The Fair Labor Standards Act explicitly allows that states may have higher minimum wages, more comprehensive overtime provisions, and laws concerning time off if they choose to legislate them. Not all
California labor law provisions are covered by the Federal government, concerning those three areas and others.
California Minimum Wage
The
minimum wage in California is higher than the U.S. minimum wage. Californias $8.00 an hour is $.75 more than the Federal minimum of $7.25. It is the same for minors as it is for adults, and tipped employees are entitled to it on top of whatever tips they make.
California Overtime Pay
As it is in
U.S. labor laws, employees working in excess of 40 hours in a workweek (7 consecutive 24-hour periods) are entitled to overtime pay for those hours. In California, employees also receive overtime for hours worked in excess of eight in one day. Overtime pay is calculated at 1.5 times an employees regular hourly wage. Salaried employees can use a simple formula to determine their hourly wage:
salary 52 40 [salary divided by weeks in a year divided by maximum work hours per week]
No two workweeks or workdays cancel one another out when it comes to overtime. A 42-hour workweek is eligible for two hours overtime pay, even if the subsequent week, an employee works for 32 hours. The practice of averaging workweeks and workdays to avoid paying
overtime in California is an illegal one, and victims of it may be entitled to back wages for the overtime pay they were denied.
California Vacation Time
Employers are not legally obligated to give vacation benefits to their employees. Yet, if they opt to do so, they are legally obligated to make good on the agreement. Vacation time is considered a form of wages under
California wage and hour law. With that in mind:
- Vacation time is earned over the course of a year. Eight days of vacation amounts to .67 days a month, accrued each month the employee works.
- At the end of a year, employers must allow the vacation days to roll over into the next year or pay the employee for their unused time.
- If employment is terminated for any reason by either party, unused vacation days are still considered wages that should be paid in the employees last paycheck.
- If an employee is under an introductory period wherein vacation benefits are not available to him or her yet, he or she is not entitled to any payment for this time if employment is terminated before the time off is made available.
IQOvertime.com has more information on
Californias wage and hour laws. If you feel you havent been compensated fairly, a
California wage and hour attorney can review your case and see if you are entitled to back wages.
