As explained in various posts on this blog, California employees are presumed to deserve overtime pay for any hours worked over 40 in one week or 8 in one day, even if they are paid a salary, unless the employer can prove that an exemption to that rule applies.

The “computer software professionals” exemption is rarely used successfully by employers in overtime cases and such employees are usually non-exempt employees…

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?

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…

Yesterday, it was reported that Wal-Mart had reached a settlement with the Department of Labor to settle unpaid overtime claims by its employees.

The odd thing about this settlement is that Wal-Mart turned itself in to the Department of Labor and negotiated a quick settlement with the government and the employees had no say in what they settled for.

Apparently, the settlement included absolutely NO penalties, NO interest…

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…

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 employer qualifies is very complicated…

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 receive what their employers call “commissions” as part of their wages each pay period, but…

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 are legally entitled to overtime pay.

Usually only salespeople who are wrongfully terminated or seek legal…

Employers and employees are often confused about how many hours an employee must work before overtime must be paid. California law is more complicated than most states on this point, but it is also much more generous to employees than most.

Employers must pay all non-exempt employees overtime at the rate of time-and-one-half for all hours worked:

1) Over 40 in one week,

2) Over 8 in one day, and…

Employers, either through ignorance or intentionally, often make big mistakes in calculating overtime rates of pay for their employees and these often turn into big claims by the employees for unpaid wages later on.

To calculate an employee’s “overtime rate” of pay, you first have to calculate their “regular rate” of pay, which is the number multiplied by 1.5 to get an “overtime rate”…

Defense attorneys for large corporations in California have been trumpeting the case of In re Farmers Ins. Exch., 466 F.3d 853 (9th Cir. 2006) for the proposition that insurance claims adjusters are now exempt employees who are not entitled to overtime pay. However, this is not true when it comes to employees in California.

Although the case is a 9th Circuit opinion, the case was brought in…

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, the presumption is that all employees must receive overtime pay at 1.5 times their hourly