In accordance with California labor law, all non-exempt employees must be paid at least 1.5 times their regular rate of pay for every hour worked over eight hours in one workday and for every hour over 40 hours in a single workweek.
But, how do you know if you’re rightfully getting overtime pay or if your employer is failing to comply?
Talk with your Human Resources Representative
First and foremost, bring any concerns up internally with your employer. If you have a timesheet, your Human Resources representative should be able to run through hours worked and pay with you quickly to discuss where you believe there are discrepancies. Companies that don’t use timesheets may make it unintentionally harder for you to view your hours, but the same HR representative should know how to quickly get access to this information for your review. Make sure to be direct about which days and hours you believe you should have received overtime pay.
Some companies do not have an HR department, and if this is the case for your employer, ask your direct manager or supervisor to sit down with you to review your hours and discrepancies in overtime or holiday pay.
Follow Up
After talking internally, ask the same HR representative, manager, or supervisor about next steps. Will they correct this pay fairly on your next paycheck? Or, do they believe that they do not owe you overtime? If it is the latter situation, now is a good time to consult an Employment Law Attorney.
Know Your Rights
Salaried employees are not necessarily exempt from overtime pay under California law. Employees receiving a salary may be misclassified and should be getting paid an hourly rate, and thereby getting paid overtime. For every hour worked over eight hours in one workday and over 40 hours in a single workweek, a non-exempt employee is entitled to 1.5 times his or her normal rate of pay. If an employee has been getting paid a salary when they should have been getting paid by the hour, their hourly rate can be calculated by dividing their annual gross salary by 52 weeks and then dividing that number by 40 hours.
As a non-exempt employee, you’re owed this overtime rate of pay whether or not your employer pre-authorized the overtime hours before you worked them. If you’re unsure about whether or not you’re entitled to overtime compensation, connect with an experienced employment attorney that can offer his or her expert opinion.
