days without daily overtime), but only through a secret-ballot election of affected employees and a filing with the state. Many "4/10" schedules have never gone through that process.
The regular rate is more than the hourly wage
Overtime is calculated on the "regular rate of pay," which includes nondiscretionary bonuses, shift differentials and many incentive payments, not only the base hourly wage. The California Supreme Court held in Alvarado v. Dart Container Corp. (2018) 4 Cal.5th 542 that a flat-sum bonus must be factored into the overtime rate using the non-overtime hours actually worked. Leaving bonuses out is a common underpayment.
Who is exempt
Some employees are exempt from overtime, but the employer must prove it. For the common executive, administrative and professional exemptions, the employee must:
- be paid a monthly salary of at least twice the state minimum wage for full-time work (Labor Code 515), and
- spend more than half of their working time on genuinely exempt duties, regularly using discretion and independent judgment.
Job titles do not decide it. An "assistant manager" who spends most of the day running a register or stocking shelves may be non-exempt. Separate rules and salary minimums apply to certain computer professionals, licensed physicians and some other occupations.
Contractors and "salaried non-exempt"
Workers misclassified as independent contractors are owed overtime as employees if the ABC test is not met (Labor Code 2775). And some employees are paid a salary but still non-exempt, so overtime is owed on top of the salary.
How far back
Unpaid overtime is generally recoverable for three years under the Labor Code, and up to four years through an unfair competition claim in court. See wage claim or lawsuit for the ways to recover it.