As 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 [...]

Q: My 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?
–Bad at Math (CA)
A: Calculating overtime for an hourly employee who is paid at two separate hourly rates is [...]

Although 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. I leave this topic with the following points.
Minimum Wage Test
The final test that must be met before commissioned salespeople can be considered “exempt” from overtime [...]

Even 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 [...]

In 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 [...]

This 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 [...]

On 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, [...]