According to California laws, workers should receive 1.5 times their regular pay rate for every extra hour they work after eight hours in a single workday. If employees work more than 12 hours in a single workday, this changes to 2 times the regular pay rate for every extra hour.
Additionally, workers are supposed to receive 1.5 times the regular rate for the first eight hours worked on the seventh consecutive day in a workweek. In case there are more hours of work, double the standard rate of pay applies.
Have you worked this amount of hours but never received extra payment? This means your employer failed to pay you overtime wages.
What to do if you are not getting paid correctly?
Here is a list of easy steps to take if you’re not receiving overtime pay as required by California law:
- Always check the hours you work: This may be as simple as checking your timesheet. But if your employer is making it difficult to keep count of your actual work hours or if you think the documents the company provideD are not correct, you should contact an employment law attorney to figure out the best way to get the information you need.
- Talk to Human Resources (HR): Most companies have a Human Resources Department, so if yours does, talk to them. They may be able to investigate the issue and determine why you did not receive compensation for the overtime hours worked.
- Follow-up with HR: Follow up with HR until you receive more information. They shouldn’t only investigate if an issue is happening, but they should also actively look for a solution. If HR is not cooperative, it’s time to seek a California employment law attorney.
- Check for accuracy: If matters are resolved, and your employer agrees to pay for the unpaid amounts, check the payment against your records to ensure that you were fully compensated.
Hopefully, your employer will notice the mistake and do the right thing, but there is no guarantee of that happening. Unfortunately, some employers actively look for ways to deny employees’ overtime pay.