Overtime for California Managers

Under California law, employers are obligated to pay workers for overtime hours worked, unless the employees are exempt. But California employers tend to misclassify workers to avoid overtime payment and other benefits. Misclassification has resulted in an explosion of wage and overtime litigation, including many class action lawsuits covering an entire class of employees such as "managers," "assistant managers” and “salespeople”.
 

Manager overtime lawsuits tend to favor the plaintiff. The California Labor Commissioner’s Office states that:

• The employee be compensated for any hours he or she is "suffered or permitted to work, whether or not required to do so."
• California case law holds that "suffer or permit" means work the employer knew or should have known about
• An employee cannot deliberately prevent the employer from obtaining knowledge of the unauthorized overtime worked, and come back later to claim recovery but at the same time, an employer has the duty to keep accurate time records and must pay for work that the employer allows to be performed and to which the employer benefits.

A salaried manager must be paid overtime unless they meet the exempt status test, and the job duties test, or unless they are specifically exempted from overtime by the provisions of the California Labor Code or one of the Industrial Welfare Commission Wage Orders regulating wages, hours and working conditions.

An employee is an exempt “executive” if he/she earns a monthly salary of $4,160.00 or greater, and he/she performs certain work duties according to California’s employment laws (e.g., manage the company), and performs specific job duties.

Manager Job Description

California labor law requires more than a manager’s title to be exempt from overtime pay.

A person employed in an executive capacity means any employee:

• Whose duties and responsibilities involve the management of the enterprise in which he or she is employed or of a customarily recognized department or subdivision thereof; and
• Who customarily and regularly directs the work of two or more other employees therein; and
• Who has the authority to hire or fire other employees or whose suggestions and recommendations as to the hiring or firing and as to the advancement and promotion or any other change of status of other employees will be given particular weight; and
• Who customarily and regularly exercises discretion and independent judgment; Who is primarily engaged in duties, which meet the test of the exemption.
• An executive employee must also earn a monthly salary equivalent to no less than two times the state minimum wage for full-time employment, i.e 40 hours per week .

According to California Labor Law, an exempt managerial employee must supervise two or more employees. This may be one full-time and two half-time employees. But the DLSE says that a managerial employee supervising as few as two employees rarely spends as much as 50% of his or her time primarily engaged in managerial duties.  The managerial exempt employee must be in charge of the unit, rather than just participate in the management of the unit.

California Overtime

California employers pay overtime at the rate of one and one-half times the employee's regular rate of pay for all hours worked in excess of eight up to and including 12 hours in any workday, and for the first eight hours of work on the seventh consecutive day of work in a workweek, and double the employee's regular rate of pay for all hours worked in excess of 12 in any workday and for all hours worked in excess of eight on the seventh consecutive day of work in a workweek.

Manager Overtime Lawsuit

If an employer has mistakenly misclassified an employee as a manager, the employee can file a wage and hour lawsuit against the employer and recover any money for lost minimum wages or overtime pay and missed meal and rest breaks. Further, employers will owe one hour’s pay for each meal or rest break an employee should have received.

Register your California Overtime Complaint

If you are owed unpaid overtime, you may qualify for damages or remedies that may be awarded in a possible class action lawsuit. Please click the link below to submit your Overtime complaint. At LawyersandSettlements.com, it is our goal to keep you informed about important legal cases and settlements. We are dedicated to helping you resolve your legal complaints.

If you do not work in California please click here to register your complaint. Thank you.
Last updated on Apr-9-21