FAQ

Under California law, you must be paid for all work hours. Therefore, your employer cannot make you work “off-the-clock” in order to avoid paying you or to avoid incurring overtime obligations. An employer’s failure to pay for all of your hours worked may entitle you to additional wages and penalties.

As of January 1, 2023, the California minimum wage for all employers is $15.50 per hour. Some cities and counties in California may have a local minimum wage that is higher than the state rate. After 2023, the minimum wage will continue to increase annually based on a particular formula set by law.

If you were terminated, your employer was required to pay you all wages due immediately. If you resigned, then your employer had up to 72 hours to pay. If your employer fails to pay, then as a penalty to the employer your daily wages continue to accrue from the date the wages were due until they are paid. The daily wage penalty is limited to a maximum of 30 days.

Depending on the nature of your job and how many hours you work, overtime pay maybe 1.5 or 2 times your regular hourly rate of pay. Your employer is required to pay you overtime if you work more than eight hours in a day, more than 40 hours in a week, or more than six consecutive days in a row. You are entitled to time-and-a-half for work over 8 hours in a day or 40 hours in a week. You are entitled to double time for any work over 12 hours in any workday or over 8 hours on the seventh day of a workweek.

Not all harassment at work is against the law. To be unlawful the harassment must be based on specific characteristics, such as your race, gender, religion, or sexual orientation. If you feel like you’ve been harassed because you’re a woman in an all-male workforce, you may have a case. If your boss is just mean or difficult, you may not.

There is a common misconception that salaried employees are not entitled to overtime pay. While that may be true in some cases, very often employers incorrectly classify salaried employees as exempt in order to avoid paying overtime. Many salaried employees are entitled to overtime pay just like hourly employees.