I work in California. I work 12 hours a day for 5 days. The way I see it I should get 32 hours over time and 28 regular.
Monday 8 hours reg 4 over time for a total of 12 hours
Tuesd 8 reg 4 over time for a total of 24 hours
wedsne 8 reg 4 overtime for a total of 36 hours
thursda 4 reg 8 overtime for a total of 48
friday 0 reg 12 over time for a total of 60 hours
Am I right or no? My employer says 40 hours reg and 20 ot. What do you think?

Your employer is correct. The employer is not required to "pyramid" overtime, which is what your calculations assume.

Hi, I signed up because I had the same question. Would you happen to have any pointers to the actual code or cases that make this clear?

From my point of view "any work in excess of 40 hours in any one workweek" as the CA code states is pretty cut and dry. It doesn't say you only count the first 8 hours of each day, or that any hours where OT is earned don't count towards the 40. Or does it, somewhere else?

From my point of view, working 10 hour days 5 days a week should result in:

Mon: 8 reg, 2 ot (10 total, paid as 8 reg, 2 ot)
Tue: 8 reg, 2 ot (20 total, paid as 16 reg, 4 ot)
Wed: 8 reg, 2 ot (30 total, paid as 24 reg, 6 ot)
Thu: 8 reg, 2 ot (40 total, paid as 32 reg, 8 ot)
Fri: 10 ot because it's "in excess of 40 hours in any one workweek", so 50 total paid as 32 reg and 18 ot.

Thanks for any clarification you can provide,

Brian

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

The reason your calculations are incorrect is that you were already required to be paid time-and-a-half for the excess of 8 hours in a day. If the employer were also required to pay for over 40 hours in a week, irrespective of the overtime he had already paid, that would be known as "pyramiding of overtime" and it is not required by law.

I still don't see it. The word pyramid doesn't appear on that page. The only possibly relevant text (other than that which I already quoted directly from the code) is in the answer to question 8: "Overtime is calculated based on hours actually worked" which would conflict with the concept you're describing, which is akin to "overtime is calculated based on only the hours you have been paid at your regular wage". The exemptions and exceptions FAQs seem to list very specific occupations, not more general calculations such as what we're talking about.

I hate to be a pain, but is there anywhere that makes it totally clear?

I even tried googling for your phrase "pyramiding of overtime" and came up mostly with employment contracts, not general labor laws and regulations. Searching www.leginfo.ca.gov for "pyramid" returned zero results.

What am I missing? Is this a rule that has been defined in the courts, not in actual code? If so, what is/are the key cases?

THANKS!!!!!

I didn't say you would find the word. Try 27 years of experience in payroll. Here's what you don't get. The over 40-hours per week only applies if one of the other overtime requirements has not already applied. In your situation, overtime has already kicked in for the extra 2 hours per day. Those hours have already been paid at time-and-a-half. If you want to verify this, call the Division of Labor Standards Enforcement.

I didn't say you would find the word.
Then why did you point me to it as if it had the answer to my question?

Here's what you don't get. The over 40-hours per week only applies if one of the other overtime requirements has not already applied.
I "get it" just fine. I'm just asking for you to cite one single authoritative source, because a plain reading of the law contradicts your answer. I'm not saying you're wrong, in fact I'm sure that you're most likely right. I'm just looking for an explanation for the obvious conflict between what the law states and standard practice in paying overtime.

In your situation, overtime has already kicked in for the extra 2 hours per day. Those hours have already been paid at time-and-a-half.
No. No one is asking for the two extra hours per day to be paid overtime twice. My point is that all the hours on the fifth day are plainly due overtime, because they are hours worked in excess of 40 in the same workweek. If I look at my time sheet at the beginning of Friday and see that I have already worked 40 hours, I should be able to say to myself "great, now I'm getting paid overtime since I've already worked 40 hours this week". Nothing in the law suggests that I need to check if I've already been paid overtime for any of the 40 hours that I've previously worked.

Please. read section 510a (http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/cgi-bin/displaycode?section=lab&group=00001-01000&file=500-558). Tell me how I'm misreading it.

If you want to verify this, call the Division of Labor Standards Enforcement.

Thanks, I will.

If you want a fight, you're not going to get it from me. I've been in this business too long to be cowed by somebody like you. I'm gonna try one more time. Hours do not have to be counted twice, i.e., once as overtime because over 8 per day, and once as part of the 40 hours worked. Period. Now I'm done.

And I'm going to make sure it stays done.