California:

California Overtime Pay Laws California Overtime Pay Laws for 2023, 2024

Hourly Overtime Minimum Wage
$24.00 / hour
Daily Overtime Limit1
15 hours / day
Weekly Overtime Limit2
40 hours / week

What is Overtime Pay?

Most hourly employees in California are entitled to a special overtime pay rate for any hours worked over a total of 40 in a single work week (defined as any seven consecutive work days by the Fair Labor Standards Act).

Additional state labor laws in California also entitle any employee who works for more then 15 hours in a single day to be paid at least one and a half times their normal rate for all hours worked over the overtime limit.

California's Overtime Minimum Wage

Overtime pay, also called "time and a half pay", is one and a half times an employee's normal hourly wage. Therefore, California's overtime minimum wage is $24.00 per hour, one and a half times the regular California minimum wage of $16.00 per hour. If you earn more then the California minimum wage rate, you are entitled to at least 1.5 times your regular hourly wage for all overtime worked.

In California, the general overtime provisions are that a nonexempt employee 18 years of age or older, or any minor employee 16 or 17 years of age who is not required by law to attend school and is not otherwise prohibited by law from engaging in the subject work, shall not be employed more than eight hours in any workday or more than 40 hours in any workweek unless he or she receives one and one-half times his or her regular rate of pay for all hours worked over eight hours in any workday and over 40 hours in the workweek (or double time as specified below). Eight hours of labor constitutes a day's work, and employment beyond eight hours in any workday or more than six days in any workweek requires the employee to be compensated for the overtime at not less than: One and one-half times the employee's regular rate of pay for all hours worked in excess of eight hours up to and including 12 hours in any workday, and for the first eight hours worked on the seventh consecutive day of work in a workweek; and Double the employee's regular rate of pay for all hours worked in excess of 12 hours in any workday and for all hours worked in excess of eight on the seventh consecutive day of work in a workweek. Some exceptions to California’s overtime rules include the following: Employees in the healthcare industry who are subject to a validly adopted alternative workweek schedule, Camp counselors. Personal attendants employed by a non-profit organization, Resident managers of homes for the aged having less than eight beds, Sheepherders, irrigators in agricultural occupations during any week in which more than half of the employee's working time is devoted to performing the duties of an irrigator, licensed crew members on commercial fishing vessels, Employees directly responsible for children under 18 receiving 24-hour residential care, Ambulance drivers and attendants, Employees of a ski establishment during any month when Alpine or Nordic skiing activities are being conducted, Minors (except those who are 16 and 17 years old who are not required by law to attend school), Live-in employees and Non-Live-in employees who are not otherwise exempt/excluded from the overtime provisions.

Who Gets Overtime Am I eligible for overtime pay?

Generally, hourly employees who earn under $455 per week ($23,660 per year) and who work in a non-exempt industry are eligible to receive overtime pay.

The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) automatically qualifies certain types of workers who meet overtime pay requirements to receive overtime for all hours worked over 40 in a single week (or daily overtime limits set by California overtime laws). If your work involves manual labor (such as construction worker, factory attendant, cashier, etc) you are probably protected under overtime law.

The FLSA specifically covers certain jobs, and exempts others from overtime pay. The following jobs are specifically covered by Federal overtime pay laws:

All first-responders, including police, paramedics, and firefighters, are specifically offered overtime protection under the FLSA.

Practical nurses and paralegals, who would otherwise fall under the exempted category, are also specifically protected by overtime law as these particular professionals often endure long hours of work, and may be exploited or overworked by their employers otherwise.

Jobs That Don't Get Paid Overtime Overtime Exemptions in California

Overtime laws in California and nationally are designed to prevent workers from being exploited by their employers, with hourly wage earners (particularly those in blue-collar indistries) being the primarily protected group. Because of the nature of the work environment and working hours required by certain careers, there are a wide variety of specific exemptions to California overtime eligibility. Out of an estimated 120 million workers in America, almost 50 million are exempt from overtime law.

Executives, administrators, and other professionals earning at least $455 per week do not have to be paid overtime under Section 13(a)(1) of the Fair Labor Standards Act.

External salespeople (who often set their own hours) are also exempted from CA overtime requirements, as are some types of computer-related workers. Independent contractors, who are not considered legal employees, are also exempt from overtime law. Other exempt positions include some transportation workers, certain agricultural and farm workers, and some live-in employees such as housekeepers.

In order to determine if a job is exempt from overtime, the FLSA provides a series of tests to determine the overtime eligibility of an employee based on pay rate, working conditions, skill level, and other factors.

Jobs Exempt From Overtime Pay:

If your job fits into one of the four main exemption categories to overtime law (executive, administrative, professional, and outside sales), then you are not protected by California and federal overtime regulations.

Executive Overtime Exemptions

Your job is classified as an Executive position if your full-time responsibility is management of two or more employees. You must spend no more then 20% of your time doing other activities (or 40% in a retail environment), and your job should be a salaried position.

Administrative Overtime Exemptions

Your job is classified as an Administrative position if your primary duty is non-manual work related to business operations, management policies, or administrative training. Your job must be salaried to fulfill the requirements, and you must spend no more then 20% of your time doing activities that do not fit in the categories described above (or 40% in a retail environment).

Professional Overtime Exemptions

Your job is classified as a Professional position if your primary duties require advanced knowledge and extensive education, including artists, certified teachers, and skilled computer professionals. Your job must be salaried, primarily intellectual, and you must be expected to use discression and judgement. You must spend no more then 20% of your time doing activities that are not directly related to the duties described above in order to be classified as a Professional.

Outside Sales Overtime Exemptions

Your job is classified as an Outside Sales position if your main duties are making sales or taking orders outside of their employer's main workplace. You may be paid either a salary or commission-based structure, but you must not spend more then 20% of your time doing work other then sales to fall under this classification.

If your job falls under any of the four categories described above, then you are not covered by federal or California unemployment regulations and your employer is not required to pay you an overtime premium.

Unpaid Overtime I'm eligible for overtime, but my employer didn't pay me!

If your job is eligible for overtime protection under California and Federal overtime law as described above, your employer is required by law to pay you an overtime premium for all qualifying overtime hours worked. If your employer owes you overtime pay, a Department of Labor office in California will work with you to ensure you receive your fair wages for all hours worked.

In 2008, close to 200,000 employees sucessfully received a total of $140,200,000 (140.2 million dollars) in overtime and minimum wage backwages from their employers as a result of filing an FLSA violation claim.

If you believe your employer owes you overtime, learn how to file an overtime claim in California.


Labor Law Footnotes, Sources & Citations:

  1. The weekly earnings estimate of $640.00 is based on a standard 40-hour workweek
  2. The yearly earnings estimate of $33,280.00 is based on 52 standard 40-hour work weeks. Since most hourly employees don't work full time and/or take time off, actual yearly earnings will likely be lower.

California Min Wage - $16.00 per hour as of 2024


** This Document Provided By Minimum-Wage.org **
Source: http://www.minimum-wage.org/california/overtime