Counting and Recording Work Hours and Overtime Pay
California Labor Law is quite clear on work hours and overtime pay. As such, all California employers and employees ought to familiarize themselves with these laws for the better. Legal knowledge is your right. If you are an employer, getting to know these laws will save you a lot of trouble so you don’t break them. Better safe than sorry.
Non-Exempt Employees
California employers are required to pay nonexempt employees the required premiums when they work beyond their regular work hours. It is important that they clearly define regular work hours, workdays and workweeks to their employees. Once they do so, they should be consistent. They should also apply the ‘seventh-day’ rule. Doing this makes employees know when they are expected for work.
8, 12, and 40 Hour Laws
The general rule is that nonexempt employees should not work for more than 8 hours in any given workday or more than 40 hours in a workweek unless they receive an overtime pay. Extra work hours means extra pay at extra rates.
An employee should be paid one and one-half times his or her regular rate for all hours worked after the regular 8 hours up to 12 hours. Any extra hours worked over the 12th hour in a day means that they should be paid double their regular rate. The same also applies to the 7th consecutive day that one has worked in a workweek.
Piece Rate Employees
Other than overtime pay, there are other times where employers are required to pay their employees. For instance, piece rate workers ought to be paid for recovery periods, rest and other non-productive time at certain hourly rates which are separate from the normal piece rate compensation.
Nonexempt employees should also be paid at certain times not spend at work. Such circumstances may include time travel among others. Such pay should be communicated to the employee in advance. The pay is determined by the duration of the event.
Training and Meetings
Whenever employees attend education and training programs and employee meetings, they should be paid the regular amount as if they were at work. There are instances where an employee may request to be out of work during their regular working time to attend to personal duties.
When such an occurrence happens, they are expected to make up for that time without expecting overtime pay. It is important that an employer keeps a record of work hours clocked by his or her employees. Doing this will help avoid future problems or issues that may arise pertaining an employee’s actual work time.
Industrial Welfare Commission
In case of variations of work hours in certain industries, the Industrial Welfare Commission expects employers to keep and maintain an accurate record of the hours worked by employees for accurate pay purposes. Employers should familiarize themselves with the laws that regulate the work hours of minors and how they are spread.
Such hours mainly depend on the industry, age of the minor and the season of the year. Work hours may be extended but only under certain circumstances. Human resource managers may use tools such as the Meal Break Waiver, Meal and Rest Break Quiz, Makeup time Checklist and Alternative Workweek Calendar to count and record work hours.
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