You may be entitled to overtime wages if you work more than 40 hours a week for your California employer. Your overtime wage is 150% of your average wage during a given pay period. For instance, if you typically earn $10 an hour, your overtime wage would be $15. There are many variables to consider when determining if you are entitled to additional pay.
Nonexempt employees
To qualify for overtime pay, you must be a non-exempt employee. This means you make less than $455 a week, are not a salaried employee and are not considered a manager. Furthermore, you must be in a position not specifically exempt from overtime pay even if you meet those requirements. If you deliver newspapers, work on a farm or are an independent contractor, you won’t qualify for overtime pay.
Overtime rules
Employers must pay overtime wages even if they don’t approve of the extra hours. In other words, you might have a valid wage and hour claim even if your boss didn’t know or allow you to work more than 40 hours each week. Furthermore, the hours must be accounted for in the pay period that they are performed. For example, if you worked 50 hours a week, your employer can’t move 10 hours to the next pay period.
If you are not paid properly, you may have grounds to take legal action against your employer. In addition to back pay, you may receive additional damages from your employer’s illegal activities in addition to back pay. Pay stubs, manager comments and other evidence may be used to prove that you were a non-exempt employee who worked more than 40 hours each week.