You stayed late all week to hit a deadline, and your paycheck looks the same as always. No extra for the long days. Maybe your boss said you are on salary, so overtime does not apply. Maybe they called you a manager, or paid you as a contractor. In California, none of those labels automatically cancel your right to overtime pay. The rules here are stricter than a lot of employers admit.
California overtime is more generous than the federal rule
Most people know the federal rule, which is time and a half after 40 hours in a week. California goes further. Here you earn overtime by the day, not just by the week.
Once you work more than 8 hours in a single day, the extra hours pay time and a half. Go past 12 hours in a day, and it jumps to double time. Work all seven days in a week, and the seventh day carries overtime too. You can put in under 40 hours in a week and still be owed overtime for a couple of long days. This catches a lot of workers off guard, and some employers count on it.
The misclassification trick
The most common way employers dodge overtime is by calling you something you are not. Two labels do most of the damage.
The first is the salary exemption. Being paid a salary does not, by itself, make you exempt from overtime. To be truly exempt, your real job duties have to meet a strict test, and you must earn at least twice the state minimum wage. A fancy title on a low-paid job does not count.
The second is the independent contractor label. Some employers hand out a 1099 and treat you like a contractor to dodge overtime, taxes, and benefits. California uses a strict test for this too, and simply calling you a contractor does not make you one. If the company controls how you work, you may really be an employee who is owed overtime.
What you can recover
If you were denied overtime, the law lets you claim more than the missing pay. You can go back and collect unpaid overtime for up to the last three or four years, depending on the claim. On top of that, you may be owed interest and penalties, and in many cases the employer has to pay your legal fees. That last part matters, because it means you can bring a claim without paying a lawyer out of pocket.
What to do
Start keeping your own record of hours if you are not already. Note when you clock in and out, including the days you skip a real lunch. Save your pay stubs and any schedules or messages about your hours. You do not need perfect proof to begin, because California law puts the burden on the employer to keep accurate time records. When they did not, the gap tends to work in your favor.
California gives you up to three or four years to bring most wage claims, but the sooner you act, the easier the records are to pull together. If your overtime has been going unpaid, find out what you are owed. Rager and Yoon has recovered unpaid wages for workers across Los Angeles, and the first call is free. Call 310-527-6994 and tell us about your hours.