Legal Question in Employment Law in California
Interpretation of Overtime Law
By my interpretation of Overtime Law my employer is miscalculating my OT pay. The law says any non-exempt employee 18 or older must receive time and a half their regular rate of pay for all hrs worked over eight hrs in any workday and over 40 hrs in a workweek. I do not work any type of alternative workweek schedule. However, my OT is calculated for hrs worked either, over eight in a day, ''or'' 40 in a week. By my interpretation of the law I should get OT for over eight in a day ''and'' 40 in a week. For example: If I work 10 hrs a day for the first 4 days of a workweek, 2 hrs each day so far should be OT hrs (2hrs x 4 days = 8 OT hrs) and if I choose to work 1 more hr on the fifth day of the same week, I thought I should receive 1 more hr of OT pay since that 1 hr on the fifth day constitutes 1 hr over 40 in that week. So my question is, should I receive 9 hrs of OT pay for that week due to the 2 hrs ''over eight in a day'' for each of the first 4 days ''and'' the 1 hr ''over 40 in a week,'' even though the week consisted of only 41 hrs (32 hrs regular pay + 9 hrs OT pay)? Or should I only get 8 hrs of OT pay based on 2 hrs each day for the first 4 days and the 41st hr not considered over 40 in a week. If my interpretation is wrong, why?
4 Answers from Attorneys
Re: Interpretation of Overtime Law
Your interpretation and calculations are correct. Your are entitled to overtime for all hours worked beyond 8 hours per day and/or 40 hours per week. Please feel free to visit out web site at scalaw.com for more information or call us at (510) 891-9800 for more information.
Re: Interpretation of Overtime Law
Your analysis is correct. An employer must pay overtime compensation for all hours over 8 in a work day and over 40 in a work week. If you require assistance and reside in Southern California feel free to call to discuss this further.
Re: Interpretation of Overtime Law
I'm not sure you've articulated your question as you intended. Your hypothetical says you'll be working 11 hours on the 4th day. You know that the 9th and 10th hours are to be paid as overtime but you're asking if the 11th hour is to be paid as overtime. Of course it is.
Re: Interpretation of Overtime Law
Your interpretation and calculations are correct. Your are entitled to OT for any time worked over 8 hours per day AND/OR over 40 hours per week. Thus, you are entitled to OT for work 2 hours each of the first four days and then any hours worked on the fifth day (because you are already over 40 hours) Feel free to contact with any further questions.
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