Most people think overtime only kicks in after 40 hours in a week. In California, it can start after just 8 hours in a single day, no matter what your weekly total is.
For most non-exempt employees, the rules work like this: you earn 1.5x your regular pay for hours worked beyond 8 in a day (and beyond 40 in a week), and 2x (double time) for hours beyond 12 in a day. There are added protections when you work seven days in a row.
That’s more generous than federal law, which only looks at the 40-hour week. So even if you worked fewer than 40 hours in a week, a couple of long days could still mean you’re owed overtime.
If you regularly worked long days and were only paid your straight hourly rate, you may be owed more. At Grochow Law, we help California employees recover unpaid wages, including overtime.
