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California Overtime Law
Leading California law firms are investigating overtime law violations and providing free case evaluations for California employees who are due overtime wages. California employees paid salary or hourly may both be eligible for overtime pay, whether paid weekly, bi-weekly or monthly. Despite many myths, salary does not automatically mean an employee is exempt/not qualified for overtime pay.
| CA Overtime: Personal Stories and Interviews |
CA overtime: On the Sixth Day
 John L is a bio-medical technician at a hospital that recently changed his and many other employees' work week. "Although we work 80 hours over two weeks, we work six days in a row," says John. He contends that on the sixth day, overtime should be paid. And he contends that his employer is violating the California overtime labor law. [ MORE: CALIFORNIA SIXTH DAY]
California Worker Finds Comp Time for Overtime Never Materializes
When Terrence started working for Siemens at a Microsoft lab in California; he didn't realize that all his overtime would be unpaid. But that is exactly what happened. To make matters worse, when he complained he couldn't continue to work for free, he was fired. [ MORE: CALIFORNIA COMP TIME]
California Overtime: "Why are they getting away with this?"
 "Can you imagine being in a huge building, and they lock the doors and they have this woman who's been given enormous power over you saying over the loudspeaker that if you laugh you will not go home, and you're sweating because they've turned off the air conditioning and it's so hot in there?" asks Cathy Merino. Worse yet, neither she nor any of her fellow employees were paid overtime when they were kept after hours, in clear violation of both the federal Fair Labor Standards Act and California overtime laws.[ MORE: GETTING AWAY]
Honest Pay for an Honest Day's Work in California, including Overtime
 "I have worked an average of 90 hours a week since May 21, 2007, and have been paid for a 40 hour a week schedule and to add insult to injury I was just fired," says executive chef Elbert Williams. Every week Williams received his earnings statement that totaled 86.67 hours for a two-week pay period. But his employer didn't take into account that overtime in California must be paid. [ MORE: CALIFORNIA KITCHEN OVERTIME]
California Overtime: Non-Exempt Misclassified
"I have been working 11 hours days and sometimes more a day and didn't realize this law," adds Wastier. "I was working all these hours and realized I should be getting paid overtime. I had no idea that a commission sales rep like myself should be paid overtime because we never had hourly wages in place. [ MORE: CALIFORNIA OVERTIME NON-EXEMPT]
California Overtime Entitlement
 Mike Morgan (not his real name) was promoted from an hourly part time job to a new "fill-in" position as video-conferencer: a gray area, somewhere between part-time and full time. But his employer did make it clear that Morgan was exempt and therefore not entitled to overtime. However, the California Labor Law states that he is entitled to overtime compensation. [ MORE: OVERTIME ENTITLEMENT]
California Overtime Abuse
"I was hired as a clerk for Mercury Books - a chain of adult bookstores - in July, 2002," says Benjamin Ziff. "About 18 months later, I was promoted to a day shift position with basic managerial duties. Of course, they don't call anyone managers in this position, but I was placed on salary anyway and classified as exempt. I never had a lunch break in either category and was never paid overtime." For all those years, Ziff didn't know his rights regarding California overtime, but he does now. [ MORE: OVERTIME ABUSE]
California Overtime Abuse Rampant in Retail
"I started with this retail company last October," says Munoz. "I was hired as a senior assistant manager and it was to be a salaried position, 40-42 hours per week. No more than that. I ended up working 50-60 hours, six days a week and usually every holiday. It was really bad—sometimes we (the other assistant manager) didn't get a lunch break until about six hours into our work day; we didn't even know what a break was. [ MORE: OVERTIME ABUSE]
California: Work Visas Held as Ransom
 For the past three years, Gavinder has worked 45 hours per week but his IT company has never paid him overtime. Adding insult to injury, the company bills 45 hours a week of his time worked to their client - a tidy profit for the company. [ MORE: OVERTIME RANSOM]
California Overtime: To Be or Not To Be Exempt
 "I've been employed as an IT developer at a bank for 19 years," says Andrew. "During those years, and in response to California law, most of our titles were changed so we would be exempt," he says. The way Andrew sees it, and increasingly, the way California overtime law sees it, Andrew and his co-workers are owed a whole lot of unpaid overtime. [ MORE: OVERTIME EXEMPT]
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| Unpaid Overtime |
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Leading California law firms are investigating overtime law violations and providing free case evaluations for California employees who are due overtime wages. California and US Employment laws protect an employee's civil rights with specific guidelines for overtime pay.
With new state regulations coming out each year and with a new federal overtime pay law established in 2004, employers often misclassify employees, intentionally or accidentally, to avoid paying costly overtime wages.
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| Premium/Overtime Pay |
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According to the Department of Industrial Relations, a California employer must pay overtime, whether for authorized or unauthorized overtime hours, at the following rates:
Overtime equals one and one half (1.5) times an employee's regular hourly rate of pay for hours worked over eight (8) in a workday or over forty (40) hours in a work week.
Doubletime equals two (2) times an employee's regular rate of pay for hours worked over twelve (12) in a workday or for hours over eight (8) on the seventh day of the work week.
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| What Lawyers have to Say |
California Labor Lawyer Answers Overtime Question
LawyersandSettlements recently interviewed John L., a hospital technician who works 80 hours every two weeks, but often six days in a row. John wants to know if he is entitled to overtime on the sixth day. California overtime lawyer Jose Garay responds.
[ MORE: LABOR LAWYER ADVICE ]
California Overtime: IBM Giveth and IBM Taketh Away
 A lawsuit filed by three IBM sales technicians in July last year charged the company with violations of federal and California state overtime laws. The focus of the workers' complaint was IBM's classification of their jobs and those of other non-managerial workers as exempt from the overtime provisions of the federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) and of California labor law.
[ MORE: IBM OVERTIME CALIFORNIA ]
California Overtime and Exemption
 Lawyer Harvey Shulman has represented employers in several Department of Labor overtime investigations and class action litigations. In this interview with LawyersandSettlements, he explains California overtimeversus overtime in other states, and whether or not an IT employee is exempt from overtime. [ MORE: HARVEY SHULMAN ]
Takin' Care of Business
"We're in a transition period, where a lot of companies assumed that they did not have to pay overtime and they're learning sometimes the easy way and sometimes the hard way that they do," states lawyer Cliff Palefsky over the phone from his law office in San Francisco. [ MORE: CLIFF PALEFSKY ]
Workers Hire Lawyer to get Overtime
An account manager and colleagues for a major internet security company have had enough and have hired United Employees Law Group to fight back. They are seeking their overtime, interest, penalties, attorney fees among other claims to enforce their rights under California overtime law (Case No. 107CV081985). [ MORE: WALTER HAINES ]
Construction Worker Overtime Case
United Employees Law Group, PC has obtained sanctions in an overtime case involving an employer who allegedly failed to award overtime pay to construction workers doing electrical work in Fresno, California yesterday Case No. 06 CE CG 02236. [ MORE: UNITED EMPLOYEES ]
Pay workers Now rather than Later
"Employers would be well advised to compensate their employees before they are taken to court," says Tom Emmitt, head litigation attorney at United Employees Law Group, PC. [ MORE: TOM EMMITT ]
Overtime: Advice from a Lawyer
Are you owed overtime? If so, take this advice from Todd Schneider, California employment lawyer: Keep track of the hours you work and let your employer know if you are owed overtime. If your employer refuses to pay, contact a lawyer. And remember, never sleep on your rights. [ MORE: TODD SCHNEIDER ]
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| OT Misclassifications |
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California employees paid salary or hourly may both be eligible for overtime pay, whether paid weekly, bi-weekly or monthly. Despite many myths, salary does not automatically mean an employee is exempt/not qualified for overtime pay.
The duties test is met by the actual work being done as opposed to "job titles" or written "job descriptions."
Qualifications for overtime pay : To qualify for overtime pay, an employee must be classified as a non-exempt employee. Positions that are classified as administrative, professional, or executive are typically exempt from overtime and must meet the requirements of a salary basis test and duties test.
Exempt employees are not eligible for overtime pay, meal and rest period requirements, uniform requirements, and other protections of the Industrial Welfare Commission Orders.
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| Overtime Guidelines |
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Examples of Exempt Status guidelines include:
To be Exempt as an Administrative Employee - one requirement specifies that an employee must perform non-manual work as their primary duty, directly related to management policies, general business operations or perform work in educational administration.
To be Exempt as a Professional Employee - one requirement specifies that an employee's primary duties must consistently utilize discretion and judgment, performing work which is predominantly intellectual and varied.
To Be Exempt as an Executive Employee - one requirement specifies that an employee must regularly direct the work of two or more other full-time employees and have management as his/her "primary duty".
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| Overtime in the Courts |
California Drywaller Sued for Denying Breaks and Overtime Pay
Edmund G. Brown, the California Attorney General is suing one of the largest drywall contractors in Los Angeles, Interwell Development Systems, for "cheating" hundreds of their employees out of approximately $5 million in benefits and wages. [ MORE: DRYWALLER SUED FOR DENYING OVERTIME, BREAKS ]
$16 million Overtime claim against Kiewit
 In another case testing Calfornia's overtime labor laws, a federal appeals court has ruled that unionized workers in California who are required by their employers to travel from gathering places to daily work sites must be paid for travel time, unless their contracts expressly say otherwise. [ MORE: COURT RULING ]
 San Diego Police Pass Court Hurdle
The City of San Diego tried to get the courts to throw out their police officers' million dollar overtime pay claim before trial, but last week the Court gave the city the thumbs down. [ MORE: POLICE OVERTIME ]
Overtime Claims include Meals and Rest Time
 California employers facing lawsuits for unpaid overtime have been handed a new billion-dollar headache. The California Supreme Court has overturned an appeals court decision, and has ruled unanimously that claims for unpaid meal and rest times are the same as claims for unpaid wages, and that such claims can go back as far as three years, not just one year. [ MORE: RULING OVERTURNED ]
Supreme Court Hands Down Overtime Ruling
 The Los Angeles Times (April 17, 2007) reports that the California Supreme Court handed down a ruling that triples the amount of back pay that employees can seek if they were forced to work through their breaks. The decision affects many people who are considered managers or assistant managers but generally spend less than half their time at work doing managerial tasks. [ MORE: OVERTIME RULING ]
Two Big Settlements In California Overtime Lawsuits
Although overtime lawsuits filed by California police officers have received a lot of attention lately, they are not the only people who have not been properly paid for working overtime hours. Some recently settled lawsuits against a grocery chain and a restaurant company show that many people are at risk for not being properly compensated for working overtime. [ MORE: OVERTIME SETTLEMENTS ]
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| Overtime Press Releases |
MAY-22-08: A car wash chain with an alleged history of employment law violations faces their day in court. Earlier today, attorneys from the law firm Bush Gottlieb and Bet Tzedek Legal Services announced their intent to file a class action lawsuit against car wash owners and brothers Benny and Nisan Pirian for alleged employment law violations. [ MORE: REALITY TV OVERTIME]
 APR-17-08: The reality for many workers on US Reality TV shows is long hours, and little or no overtime pay -- a contravention of California overtime statutes. It is for this reason that the Writers Guild of America (WGA) is attempting to organize workers, to help them get a better deal from their employers. [ MORE: REALITY TV OVERTIME]
APR-14-08: Imagine 17-hours days with few breaks, if any, and no overtime pay. If you complained, you were told that there was someone ready and willing to take your job. Such is an example of the deplorable work requirements alleged in a class-action lawsuit that recently resulted in a $5.19 million dollar award to the workers of The Chinese Daily News, in Los Angeles. [ MORE: CHINESE DAILY NEWS]
 MAR-21-08: A change in the California Overtime Law, and a lowering of the exemption threshold that came into effect in the New Year, translates to a win for employers in the computer industry, and a loss for those spending endless hours staring, hunched over, into a screen. [ MORE: EXEMPTION THRESHOLD]
FEB-20-07: Approximately 29 janitors who used to clean Target stores in the San Antonio area will be presenting their case to a mediator in order to resolve their lawsuit with the major retailer over wages that the employees claim was unpaid. The employees state that a number of duties were performed in excess of 40 hours a week and that they were not for work over 40 hours. [ MORE: TARGET JANITORS PURSUE OWED OVERTIME]
NOV-01-07: As more and more California employees realize that they are being improperly exempted from overtime pay, more and more lawsuits are being filed against employers who do so. And while lawsuits are being filed regarding California overtime, judges are increasingly finding for the plaintiffs and punishing employers who deny employees wages that they are owed. [ MORE: OVERTIME CLASS ACTIONS]
 AUG-10-07: A nurses' strike set to begin today has been averted thanks to negotiation of a tentative three-year contract between the nurses union and Sharp HealthCare negotiators, defusing one of two bombs planted by the nurses on Sharps doorstep. Sharp was accused of not paying its California employees overtime. [ MORE: OVERTIME LAWSUITS]
 AUG-03-07: A second class action lawsuit was filed in California in July against computer maker IBM by members of its sales force for unpaid overtime and other benefits—and if both this class action and the class action filed in May succeed, IBM will be on the hook for millions of dollars in back payments. [ MORE: IBM OVERTIME]
 JUL-26-07: Should sales representa-tives be exempt from California overtime? Former IBM employee Tom Chau thinks not. From 200 to 2004, he sold software and hardware for the giant computer maker and routinely worked more than eight hours per day and more than 40 hours per week. Because he was classified as exempt, Chau didn't receive any overtime compensation. [ MORE: OVERTIME EXEMPT]
JUL-12-07: According to findings presented before a conference of computer programmers, IT workers have high divorce rates, routinely work overtime and are routinely given deadlines that can lead to pressure-cooker situations.
[ MORE: OVERTIME STRESS]
 MAY-31-07: The LA Times reported May 30, 2007 that a handful of workers -- deported following an immigration sweep across California and 16 other states earlier this year -- are back in the country illegally and, in an interesting twist, are now claiming back wages in unpaid overtime they say their former employer owes them. [ MORE: OVERTIME BACK PAY]
 MAY-17-07: Workers in California are entitled to basic rights, including overtime pay, regardless of whether they are immigrant workers or not. However, some unscrupulous employers are mistreating their immigrant workers by denying legally protected wages and breaks. Some immigrant workers are starting to fight back, but officials believe there are many more that have legitimate complaints but are not coming forward.
[ MORE: IMMIGRANT OVERTIME]
APR-23-07: Collecting a paycheck isn't about helping your boss grow the company, or put him in expensive cars and an affluent lifestyle. The employee/employer relationship is all about a fair day's pay for hours worked, even though your presence and position may contribute greatly to the company's success.
[ MORE: OVERTIME FAIR PAY]
 APR-21-07: It's no secret that employers hate paying overtime. It's a cost they can budget for but can't control, and would rather not have to deal with at all. It also suggests that their own forecasts regarding how long a job should take are suspect.
[ MORE: OVERTIME BUDGET]
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| Overtime In the News |
MAY-20-08: Drivers of a California shuttle company have filed a class action lawsuit alleging they were not properly paid for working overtime. The plaintiffs allege the company misclassified them as independent contractors to avoid paying overtime wages. [ BEE: CALIFORNIA OVERTIME]
JAN-14-08: The state is suing a drywall contractor, Interwall Development Systems Inc., claiming the company denied about $5 million in overtime pay and other benefits to hundreds of employees. [ SF GATE: CALIFORNIA OVERTIME]
NOV-9-07: Four K-9 duty police officers have sued National City, CA in federal court for unpaid overtime. The officers say it takes an hour per day off-the-clock to care for the dogs, which they have not been compensated for. [ SIGN ON SAN DIEGO: CALIFORNIA OVERTIME]
OCT-24-07: A lawsuit against PriceWaterhouseCoopers is seeking class action status. The suit seeks to certify a class of all associates and senior associates employed by the accounting firm in California. It is alleged that these workers were improperly denied overtime pay. [ PR WEB: CALIFORNIA OVERTIME]
OCT-16-07: A group of hourly Taco Bell workers from California are pursuing a putative class action lawsuit against their employer. The workers allege several labor law violations, such as unpaid overtime. [ MARKET WATCH: OVERTIME CALIFORNIA]
OCT-10-07: Bank loan officers claiming they worked more than 40 hours per week without overtime compensation receive $14 million settlement [ MONDAQ: OVERTIME]
SEP-25-07: Major employers such as Wal-Mart, Starbucks, IBM have been repeatedly sued by employees seeking compensation for unpaid overtime. [ NEWS INFERNO OVERTIME]
SEP-19-07: Two insurance adjusters sue AIG claiming the company intentionally misclassified them - and other workers - in order to avoid paying them overtime. [ COURIER POST ONLINE: OVERTIME]
AUG-14-07: A car wash in California is being sued by an employee who alleges he was not paid for overtime work and was told he must work for a month without any pay. The plaintiff, who seeks class-action status for his lawsuit, further claims he was told that if he made a fuss he would be deported. [ STAR: CALIFORNIA OVERTIME]
JUL-24-07: A former IBM sales rep in California has filed a class action lawsuit against the company for unpaid overtime and other benefits. The plaintiff claims he and other workers were misclassified as exempt from overtime pay. [ INFORMATION WEEK: CALIFORNIA OVERTIME]
JUN-28-07: Nurses have filed a class action overtime lawsuit against Sharp HealthCare alleging the company does not pay its employees for overtime work. The suit alleges that nurses were coerced to not report all hours they worked. [ 10 NEWS: CALIFORNIA OVERTIME]
JUN-27-07: Sony has settled a class action overtime lawsuit with various employees for $8.5 million. The suit alleged that Sony was in violation of California labor laws by not paying employees who worked on game image production for working overtime. [ NEXT GENERATION: CALIFORNIA OVERTIME]
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California Overtime Lawyer
If you work in California and you feel that you are owed overtime pay, you may qualify for damages or remedies that may be awarded in a possible unpaid overtime class action or lawsuit. Click on the link below to submit your Unpaid Overtime complaint.
Posted on Feb-3-04
Updated on May-22-08
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