Legal Question in Employment Law in California

If you are an hourly (non-exempt) employee who is required to attend a training session you should be paid you usual wage for the time spent while under the control of the employer. It does not matter that the employer is a non-profit.

I disagree partially with Mr. Kirschbaum. As long as it is for work not yet performed, an employer is free to lower your hourly rate as long as it is not below minimum wage (or double minimum wage x 8 hours for each day, if your are an exempt employee and the employer wishes to keep you in that status). So they can pay you minimum wage for a training, and then raise it back to your regular rate. It's a dirty trick, but legal. The only thing that is illegal in that regard is trying to retroactively pay less than the agreed rate for work already done. Also, though implied in his answer, it should be stated expressly that if you are an exempt employee they can definitely make you attend without additional pay or with just a stipend.