Wage & Hour Lawyers in California

What Are California's Daily and Weekly Overtime Rules?

California is stricter than federal law. The federal Fair Labor Standards Act generally requires overtime only after 40 hours in a week, while California also requires daily overtime and double time. For most non-exempt employees, California's overtime rules are:

Some employees are exempt, and some employers use a valid alternative workweek schedule (for example, four 10-hour days) that changes when daily overtime starts. Overtime is calculated on your "regular rate," which can include nondiscretionary bonuses and shift differentials, not just your base hourly rate.

Can salaried employees receive overtime?

Yes, often. A salary alone does not make you exempt. To be exempt as an executive, administrative, or professional employee, you generally must earn at least twice the state minimum wage for full-time work, which is $70,304 a year in 2026, and primarily perform exempt duties. A salaried assistant manager who spends most of the day running a register is likely owed overtime. See exempt vs. non-exempt employees.

What if my overtime wasn't approved?

Your employer still has to pay it. If your employer knew or should have known you were working, it must pay for that time, including overtime, even if you broke a rule by working it. The employer can discipline you for violating a scheduling policy, but it cannot refuse to pay for work it allowed.

What If Your Employer Makes You Work Off the Clock or Changes Your Timecards?

California requires pay for all time you are under your employer's control, including work before you clock in, after you clock out, and during meal breaks you were not actually relieved for. Common examples:

• Being told to clock out and finish closing duties
• Mandatory security checks, uniform changes, or equipment setup before your shift starts
• Answering calls, texts, or emails after hours
• Required meetings or training that are not recorded on your timecard
• Automatic 30-minute meal deductions when you actually worked through lunch

Changing your timecard to remove hours you worked is unlawful. California courts have also held that employers generally cannot ignore small amounts of regularly required work as too minor to pay. Missing or inaccurate employer time records do not sink your claim; your own notes, texts, and testimony can be used to show the hours you worked.

What Happens if Your Employer Denies Meal or Rest Breaks?

You may be owed one extra hour of pay at your regular rate for each workday a compliant meal period was not provided, and another hour for each workday a compliant rest period was not provided. The rules in brief:

• A 30-minute, off-duty meal period when you work more than 5 hours, and a second one after 10 hours. Meal periods can be waived only in limited situations.
• A paid 10-minute rest break for every four hours worked, or major fraction of four hours.

Employers must relieve you of all duty and let you take the break, but they generally do not have to force you to take it. Pressure to skip breaks, constant interruptions, and schedules that make breaks impossible are violations. See meal break violations and rest break violations, or visit our meal and rest break practice page for the full rules.

What If Your Employer Doesn't Pay Your Final Paycheck?

California's final pay rules are strict:

• Fired or laid off: all wages due immediately, on your last day
• Quit with at least 72 hours' notice: due on your last day
• Quit without notice: due within 72 hours

Your final pay must include all earned wages, including accrued vacation. If an employer willfully fails to pay on time, it owes a waiting time penalty of one day's wages for each day late, up to 30 days. Not every late check qualifies; the delay must be willful. See final paycheck laws.

How Do You Prove a Wage and Hour Violation?

With records you already have or are entitled to request. Useful evidence includes:

• Pay stubs and your own notes of hours worked
• Work schedules, timecards, and screenshots of scheduling apps
• Texts and emails about shifts, breaks, or after-hours work
• Commission agreements, tip records, and expense receipts
• Employer policies and handbooks
• Names of coworkers who saw the same practices

You have the right to request copies of your pay records and personnel file. Do not download confidential company data or access systems you are not authorized to use.

How Much Can You Recover for Unpaid Wages?

It depends on which violations occurred. Depending on the claim, recovery may include:

• Unpaid wages and overtime, with interest
• Meal and rest break premiums
• Waiting time penalties for willfully late final pay
• Wage statement penalties
• Unreimbursed expenses
• Liquidated damages equal to the unpaid amount, but only for minimum wage violations, not overtime
• Attorney's fees and costs where the law allows them

Not every violation leads to every penalty, and no honest attorney can promise an amount before reviewing your records.

How Long Do You Have to File a Wage and Hour Claim?

There is no single deadline. Common limits include:

• Unpaid wages, overtime, and minimum wage under California law: generally three years
• Breach of a written pay agreement: generally four years
• Unfair business practices claim for unpaid wages: up to four years
• Many Labor Code penalties: often one year
• Federal FLSA claims: two years, or three if willful
• PAGA claims: one year, after a required notice to the state
• Retaliation complaint to the Labor Commissioner: generally one year

See employment claim deadlines. Because the clock keeps running, earlier is better.

Should You File a Wage Claim or a Lawsuit?

It depends on the size of the claim, how many workers are affected, and whether you signed an arbitration agreement.

• Labor Commissioner wage claim: an administrative process that can work for individual claims, and you can file while still employed.
• Civil lawsuit: allows more remedies and attorney's fees in many cases.
• Class action: when many employees were affected by the same practice.
• PAGA claim: lets employees pursue civil penalties on behalf of the state and other workers. PAGA was reformed in 2024, and it has its own notice and procedural rules.

Many employers require arbitration agreements, which can affect which path is available.