How is California’s overtime law different from federal law?

When your employer pays you by the hour, they may sometimes have to pay you overtime wages. The federal rules for overtime pay are simple and straightforward. Anyone who works more than 40 hours in a work week should receive 150% of their standard hourly wage for time beyond their 40th hour.

California, like all other states, recognizes the federal overtime statute. However, California has even more overtime requirements for employers. What are the differences that set California’s rules apart from the federal overtime law?

Workers can earn overtime without going over 40 hours

Both the total number of hours worked and the length of time from someone’s last day off can contribute to how tired or burned out they get at work. Some companies could overwork their employees by requiring a short shift seven days a week without making them work more than 40 hours.

Longer shifts also add to exhaustion. Workers can receive overtime for any hours over eight that they work in a single shift in most industries. If you only work four hours a day, you might never get a day off while also never making full-time wages.

When someone works for seven consecutive days in California, they are supposed to receive 150% of their average wage for the first eight hours of their shift.

Workers may sometimes receive 200% of their standard hourly pay

When a worker has to put in more than eight hours on their seventh consecutive day of work, they are supposed to receive at least double their usual rate of pay for all time after the eighth hour. The 200% wage applies to any hours worked after the twelfth hour in any single shift.

Anyone dealing with a company that won’t comply with standard overtime rules in California may need to bring a wage claim against a business to receive the money that they deserve.