| California Labor Laws
Among the states, California has uniquely stringent labor laws.
The following page summarizes some of those laws, and shows how
WorkForce Software is able to deal with complex regulations.
Overtime Laws
For more than 8 hours in a day, an employee must be paid 1.5 times
his or her usual rate, and for over 12 hours in a day must be paid
twice the standard rate. In addition, if an employee works 7 consecutive
days, they must be paid 1.5 times the usual rate for the first
8 hours, and doubletime for any hours over 8. The 7th consecutive
day law applies regardless of how many hours an employee worked
in the preceding six days. Also, any hours over 40 in a week must
be paid at time and a half.
Overtime Exempt Employees
Certain employees are exempt from overtime laws, including those
that spend at least 50% of their working time performing work that
is primarily intellectual, managerial, or creative, and requires
the exercise of discretion and independent judgment. For more guidelines
on exempt and non-exempt employees, please see What
is an Exempt Employee?.
Alternative Work Schedules
If two-thirds of the workforce agrees on an alternative work schedule
(as decided by a secret ballot election), then a schedule may be
implemented of up to 10 hours in a day, but no more than 40 hours
per week. If an employee cannot work the alternative schedule,
however, the employer is required to make a reasonable effort to
accommodate the employee.
If an employee submits a written request to work between 8 and
10 hours per day, then that schedule may be implemented.
Make-Up Time
If an employee misses work time due to a personal obligation,
and decides to make up the lost time later in the same week, the
employer is not obligated to pay overtime if the employee doesn't
work more than 11 hours on the make-up day. Granting an employee's
request to work make-up time is the employer's sole discretion.
Meal Periods
If an employee works more than five hours, an unpaid thirty minute
meal period is required. The exception to this policy is if the
employee works less than six hours, and both the employer and the
employee agree to waive the meal period.
If an employee works more than 10 hours, a second thirty minute
meal period is mandated. Again, however, if the employee works
less than 12 hours, and both the employer and the employee agree,
the second meal period may be waived as well.
The WorkForce Software Solution
The WorkForce Software timesheet system can handle almost any
problem that you face in complying with California labor laws. The
table below summarizes the problems you face in implementing the
regulations and how our system can solve these problems.
| Problem |
Solution |
| Need to separate the exempt and non-exempt employees
|
Our solution lets you group employees into policy
groups. You would set up groups for both exempt and non-exempt
employees. |
| Alternative schedules |
You can set up multiple schedules of any
duration or frequency, and easily apply them to groups of
employees |
| Calculation of overtime pay |
Formulas in our system allow an unlimited flexibility
in determining hours that count toward overtime and applicable
pay codes, as well as support for the 7th consecutive day law |
| Calculation of overtime for semi-monthly or alternative
schedule employees
|
Regardless of the pay frequency, our software
will apply labor laws correctly. If you use a semi-monthly
or monthly pay frequency, the software will revert back to
the last week of the prior period to determine if overtime
is due to an employee.
|
Sources and Additional Resources
For the complete text of California labor laws, see California
Labor Laws.
For more on the distinction between exempt and non-exempt employees,
see What
Is An Exempt Employee?.
Finally, the California Employment
Development Department has information that may be valuable
to employers and employees alike.
Also, see our page on FLSA guidelines for
a summary of labor labors that apply in every state.
Notice: The information above and the references are provided
“as-is” without any representation as to their accuracy
or applicability to your specific situation. We recommend
that you seek competent legal advice for all employment issues.
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