Home About Mr. Francisco Areas of Practice CA Wage And Hour CA Overtime Law CA Break Periods CA Lunch/Meal Breaks Misclassified Employee Areas Served in CA
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A complex system of overlapping statutes, regulations, interpretations and precedent governs the compensation of employees in California. Federal law is set forth in the Fair Labor Standards Act, as well as regulations interpreting the Act. California law is set forth in various provisions of the Labor Code and in Wage Orders of the Industrial Welfare Commission. A fairly significant overlap exists between the federal and state standards, but there are also some significant differences
If you are being underpaid and wish to receive full payment give call The Law Offices of Rhett T. Francisco today. Mr. Francisco, his attorneys, and his staff will fight to make sure that the law is enforced and that you receive all payment and compensation that you deserve. Below is some information about labor and employment law in California.
Attorney fees may be recoverable if your employer is found to be liable for any unpaid wages.
Sometimes there are exceptions or revisions to the law. Additionally, results depend on the specifics of each case. For that reason it is advised that you do not rely on the limited information on this page or this website. Rather, you should call The Law Offices of Rhett T. Francisco for a free consultation in order to determine your legal rights.
The following records must be maintained for at least three years from the last date of entry: (1) payroll records, including each employee's name, address, occupation, hours worked each day and week, wages paid and date of payment, amounts earned as straight-time pay and overtime, and deductions; (2) plans, trusts and collective bargaining agreements; (3) employee notices; and (4) sales and purchase records.
Additionally, the following records must be retained for a minimum of two years from the date of last entry: (1) basic time and earnings cards; (2) wage rate tables; (3) work schedules; (4) order, shipping and billing records; and (5) records of additions to or deductions from wages.
Pursuant to California law, employers must keep records of the names and addresses of all employees, the ages of any minors working, and daily hours worked and wages paid to all employees. Such records must be maintained for a minimum of two years, and employers must allow inspection by the employee and the DLSE. Additionally, employers must keep records showing wage deductions for three years.
The employer must also provide an employee or former employee with copies of his or her payroll records within 21 days after a request, or permit the employee to inspect those records. Failure to comply may result in a fine, and the employee may sue to obtain the information and recover costs and fees.
Employers must provide the following information on the pay stub when wages are paid: (1) employer's name and address; (2) employee's name and social security number (last four digits only after 1/1/08); (3) inclusive dates for which the employee is being paid; (4) gross wages earned; (5) the applicable hourly rate and total hours worked for hourly employees; (6) all deductions; and (7) net wages earned.
As an employee, you are entitled to be paid for your time and your work. In California, the term “wages” includes all amounts for labor performed by employees of every description, whether the amount is fixed or ascertained by the standard of time, task, piece, commission basis, or other method of calculation.
The rate at which employees are paid can vary widely. However, California Law establishes general minimum standards for both wages per hour for normal hours (8 hours a day or 40 hours per week), and for wages per hour for overtime (hours worked in excess of 8 hours per day or 40 hours per week).
The minimum wage per hour according to CA State law (set on January 1, 2008) is $8.00 per hour. Under both state and federal law, employees may not agree to waive entitlement to the minimum wage.
Hours worked in excess of 40 hours per week and/or any work done on the 7th work day of the week is counted as time and a half, during which you will be paid your normal wages per hour plus fifty percent, making your wages for each hour worked 1.5 times what you normally get paid.
Additionally any time over 8 hours per day is considered to be overtime and the wage per hour will be at least 1.5 times that of the wage per hour of the previous 8 hours. However, if the work is done on the 7th work day of the week, in which case the time is considered double time and the worker will be paid at least 2 times as much as their regular wages.
An employer or its agent may not take any part of a tip or gratuity given to an employee by a patron. Every tip or gratuity has been determined to be the sole property of the employee (or employees) to whom it was paid or given, or for whom it was left.
In California, employees who are required to work a split shift are often entitled to a higher minimum wage. A “split shift” is a work schedule that is interrupted by non-paid work periods established by the employer. An employee on a split-shift schedule is entitled to be paid an additional hour's pay at minimum wage. For example, an employee earning the minimum wage who works eight hours on a split shift is entitled to receive nine times the minimum hourly wage (i.e. $72.00, instead of $64.00).
This provision also applies to employees who are paid more than the minimum wage. However, such employees are entitled only to the difference between what they actually earned and what they would have earned had they been paid the minimum wage for their entire shift plus an extra hour.
An alternative work week schedule is a schedule that, when agreed upon by employers and employees, creates an alternative schedule that can allow employees to work more than 8 hours a day (so long as there are not more than 40 hours in a work week) without collecting overtime.
A collective bargaining agreement is an agreement formed between an employer and a group of employees. The employees are normally represented by a labor organization such as a union. A Collective Bargaining Agreement must comply with State and Federal law, with Federal law usually taking precedent over State law, especially should they contradict each other.
A collective bargaining agreement can, in some cases, supersede California double time laws if it meets certain requirements.