Under California law, employers must pay employees at a rate of one and one-half the employee’s regular hourly wage for working more than eight and less than twelve hours in a workday or eight hours on the seventh consecutive workday of the workweek. Employers must pay double the employee’s regular hourly wage for working more than 12hours a day or more than eight hours on the seventh consecutive workday of the workweek.

Some employees are exempt from the overtime requirement. Employees earning more than $45,760 per year on a salary basis (or $43,680 if the employer has 25 or fewer employees) and spending more than half of their time engaged in administrative, professional, executive, computer professional, agricultural, motor carrier or outsides sales activities are exempt from the overtime requirement. On January 1, 2019, the overtime threshold will increase to $49,920 per year (or $45,760 if the employer has 25 or fewer employees). Additionally, the following occupations are exempt under California law but not under federal law:

• Participants in national service programs
• Parent, spouse, child, or legally adopted child of the employer
• Professional actors
• Direct employees of the state or any county, incorporated city or town, or other municipal corporation
• Residents managers of small homes for the aged

Additional information on California overtime law is available at the California Department of Labor website. You can read more about federal overtime law at our page on overtime laws.

California’s minimum waage is $16.50 per hour, which is higher than the federal minimum wage of $7.25.

Additional information on California minimum wage law is available at the California DLSE website.

Under California law, nonexempt employees are entitled to a thirty minute meal break within the first five hours of work. Additionally, nonexempt employees must receive at least a ten-minute rest period for each four hours of work. Additional information on California meal and rest break requirements is available at http://www.dir.ca.gov/dlse/FAQ_MealPeriods.htm and http://www.dir.ca.gov/dlse/FAQ_RestPeriods.htm.

You can file a wage claim with a local office of the Division of Labor Standards Enforcement (DLSE). This can be done by filling out an Initial Report or Claim Form. The filing should include as much information and documentation as possible, including the name, location, method of doing business of the employer, and any documents to support the claim. This process can be completed with or without an attorney.

The DLSE provides additional information on filing a wage claim in California.

If you have a wage/hour claim, do not delay in contacting the DLSE to file a claim. There are strict time limits in which wage claims must be filed. In order for the agency to act on your behalf, you must file with the DLSE within three years from the date that the claim arose. Some penalties, however, are subject to a one year deadline.

As you might have other legal claims with shorter deadlines, do not wait to file your claim until your time limit is close to expiring. You may wish to consult with an attorney prior to filing your claim, if possible. Yet if you are unable to find an attorney who will assist you, it is not necessary to have an attorney to file your claim with the DLSE.

In California, employees can file a private lawsuit to recover unpaid wages, penalties, interest and attorney’s fees and court costs.