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Despite an optimistic economic outlook, California employers continue to find their foothold in an unpredictable and slippery economy. But when it comes to dealing with their employees, some employers in California are trying every way possible to save more money, particularly through a deliberate wrong classification of employees to deny them their rightful pay and options.<\/p>\n
For some reason, employers see California labor laws to favor the employees, which is not true! The California Department of Industrial Relations (CDIR) oversees different labor laws for employees in California. The aim is to ensure that all employees who work in the state benefit from their employment contract and that they are lawfully paid for any work they rendered to their employer. With that said, there are complicated aspects in the California labor law for salaried employees that need full understanding for both employee and the employer\u2019s rights to be preserved. In this post, we are going to examine what the California labor law says as regards salaried employees. Meanwhile, we need to understand who is a salaried employee.<\/p>\n
A salaried employee (or salary employee) is a worker who receives a full pre-determined amount of money from their employer on a weekly, bi-weekly, or monthly as a paycheck, regardless of the number of hours they work per week. In California, salary employees are classified as either exempt or nonexempt. The word \u201cExempt\u201d implies that employers do not have to abide by the overtime statute or the minimum wage when paying exempt workers. To determine whether an employee is exempt or non-exempt will depend on the kind of job the employee does, how much the employee receives, and how the employee is paid.<\/p>\n
For an employee to be exempt, they must receive the same regular pay or salary every week, regardless of the amount of work they do or the number of hours they work. As at the time of writing, the minimum salary requirement for exempt salaried workers, according to the Fair Labor Standards Act is $684 per week or $35,568 per annum – an increment from the $455 per week or $23,660 per year. This increment may not have much impact on California that already has a higher salary scale. Effective from January 1, 2020, California labor law requires employers with at least 26 employees to pay $1,040 every week or $54, 080 per annum. Likewise, nonexempt workers may receive a predetermined salary, but it should be equal to the federal minimum wage or the state minimum wage, whichever one is higher. Although any worker can be compensated with a salary, only a few jobs are eligible for exemption.<\/p>\n
If a business closes down for some days in a full week, even for a holiday, all exempt employees should receive their full pay. The same applies if there is no work available for the employee to do. For nonexempt employees, they may only be paid for the time they actually worked.<\/p>\n
Subject to California labor law, the general employment rule is that overtime pay is due for every work that exceeds 8 hours a day and 40 hours in a week. Nevertheless, employers often tell some employees that they are not eligible for overtime pay since they are being paid a salary instead of an hourly wage. This way, the employee is made to believe that they are required to work for long hours without the right to any paid overtime. The truth is considerably more intricate. If you are employed in California, you may have the assumption that you are eligible to paid overtime if you work for extra hours. But it is the decision of the employer to prove that you are being paid enough to qualify for an exemption.<\/p>\n
Exempt salaried employers in California do not have to receive overtime pay if they work extra hours, although nonexempt salaried workers are entitled to overtime. While almost all salary employees are nonexempt, there are exceptional cases where an employee can be nonexempt and still receive hourly pay. According to California labor law, salaried employees may be entitled to overtime pay based on some specific situations.<\/p>\n
In a short while, we will consider the eligibility of both exempt and nonexempt salary employees as regards receiving overtime wages.<\/p>\n
Non-exempt salaried workers fall under the minimum wage and overtime principles of the FLSA. Consequently, employers must be specific with the number of hours an employee is expected to work per week. According to California labor law, nonexempt salary employees are entitled to receive overtime pay of 150% (1\u00bd) times the employee\u2019s regular pay for any hours the employee worked in excess of 8 hours in a workday, 40-hour workweek or hours worked on the seventh consecutive day worked in a workweek. This also applies to virtually all California employees.<\/p>\n
One of the frequently asked questions is whether employers can require a nonexempt employee to work on a specific schedule and monitor their work hours. If a worker is nonexempt, employers have to keep a comprehensive time record, which must be by the clock.\u00a0 Closely supervised employees such as the clerical employees, production workers, and service representatives, usually execute nonexempt works. However, an exemption is based on the actual job functions, as defined by California labor law.<\/p>\n
Furthermore, any pre-printed time record that shows eight hours of work per day every week may not be considered as genuine. This is because employees usually work more than 8 hours every day, and the California labor commission (CLC) may regard such a time record as no record at all.<\/p>\n
Even if a worker meets the minimum salary requirement for exempt salary workers, this only does not classify the worker as exempt from overtime pay. It is just one of the three tests that are used to decide on the exempt status of an employee. Other tests include job duties test and salary basis test. If an employee receives more than the minimum salary per year but fails at least one of the two other tests, they would still be regarded as a nonexempt worker and be paid for overtime.<\/p>\n
Exempt workers may include unionized workers in some industries, white-collar employees and independent contractors. The California Department of Industrial Commissions (CDIC) has classified exceptions for some employees. These include the administrative, the professionals (learned, computer, creative and intellectual), outside sales exemption, and the executive. The Administrative or the executive employees may be exempted from overtime wages only if their work is primarily managerial in nature, and they must have meaningful authority to make independent decisions. Professionals whose work is mainly intellectual may also not be eligible for overtime wages. They may include lawyers, engineers, and doctors. Lastly, outside sales reps and some computer professionals can be exempted too.<\/p>\n
One thing is sure; not all salaried employees are exempt from being paid overtime. If you are nonexempt, you may receive overtime wages for any extra hour you work other than what is in your employment contract. California law on overtime pay can generally be confusing. If you think you have been wrongly denied overtime pay, a reliable employment law attorney from United Employees Law Group would be glad to help you establish your rights and options.<\/p>\n
When calculating overtime pay for a salaried employee, divide the annual salary of the employee by 52 weeks to get the weekly salary. After that, divide the weekly payment by the number of hours that salary is based on per week to get the standard hourly rate. Multiply the hourly rate by 1.5 to get the overtime pay.<\/p>\n
Subject to the California Labor Commission, the exempt salaried workers are excluded from California\u2019s lunch and rest break laws. However, nonexempt salary workers are eligible for at least 10 minutes uninterrupted, unpaid rest break for every 4-hour work shift. They are also entitled to lunch break of at least 30 minutes following every 5-hour work shift.<\/p>\n
According to California labor law for salary employees, employers are not permitted to reduce the salary of an exempt worker even if they only work fewer hours than the normal time. Once an exempt employee does any work on a particular day, they are entitled to payment for the entire day. Employers may, however, deduct for missed work, if the worker misses an entire day for personal reasons or take sick leave after exhausting all their sick leave permissions. Employers are allowed to create a policy that demands their employee to use any available vacation time if there is inadequate sick leave to cover an absence. Conversely, when employers furlough exempt workers for business purposes, they must pay their full salary except if the leave lasts a whole week.<\/p>\n
Apart from the few exemptions that are related to the public sector employees, the California labor law does not require any employer to deduct pay from an employee’s salary for missing partial days, such as arriving late or leaving work early, or due to a personal appointment or sickness. Generally, an employer cannot dock the pay of a salaried employee as a disciplinary measure and\/or as penalties for safety violations. An employer\u2019s deduction of less than one day is not permitted. However, there are instances where an employer can deduct pay, such as when a salaried worker misses a full workday for personal reasons other than being injured or sick. Likewise, an employer may deduct pay from salaried workers if they take a day(s) off under the Federal Family and Medical Leave Act.<\/p>\n
NOTE: If an exempt employee is absent from work due to a disability or sickness and the employer already has benefits plan in place, the California labor law does not require the employer to pay for those days the employee is away even if the employee does not get the compensation plans. Likewise, to take these pay deductions, the employer needs to maintain a good plan that provides compensation for non-work related accidents or injuries. For more information on salaried employee rights in California, you can consult a reputable employment attorney.<\/p>\n
The California labor commission does not require that an employer should pay exempt salary workers for resuming early, working late, working on weekends, or for working on their off day. Employers may certainly decide to pay these workers for extra work(s) done, but it is strictly not compulsory unless extra pay for such situations is already included in the employee\u2019s job contract.<\/p>\n
Subject to the California labor law, exempt salaried employees should be paid at least monthly at no less than twice the minimum hourly rate. The majority of other employees should receive pay at no less than twice a month and at least the state\u2019s minimum hourly wage.<\/p>\n
In a simple, clear statement, a salaried job position may be ideal for you if you appreciate the security offered by regular pay. But if you detest the idea of working extra hours without any extra pay, then you might prefer an hourly-paid job.<\/p>\n
Subject to the California labor law, businesses face great penalties should they decide to strike back at salaried employees who pursue their lawful wages and other compensations. Employers cannot demote, terminate or otherwise harass workers for seeking their fair pay. To protect employees, the California labor law provides for damages and injunctive relief ordering the employer to refrain from prohibited behavior by monitoring the employer\u2019s conduct and interests.<\/p>\n
If you think that you have been wrongly classified as an exempt worker and are deprived of the wages you are legally entitled to, do not hesitate to contact United Employees Law Group. Our employment labor lawyer will be glad to appraise your claim and help you decide on how to proceed. They will work to ensure that you are informed of your rights and that you are offered the qualified legal help and representation you deserve. For a free legal evaluation, do not hesitate to contact us.<\/p>\n
Reference<\/em><\/p>\n Photo Credit: VitaliiVodolazskyi\/www.shutterstock.com<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Despite an optimistic economic outlook, California employers continue to find their foothold in an unpredictable and slippery economy. But when […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[928,7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6030","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-california-labor-law","category-wage-laws"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n\n