Overtime in California

[kipraptor]

I work for a outdoor printing company that calculates overtime based on a 24 hour period beginning at midnite. meaning if I work a 3rd shift from 10 pm monday to 8 am Tuesday they say its 2 hrs straight pay for monday and then 8 hrs straight for tuesday which means even though I worked 10 hr in one shift they are not paying overtime. am I getting ripped off?

[unionwayne]

The federal wage & hour law says that an hourly employee is to be paid time-and-one-half for hours worked after 40-hours in a workweek. The website for the U.S. Dept. of Labor is: www.dol.gov.

I believe Calif. has its own wage & hour law that is more strict than the federal law. The Calif. Labor Dept. website is here: http://www.dir.ca.gov/.

Good luck.

[LConnell]

California Industrial Welfare Commission Orders and Labor Code 500 says that a workday is defined as a 24-hour period that begins at the same time every day, though that time can begin at any time. The beginning of the day does not have to coincide with the employee's assigned shift. However, once a beginning is established, it cannot be changed, especially to evade overtime regulations. So, under that regulation, you are paid correctly. Where the issue becomes more difficult is if you work a second shift beginning on the following evening at 10:00 and again ending at 8 the next morning. Under that scenario, you will earn 2 hours of overtime for the second day.

Let me know if you have any other questions.

[kipraptor]

What about when I work 50 hours monday through thursday then on friday I work a 14 hr shift does this mean I get paid 2 hrs overtime for friday and 8 hours reg and 4 hours time and half for saterday. Do I get ripped off on the 2 hours that should be double time?

[LConnell]

Let's illustrate how this works (to aid in my calculations as well as to illustrate it for you)...

Assuming the workday begins at midnight...

Monday: Begin work at 10:00pm and ends at the end of the workday (midnight) = 2 hours of regular pay for Monday / 2 hours total so far for the week
Tuesday: Begin work at midnight (continuation of the shift from Monday night) and continues until 8:00am PLUS begin work at 10:00 pm through midnight = 8 hours of regular pay PLUS 2 hours of overtime (8 hour daily overtime rule) / 12 hours total so far for the week
Wednesday: Begin work at midnight (continuation of the shift from Tuesday night) and continues until 8:00am PLUS begin work at 10:00 pm through midnight = 8 hours of regular pay PLUS 2 hours of overtime (8 hour daily overtime rule) / 22 hours total so far for the week
Thursday: Begin work at midnight (continuation of the shift from Wednesday night) and continues until 8:00am PLUS begin work at 10:00 pm through midnight = 8 hours of regular pay PLUS 2 hours of overtime (8 hour daily overtime rule) / 32 hours total so far for the week
Friday: Begin work at midnight (continuation of the shift from Thursday night) and continues until 8:00am PLUS begin work at 10:00 pm through midnight = 6 hours of regular pay PLUS 4 hours of overtime (8 hour daily overtime rule working in combination with the 40 hour overtime rule) / 42 hours total so far for the week
Friday: Begin work at midnight (continuation of the shift from Friday night) and continues until 8:00am = 8 hours of overtime (40 hour workweek overtime rule) / 50 hours total for the week



So, based on the above calculations, I believe that you should earn 32 hours of regular pay AND 18 hours of overtime. You don't qualify for double time overtime as double time is paid to persons working over 12 hours in a day AND/OR persons working over eight hours on a seventh consecutive day. Neither applies to you.

Is this the schedule you work? If not, how does your schedule differ? Let me know if you have any other questions.

[kipraptor]

Sometimes I do work past 12 hr in one shift
example
monday-10 pm to tuesday 8am
tuesday- 10 pm to wednesday 8am
wednesday-10 pm to thursday 8am
thursday- 10 pm to friday 8am
friday-10 pm to saturday 12 noon

now saturday counting as a new day is there any double time?

[LConnell]

No, because double time is paid only after 12 hours in a workday OR after 8 hours on a seventh consecutive workday. Saturday doesn't fit either scenario. Let me know if you have any other questions.

[kipraptor]

So even though on friday-saturday work shift I put in 14 hours straight, there is no double time pay because it is not considered one work day, but two?

[LConnell]

Exactly, it must be within the same workday.

[kipraptor]

Well I guess I wont be workin 14hr days anymore.
Thank you for all your help and enjoy your Holidays

[AndrewAK]

I belive that California pays OT for time worked beyond 40hrs/ week and 8hrs/day, both apply to you. The shift in question is Friday-Saturday. You worked 10hrs on Friday and 12 hours on Saturday. Becuase California pays OT for time worked beyond 40hrs/ week and 8hrs/day, all of Friday and Saturday should be OT.

But that's not all, you worked 40Hrs Monday-Thursday. If you work the same schedual, each day, you are working 10hrs/day (8 in the AM + 2 in the PM), 2hrs OT/workday (Except at the begining of the new week where you only work 2hrs on Sunday, assuming you don't work in the AM on Sunday.)

If I understand your schedual, Sunday-2hrs, Monday-Thursday- 40HRs (10hr of OT Sunday-Thursday) Friday-Saturday-22 (All OT) For the week-30hrs RegTime 32Hrs OT

So, I don't thing your getting stiffed for OT, but your schedual is kinda odd.

FYI- I'm not sure how California's Unemployment rules work, but my State will withhold Unemployment benefits for 6 weeks if you quit your job.

[diznegrl]

When exactly is it required in California for the employer to pay the employee overtime? I was under the impression that it had to be paid if over 8 hours in a day and if more than 12 hours in a day it rolled into double time. How many consecutive days can a person work before double time is required (if this is required)? I have some pretty upset co-workers that want answers and feel like that they are being cheated out of O.T. PLEASE HELP ME OUT HERE!

[LConnell]

In California, overtime is calculated over 8 in a day with hours worked over 12 in a 24-hour period considered as double time. There are a few exceptions, based on the job classification you are in.

[LConnell]

After I posted the last message, I wasn't sure if you meant to ask whether there is a maximum number of hours that you can be forced to work. There is no maximum.