California Labor Laws - Manage and Comply - time and attendance software

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California Labor Laws - Manage and Comply

Among the states, California has uniquely stringent labor laws. The following page summarizes some of those laws, and shows how WorkForce Software is able to deal with complex regulations.

Overtime Laws

For more than 8 hours in a day, an employee must be paid 1.5 times his or her usual rate, and for over 12 hours in a day must be paid twice the standard rate. In addition, if an employee works 7 consecutive days, they must be paid 1.5 times the usual rate for the first 8 hours, and doubletime for any hours over 8. The 7th consecutive day law applies regardless of how many hours an employee worked in the preceding six days. Also, any hours over 40 in a week must be paid at time and a half.

Overtime Exempt Employees

Certain employees are exempt from overtime laws, including those that spend at least 50% of their working time performing work that is primarily intellectual, managerial, or creative, and requires the exercise of discretion and independent judgment.

Alternative Work Schedules

If two-thirds of the workforce agrees on an alternative work schedule (as decided by a secret ballot election), then a schedule may be implemented of up to 10 hours in a day, but no more than 40 hours per week. If an employee cannot work the alternative schedule, however, the employer is required to make a reasonable effort to accommodate the employee.

If an employee submits a written request to work between 8 and 10 hours per day, then that schedule may be implemented.

Make-Up Time

If an employee misses work time due to a personal obligation, and decides to make up the lost time later in the same week, the employer is not obligated to pay overtime if the employee doesn't work more than 11 hours on the make-up day. Granting an employee's request to work make-up time is the employer's sole discretion.

Meal Periods

If an employee works more than five hours, an unpaid thirty minute meal period is required. The exception to this policy is if the employee works less than six hours, and both the employer and the employee agree to waive the meal period.

If an employee works more than 10 hours, a second thirty minute meal period is mandated. Again, however, if the employee works less than 12 hours, and both the employer and the employee agree, the second meal period may be waived as well.

The WorkForce Software Solution

The WorkForce Software timesheet system can handle almost any problem that you face in complying with California labor laws. The table below summarizes the problems you face in implementing the regulations and how our system can solve these problems.

Problem	Solution
Need to separate the exempt and non-exempt employees	Our solution lets you group employees into policy groups. You would set up groups for both exempt and non-exempt employees.
Alternative schedules	You can set up multiple schedules of any duration or frequency, and easily apply them to groups of employees.
Calculation of overtime pay	Formulas in our system allow an unlimited flexibility in determining hours that count toward overtime and applicable pay codes, as well as support for the 7th consecutive day law.
Calculation of overtime for semi-monthly or alternative schedule employees	Regardless of the pay frequency, our software will apply labor laws correctly. If you use a semi-monthly or monthly pay frequency, the software will revert back to the last week of the prior period to determine if overtime is due to an employee.

Sources and Additional Resources

For the complete text of California labor laws, see California Labor Laws.

Finally, the California Employment Development Department has information that may be valuable to employers and employees alike.

Also, see our page on FLSA guidelines for a summary of labor labors that apply in every state.

Notice: The information above and the references are provided “as-is” without any representation as to their accuracy or applicability to your specific situation. We recommend that you seek competent legal advice for all employment issues.