November 3rd, 2007 
James PetersAs the end of the year approached, Governor Schwarzenegger vetoed several employee protections the California legislature passed in 2007. While he felt it was important to give full protections to military spouses whose husbands or wives were on leave, he deemed other employees to be less deserving of similar rights.
This is the first in a series of posts on several important employee rights bills that the legislature passed this… Continue reading
February 19th, 2007 James PetersMy employer pays me at one rate of pay for my regular work, but then pays me minimum wage for travel and attending seminars after-hours. How is my overtime supposed to be calculated?
A: Calculating overtime for an hourly employee who is paid at two separate hourly rates is a fairly complicated analysis and does not come up very often, but hopefully the explanation… Continue reading
Posted in Wages : Overtime 
Tags: California Employment Law, Commissions, Minimum Wage, Q&A, Wages : Overtime, Wages and Hours 
13 Comments » January 21st, 2007 James PetersAlthough this series on commissioned salespeople and overtime might not be the most exciting employment law topic, for those with large unpaid claims, it probably is the most exciting… Continue reading
January 21st, 2007 James PetersEven if you meet the criteria to be classified as “exempt” from overtime pay as a commissioned salesperson, the business your employer is engaged in can also automatically qualify you for overtime, regardless of how you are paid.
Commissioned salespeople can only be “exempt” if their employer is a “retail or service establishment”. Whether your employer qualifies is very complicated… Continue reading
January 18th, 2007 James PetersIn order for an employee to qualify as “exempt” from overtime pay as a commissioned salesperson, the main test that must be met is the employee MUST make more than 50% of their wages in the form of “commissions”. This test is not as straightforward as it might sound at first.
What are “commissions”?
Many employees receive what their employers call “commissions” as part of their wages each pay period, but… Continue reading
January 18th, 2007 James PetersThis is the first in a series of posts dealing specifically with the issue of commissioned salespeople and unpaid overtime. This is an area most employees, many employers, and even a large percentage of California attorneys do not understand correctly.
Top salespeople often make a very comfortable living and never even think about whether they are legally entitled to overtime pay.
Usually only salespeople who are wrongfully terminated or seek legal… Continue reading
January 11th, 2007 James PetersOn January 1, 2007, California increased its minimum wage from $6.75 to $7.50 per hour.
Putting aside the fact that an extra 75 cents for each hour worked really has no effect on people’s lives (just $1,560 per year before taxes), there are some “side effects” of this increase employees should be aware of.
Background
Under California law, the presumption is that all employees must receive overtime pay at 1.5 times their hourly Continue reading
RSS Feed