Overtime and Exemptions in California
In California laws, overtime is regarded as any hours performed over 8 hours in one day or forty hours during a week. There is an exemption to this law if the organization has instituted a bona fide alternative work week where you usually work ten hour days, four days per week.
In such cases, the overtime is after ten hours in place of 8, and also after 40 hours during the week. This particular alternative work week has to meet certain requirements, and it may not end up being carried out using a person by person basis.
If you don’t fit in an Exemption, California regulations put it clear that all of the hours worked above eight on a daily basis or 40 in a 7-day period or worked on the seventh consecutive day of a new work 7-day period get paid and times an employee’s regular rate of pay.
Furthermore, hours worked above 12 in a day or hours over eight worked on the 7th consecutive day in a 7-day period will be paid at two times the employee’s daily rate of pay.
People not covered by California overtime laws
Job opportunities that can be Exempt from California’s overtime laws and regulations:
1. Commissioned marketing employees of the retail industry, as well as services corporations if over fifty percent of the worker’s wages are derived from commissions as well as the staff, average a minimum of one and one-half times the actual minimum wage for each hour the employee worked.
2. Computer programmers that are compensated at least $37.94 for each hour worked (this represents the 2009 minimum amount hourly condition – it adjusts each year). They must carry out work that may be intellectual or even innovative as well as the exercise involving discretion and independent judgment.
3. Executive, management, professional like actors and even some journalists, or outside marketing staff members.
4. Union staff members who are protected by a collective bargaining agreement providing you with premium salary rates for every overtime hours worked by union staff members.
Can you be made to work overtime?
Yes, an employer can decide to make the employees work more than the stipulated time. In this case, the employer can use means like termination as a way of punishment if the employee refuses to work
What to do if not paid for overtime?
In situations where the employer may refuse to pay you the overtime wages, one can file a wage claim or even a lawsuit against the employer responsible so that you can recover your lost wages.
What next?
If it happens that you have worked for overtime and you have not been given your wages, you can contact an overtime attorney. Overtime lawyers are people who have specialized in ensuring that their clients get their full paycheck in every week depending on the agreement between the employer and the employee.
They will fight for you and ensure that you get what you deserve. In our current economy, every penny matters. Time is precious and for that reason, you have to ensure you get the most out of what you do. You can claim overtime if not paid for up to four years back.
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