Wage & Hour Law in California

A brief overview of basic California wage and hour law.

2010-09-30

September 30, 2010 (Press-News.org) Minimum Wage

California requires a minimum wage for most employees. The current minimum wage, effective January 1, 2008 in California is $8.00 per hour. There are some exceptions, such as for new learners, the mentally or physically disabled and some nonprofits.

Overtime

You may be eligible for overtime if you work:
- Over 40 hours in a week
- Over 8 hours in a day
- Or 7 days in a row

The rate for overtime is required to be one and one-half times the employee's regular rate of pay for all hours worked in excess of eight hours. For time in excess of 12 hours, the rate becomes double the employee's regular rate of pay.

Exempt Employees

An exempt employee is generally outside many of the protections of the Industrial Welfare Commission (IWC). Many people think all salary employees are exempt, but that is not always accurate. The determination can be complex, and involves a multi-part test created by the Industrial Welfare Commission in wage order 4-2001, applying to professional, technical, clerical, mechanical, and similar occupations.

The wage order provides a five-part test to determine whether the administrative employee exemption applies. The employee must:
- Perform office or non-manual work directly related to management policies or general business operations of the employer or its customers
- Customarily and regularly exercise discretion and independent judgment
- Perform under only general supervision work along specialized or technical lines requiring special training or execute under only general supervision special assignments and tasks
- Be engaged in the activities meeting the test for the exemption at least 50 percent of the time
- Earn twice the state's minimum wage

If you have questions whether your situation meets these requirements, speak with an attorney knowledgeable on wage and hour and employment law.

Vacations

Many employees may not know that employers are not required to provide paid holidays, vacation, sick days or PTO. Many employers do promise all or some of these benefits, and if they have, you may be able to require them to abide by their promise or practice. If you earn vacation pay, your employer must pay you all earned but unused vacation when you leave their employment.

Record Keeping

Employers must keep records for each nonexempt employee of daily hours worked and rate of pay. If your employer fails to maintain records and you have a dispute about hours worked, the Labor Commissioner will accept your own records as evidence.

In addition to California state labor laws, federal labor law also applies, and there may be an overlap of statues and regulations that cover your particular situation.

If you any questions concerning your payment of wages, vacations or classification as an exempt employee, you can file a claim with the California Department of Industrial Relations. Speaking with an experienced employment law attorney can help you determine if you have a claim and how best to obtain compensation for any violations.

Article provided by Hinkle, Jachimowicz, Pointer & Emanuel
Visit us at www.hjpmlaw.com

ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

Hydrofracking Is Down, but Not Necessarily out, in New York

2010-09-30

On August 4, 2010, the New York State Senate passed a short-term moratorium on a controversy-laden type of natural gas drilling. The questionable method, hydraulic fracturing -- commonly known as "hydrofracking" -- uses massive amounts of a pressurized solution comprised of water, sand and chemicals to crack rocks housing natural-gas deposits, allowing the escaping gas to be collected. While certainly not a new method, having been used to gather difficult-to-obtain gas deposits for decades, hydrofracking has come under fire in recent years. Environmental watchdogs began ...

How 911 Calls Can Help Accident Victims

2010-09-30

From the time you were a small child you were taught to dial 9-1-1 in the event of an emergency. One thing that you were probably not taught was that calling 911 has a larger benefit than simply alerting authorities that an accident occurred or a crime was committed. When a criminal or personal injury case goes to court, recordings and transcripts of 911 calls can provide a wealth of information to attorneys. For example, after an accident a person may call 9-1-1 to alert the authorities and, while describing what happened, make candid statements about his or her involvement ...

Keep It Offline: Social Media Sites May Affect Divorce Negotiations

2010-09-30

Social media sites like Facebook, Twitter and Foursquare have changed the way people connect to friends, family and coworkers. For many users of these services, the day-to-day details of life have become more public, with far-reaching consequences. While these sites and services allow us all to connect in ways we never previously imagined, they also pose new challenges with respect to personal privacy. Failing to recognize these challenges can impact one's life online and offline, causing marital strife and providing divorce attorneys with fodder for divorce negotiations. According ...

Louisiana Makes Texting-While-Driving a Primary Offense

2010-09-30

On August 15, a new Louisiana law making texting-while-driving a primary offense took effect. Prior to that date, drivers could be ticketed for texting while behind the wheel, however, the driver had to be pulled over for another violation, such as speeding, before the ticket could be written. Now, police officers will be able to pull over and ticket drivers solely for texting or checking e-mail while driving. "Innocent people should not lose their lives because someone chose to text while driving," stated United States Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood, speaking in ...

Insurance Stacking in Nevada after Delgado

2010-09-30

Last October, the Nevada Supreme Court carved out an exception to the state's rule on insurance stacking in motor vehicle accident cases. In Delgado v. American Family Insurance Group, the court held that passengers injured in a two-car accident can recover under the permissive driver's liability and underinsured motorist (UIM) policies when both drivers are found to be jointly liable for the accident. Delgado v. American Family In 2004, Dionicia Delgado was riding as a passenger in a car driven by Eunice Marcelino when the vehicle was involved in an accident with ...

School Bus Safety

2010-09-30

It's back to school time, and this year 25.1 million children will ride to school in 474,000 school buses in the United States, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). While school buses are safer than other passenger vehicles, there are specific laws in place to prevent bus related accidents. According to the NHTSA, between 1998 and 2008 there were 414,399 fatal motor vehicle crashes, of which only 0.34 percent were classified as school transportation related. Buses are safer than smaller passenger vehicles, due primarily to their size. ...

The Illinois Tort Immunity Act and the Death of Michael Langford, Jr.

2010-09-30

The Illinois Tort Immunity Act shields local governments and employees of government agencies from liability for ordinary negligence committed in the course of their duties. But the shield is not a blank check for wrongdoing. Government agencies and their employees can be held liable for any act or omission that constitutes willful and wanton misconduct. The death of 5-year-old Michael Langford, Jr., in May raises the issue of willful and wanton misconduct in a very compelling way. On Mother's Day 2010, Kathie La Fond worked a double shift, getting off of work at approximately ...

Judging Corrupt Judges in Georgia

2010-09-30

At the heart of the American justice system are the concepts of fairness and impartiality, especially on the part of juries and judges. Judges generally have reputations for knowing the law and applying it justly to the situations and defendants before them. So, what happens when the judges are the ones acting inappropriately? Following a string of scandals and corrupt practices involving multiple judges in Georgia, the way people in the state view judges is currently under careful review. A Very Thin Line There seems to be a very thin line between the judge's ...

HP Lawsuit Filed Against Former CEO Will Meet Significant Obstacles

2010-09-30

Former Hewlett-Packard (HP) Chief Executive Officer Mark Hurd has made national headlines once again with the announcement that, after his firing from HP, he will join Oracle Corp., the world's second largest software company, as a president and board member. This announcement comes just a month after Hurd's public departure from HP following allegations that he violated standards of business conduct. As Business Week reports, this is an excellent move for both Hurd and Oracle. Oracle is shifting its focus from software to hardware, and Hurd has experience with both. ...

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau: What It Means For You

2010-09-30

The recent financial meltdown revealed problems within the financial system, especially for consumers, which is why Congress passed new legislation intended to safeguard financial transactions and stabilize the entire industry. The Frank-Dodd Act creates an entirely new federal agency, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, which is designed to protect consumers from shady or fraudulent transactions and will oversee all financial companies, including banks, credit unions and private mortgage firms that do business with the public. The act will create or improve rules ...

LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:

A map for single-atom catalysts

What about tritiated water release from Fukushima? Ocean model simulations provide an objective scientific knowledge on the long-term tritium distribution