In California, most non-exempt employees are eligible for overtime as follows:
Most non-exempt employees are also entitled to “double time" as follows:
Overtime pay is 1.5 times an employee’s regular rate of pay. Double time is 2 times an employee’s regular rate of pay.
While most non-exempt employees are eligible for overtime pay, there are a number of exemptions from the overtime law. If you fall into one of the categories below, you may not need be eligible for overtime pay.
Whether an employee fits into one of these categories is extremely complex. If you have a question as to whether you should be non-exempt and thus owed overtime contact one of our employment attorneys.
One way employers try to avoid overtime is to misclassify non-exempt employees as exempt and pay them a salary. But just because your employer labels you an “exempt” employee, does not mean you are one. You can only be legally classified as an "exempt" employee in California if:
For example, if you are working at an employer with 26 or more employees, you would have to earn at least $49,920 in 2019, $54,080 in 2020, $58,240 in 2021, $62,400 in 2022 and $64,480 in 2023 to meet this threshold requirement.
If you are not being paid a salary that is at least twice the California minimum wage, you cannot be lawfully classified as an exempt employee. You may be entitled to overtime pay, even if your employer labels you as exempt.
Yes, your employer must pay you for your overtime hours, regardless of whether the overtime was authorized in advance.
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