1. Meal and rest breaks.
If you did not know of this exposure already existed in California, can I recommend some reading here, here and here?

2. Exempt vs. non-exempt classification of employees.
The default under California law is that every employee is entitled to overtime pay at a rate of time and a half or double of the employee’s hourly rate of pay. An employee is not entitled to overtime if the employer meets its burden in establishing that the employees qualifies under one of legally proscribed exempt positions (the positions are called exempt because the employee is exempt from the overtime requirements). Some exempt positions are:

  • Executive
  • Administrative
  • Professional
  • Outside sales
  • Computer professional
  • Commissioned sales

Exempt positions have very nuanced requirements that must be met in order for the employee to properly be considered exempt from the overtime pay requirement. For a company to make a determination of whether an employee is exempt, it must approach this determination carefully, and ensure the employee is pay enough in a salary and performs duties required by the exemption. The company should also consider documenting the specific exemption the employee qualifies for. For a list of the possible exempt positions under California law, the DLSE published one here.

3. Off the clock work.
Employees must be paid for all hours that the employee is subject to the employer’s control. Generally, if the employer knows or has reason to believe that an employee is working, that work must be paid for. To prevent off the clock claims, employers should develop clear policies on time keeping and prohibiting off the clock work, as well as having a well thought out complaint mechanism for employees to utilize. A complaint procedure is a good defense for claims of off the clock work made after the fact.

4. Proper calculation of overtime.
Generally, employers must pay one and one-half times the employee’s regular rate of pay for all hours worked in excess of eight hours up to and including 12 hours in any workday, and for the first eight hours worked on the seventh consecutive day of work in a workweek. In addition, employer must pay double the employee’s regular rate of pay for all hours worked in excess of 12 hours in any workday and for all hours worked in excess of eight on the seventh consecutive day of work in a workweek.

In addition, the “regular rate of pay” include not only the employee’s hourly rate, but also the amount of piecework earnings and commissions earned by the employee. These additional earning must be calculated into employee’s regular rate of pay. The employee’s time and a half or double time overtime must be calculated on this higher regular rate.

5. Independent contractor misclassification.
As I’ve written about previously, the classification of whether a worker is an independent contractor or an employee is a multifactor test. Failure to conduct this analysis properly can expose employer to substantial civil penalties.