Are there any requirements for an employer in California to be subject to overtime laws? (i.e. number of employees, etc). I've tried to find this on the internet, but have not had any luck. Thanks for any replies!

Your starting point is the federal FLSA law. If under federal law the employer is subject to overtime, then there is nothing that CA or any other state could do that would remove this obligation from the employer. The courts have given such a wide view to just what the "interstate commerce" provision of this rule that it is extremely difficult for an employee working for a private employer to not be subject to overtime (ignoring industry specific and duty specific excpetions).
http://www.dol.gov/esa/whd/regs/compliance/whdfs14.pdf

Past that, you might be looking for the equivelant of a "unicorn", something that maybe does not exist. CA also has industry specific regulations called Wage Orders. I can give you a pointer to the general CA overtime rules, plus the page for industry specific exceptions to CA overtime.

http://www.dir.ca.gov/dlse/FAQ_Overtime.htm

http://www.dir.ca.gov/iwc/WageOrderIndustries.htm

http://www.dir.ca.gov/dlse/FAQ_OvertimeExemptions.htm

Generally speaking, every every employer is subject unless there is a specific exception.

We could give you a better answer if you could tell us exactly why you think that this particular employer would be exempt from the overtime requirement. Labor law is pretty much "exceptions are us", but it is hard to figure out out which of the many possible exceptions is applicable without more to work with.

Thanks for the input, it was helpful. More about what I do:

I work for a company that provides services in 18 states, so I am constantly on the phone to multiple states across the country. I am a sales rep, and spend 85% of my time performing inside sales on the phone in the office. Anywhere from 0-2 times per week, we hold a private showcase (outside sales) for potential clients here in California, that guarantees that we will be working at least an 11.5 hour day.

Additionally, we are required to come into the office the day of the showcase at 10 am, and then drive to whatever town the showcase will be held in, set up the goods, consult the clients, and then break everything down; so sometimes I have to drive home to LA from as far away as San Diego after the show ends (2 hours). My normal commute to & from the office is 30 min each way. For the showcases, we are paid a flat rate according to whose sales territory the event falls under--so if the event is in my territory, I get $25, if it's someone else's, I get $40, and if it's distant (San Diego), I get $90.

We are also sometimes required to work tradeshows on the weekends after working the 5 day workweek--often 10 hour days or more with the commute. They pay a flat $100 fee for the tradeshows, plus a paid day off at a later date.

After going back through my timesheets, it's apparent that there were many weeks that I worked over 40 hours, sometimes as much as 55-60. My compensation is Salary + Commission, so I am paid $460 flat per week plus whatever commission I make. The commission rarely makes up over 50% of my earnings, since the commission is such a low percentage (2%).

I'm sure this is more detail than necessary, but any feedback would be appreciated on whether the company should be paying us overtime. (It certainly feels like it, just from how tired I am.)

Thank you again!

Based on what you have said, you are Non-Exempt. You must be paid at least $8/hr, and you must be paid overtime following the CA overtime rules. (http://www.dir.ca.gov/dlse/FAQ_Overtime.htm) Both MW and OT are calculated on a workweek basis and you have probable travel time and possible expense reimbursement issues. I am going to suggest that you download a copy of the CA-DLSE manual (http://www.dir.ca.gov/dlse/Manual-Instructions.htm) and look up the travel time and expense reimbursement rules.

Actually, that WASN'T more detail than needed. You wouldn't believe the threads we have where there are 10-15 requests for "more info" because the posters don't answer the questions we ask. :p

There are a number of issues here. You can start by downloading the entire DLSE manual and searching it. Here are some places to start.



34.1 Definition Of “Commission Wages”. The term “commission wages” has been
defined in the case of Keyes Motors, Inc. v. DLSE (1988) 197 Cal.App.3d 557; 242
Cal.Rptr. 873, which held that commissions arise from the sale of a product, not the
making of a product or the rendering of a service. The court further held that in order
to be a commission, the compensation must be a percentage of the price of the product
or service which is sold. (See also, O.L. 1983.11.25; see also Section 2 .5.4 of this
Manual.) The California Supreme Court in Ramirez v. Yosemite Water C o., Inc. (1999) 20
Cal.4th 785, reiterated that the definition of commissions in Section 204.1 applies to all
employees receiving commissions.

48.1.5.4 Salary. In California, in a situation where a non-exempt employee is paid a salary, the
regular hourly rate of pay for purposes of computing overtime must be determined by
dividing the salary by not more than the legal maximum regular hours (in most cases
40 hours, but this may be less than 40 hours where daily overtime is being computed)
to determine the regular hourly rate of pay. (See Labor Code § 515(d)) The contracted
hours may be less than the legal maximum regular hours in one workweek, in which
case the contracted h ours must then be used as the divisor and the salary as the
dividend to establish the regular hourly rate of pay. All hours over the legal maximum
regular hours in any one workweek or in any one workday must be compensated at
overtime rates.

49.1.1 In California, as with the federal FLSA, overtime is computed based on the regular rate
of pay. The regular rate of pay includes many different kinds of remuneration, for
example: hourly earnings, salary, piecework earnings, commissions, certain bonuses, and
the value of meals and lodging.

49.1.2 Items of Compensation Included in Calculating Regular Rate of Pay. In not
defining the term “regular rate of pay”, the Industrial Welfare Commission has
manifested its intent to adopt the definition of “regular rate o f pay” set out in the Fair
Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”) 29 U SC § 2 07(e):
“...the ‘regular rate’ at which an employee is employed shall be deemed to include all remuneration
for employment paid to, or on behalf of, the employee...” (29 USC § 207(e)).
In determining what payments are to be included in or excluded from the calculation
of the regular rate of pay, California law adheres to the standards adopted by the U.S.
Department of Lab or to the extent that those standards are consistent with California
law.

49.2 Methods Used in Computing Regular Rate of Pay:
49.2.1.1 Salaried Workers: Multiply the monthly remuneration by 12 (months) and divide by 52
(weeks) = weekly remuneration. Divide the weekly remuneration by the number of legal
maximum regular hours worked = regular hourly rate. (See Labor Code § 515 (d))
49.2.1.2 Piece Workers, Production Bonus Workers or Commission Workers: (See O.L. 1993.02.22,
1993.02.22-1, 1988.06.15, 1988.03.28, 1994.06.17-1, 1988.07.14, 1987.02.17) Either of
the following two methods may be used to determine the regular rate for purposes of
computing overtime compensation:
1. Compute the regular rate by dividing the total earnings for the week, including earnings during
overtime hours, by the total hours worked during the week, including the overtime hours. For
each overtime hour worked, the employee is entitled to an additional one-half the regular rate
for hours requiring time and one-half and to an additional full rate for hours requiring double
time. This is the most commonly used method of calculation.
2. Using the piece or commission rate as the regular rate and paying one and one-half this rate
for production during overtime hours. This method is rarely used.
49.2.1.3 It is recognized that the method outlined in alternative 1, above, resembles the
computation used in the illegal fluctuating workweek plans. However, there is a distinct
difference: Under that federal method the salaried employee is not given the
opportunity to increase his or her basic rate; in fact, it is always the case that the longer
the employee on a fluctuating workweek works, the lower the basic hourly rate of the
salaried employee becomes. Under the DLSE method for piece workers, production
bonus workers or commission workers, it is recognized that these employees are
actually given additional time to make more pieces or earn more commission in the
overtime hours so that the basic hourly rate may increase. Therefore, the Skyline
analysis for computing the regular rate of pay is inapplicable to computing the regular
rate for piece rate and commission employees. The Skyline court recognized this at 165
Ca.App.3d 239, 254.
49.2.1.4 As an alternative, (see 2, above) piece work performed during overtime periods may be
paid by paying for each piece made during the overtime period at the appropriate rate,
i.e., time and a half (1½) for 8 to 12 hours, or double time (2) over 12 hours.

Thanks for the input, it was helpful. More about what I do:

I work for a company that provides services in 18 states, so I am constantly on the phone to multiple states across the country. I am a sales rep, and spend 85% of my time performing inside sales on the phone in the office. Anywhere from 0-2 times per week, we hold a private showcase (outside sales) for potential clients here in California, that guarantees that we will be working at least an 11.5 hour day.

Additionally, we are required to come into the office the day of the showcase at 10 am, and then drive to whatever town the showcase will be held in, set up the goods, consult the clients, and then break everything down; so sometimes I have to drive home to LA from as far away as San Diego after the show ends (2 hours). My normal commute to & from the office is 30 min each way. For the showcases, we are paid a flat rate according to whose sales territory the event falls under--so if the event is in my territory, I get $25, if it's someone else's, I get $40, and if it's distant (San Diego), I get $90.

We are also sometimes required to work tradeshows on the weekends after working the 5 day workweek--often 10 hour days or more with the commute. They pay a flat $100 fee for the tradeshows, plus a paid day off at a later date.

After going back through my timesheets, it's apparent that there were many weeks that I worked over 40 hours, sometimes as much as 55-60. My compensation is Salary + Commission, so I am paid $460 flat per week plus whatever commission I make. The commission rarely makes up over 50% of my earnings, since the commission is such a low percentage (2%).

I'm sure this is more detail than necessary, but any feedback would be appreciated on whether the company should be paying us overtime. (It certainly feels like it, just from how tired I am.)

Thank you again!
How many other employees are in the same boat as you? It may merit a class action against the employer.