Check if you qualify for California overtime pay in 2026, including daily, weekly, and seventh-day rules. See exemption tests, salary thresholds, union contract exceptions, and steps to recover unpaid wages with penalties and filing deadlines.
By Brad Nakase, Attorney
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Overtime pay is rarely straightforward in practice. Many workers assume that being salaried automatically means no overtime, while others trust whatever label their employer gives them. In California, that assumption can cost you real money.
The rules around overtime, exemptions, and workweeks are strict, technical, and often misunderstood—sometimes deliberately. This guide breaks down how overtime actually works in 2026, who qualifies, and who doesn’t. More importantly, it explains how to spot red flags, understanding when “exempt” is just a word, not a legal reality.
Overtime pay = 1.5 times your normal rate. Most people get it, though a few specific jobs are exempt.
You usually qualify for that “time and a half” pay in three different ways.
Just a heads-up: your boss gets to decide when the “workweek” starts, so it might not be a standard Monday.
Then there is “double time,” which is 2 times your pay. In California, this happens when:
(Different rules might apply if you’re a domestic worker or on a farm)
You’re usually owed overtime if you’re pulling more than 8 hours a day in California. Overtime isn’t a guarantee for everyone. There are specific groups that just don’t qualify under the standard rules.
It’s a bit different for farm workers or domestic staff—you still get overtime, but the math and the rules follow a different set of guidelines.
There are a few other rare exceptions out there, too. The website of the Department of Labor Standards Enforcement has a comprehensive list.
Understanding “Who is exempt from overtime pay in California?” depends on what you actually do at work & how much you’re paid.
You don’t always lose out on overtime when you are salaried. It truly boils down to your job duties and compensation.
If you’re a non-exempt employee, overtime rules still apply to you. Salary or not, you’re entitled to extra pay when you work long hours.
Some employees are exempt—typically executives, administrators, or professionals. Those roles don’t qualify for overtime. But here’s the catch: your employer doesn’t get to decide this just by slapping the word “exempt” on your job title.
In California, the law is stricter.
To be legally classified as exempt:
Miss either one? Then the exemption doesn’t hold.
If your salary falls below that threshold, you cannot legally be treated as exempt—no matter what your employer calls you. In that case, you may be owed overtime pay, even if you’ve been receiving a salary this whole time.
The real question isn’t your job title. It’s “who is exempt from overtime pay in California?” under the state’s strict legal tests.
If you’re in a union, the standard California overtime laws usually take a backseat to your contract. That is, as long as your collective bargaining agreement (CBA) checks three specific boxes.
First, the contract has to clearly spell out your wages, hours, and working conditions. Second, it must actually include its own “premium” rates for overtime. Finally, there’s a pay floor: your regular hourly rate can’t be less than 30% more than the state minimum wage.
If your contract doesn’t hit those marks, or if you feel like you’re getting shortchanged on your extra hours, your best bet isn’t a state agency—it’s your union steward. They are the ones who can actually push back. They make sure that the company is following the agreement.
Union workers often ask: “Who is exempt from overtime pay in California?” The answer depends on whether their collective bargaining agreement.
The answer is no. You are physically at the office for 8.5 hours (9:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.), but you really only “worked” for 8.
The deal in California is that bosses don’t have to pay you for your 30-minute lunch break. It doesn’t count toward your 8-hour daily total. You’d actually have to be on the clock for more than 8 hours of real work to trigger overtime.
There is one big catch, though: the timing. California is super strict about when you get to eat. If you’re a non-exempt worker pulling a shift longer than 5 hours, your boss has to give you that 30-minute meal window before you finish your fifth hour. If they make you work through that five-hour mark without a break, they might actually owe you a “meal period penalty”—basically an extra hour of pay at your normal rate just for the inconvenience.
In California, your pay structure—whether it’s piece rate, commission, or a daily rate—doesn’t change the fact that you are likely owed overtime. If you are a non-exempt employee, you still get that extra pay once you pass 8 hours in a day, 40 hours in a week, or hit that 7th consecutive workday.
Even if you are on a fixed salary, your employer can’t claim that the salary “covers” your overtime hours. Unless you are legally “exempt” (meaning you meet the specific salary and high-level duty tests), your boss has to calculate a regular hourly rate from your pay and then pay you the 1.5x or 2x premium on top of it for any extra time.
Basically, the law looks at your total earnings for the week and divides them by your hours to find your “regular rate.” That rate is then used to figure out your overtime. You can’t be “contracted out” of this right—even if you agreed to a flat daily rate, you’re still entitled to more money if you work a 12-hour day.
When people ask, “Who is exempt from overtime pay in California?”, the answer always comes back to duties first.
You don’t get overtime just because the calendar says it’s a holiday. There isn’t a law in California that forces a boss to pay you extra just because you’re working on Christmas or the Fourth of July.
If your boss wants to pay you “time and a half” for holidays to be nice or to keep people from calling out, that’s up to them. However, if they did promise holiday pay—maybe it’s in your handbook or your offer letter—then they have to stick to it. If they make that promise and then stiff you on the paycheck, you can actually go to the Labor Commissioner to get that money.
Holiday hours are treated just like any other day unless you have a contract. You only hit overtime if working that holiday pushes you past 8 hours for the day (40 hours for the week).
No. You don’t automatically get overtime by picking up an extra shift on your day off. If you go in for 8 hours but your total for the week stays at 40 or under, it’s just regular pay.
The overtime kicks in once that “day off” shift pushes you over the 40-hour limit for the week. For example, if you already hit 40 hours between Monday and Friday, then any time you put in on Saturday has to be paid at that 1.5x rate.
Keep an eye on your 7th day. If you already work six days a week and your boss calls you in for that final seventh day, California law says you get overtime for that entire shift. This is regardless of how many hours you logged earlier in the week.
A “no overtime” rule doesn’t mean a thing when it comes to your paycheck. In California, overtime is a right, not a suggestion. You can’t “agree” to skip it. Your boss can’t just decide it doesn’t apply to their business. If they let you work those extra hours—or even if they just look the other way while you do it—they are legally required to pay you the higher rate.
The law still protects you even if your supervisor tells you to clock out after eight hours. Any extra time you put in has to be paid. You completed the work, so the employer is obligated to compensate you for every additional minute, no exceptions.
The “trap” is that while they have to pay you, they don’t have to keep you. They can still discipline or even fire you for ignoring a direct order about your schedule.
In short, they can’t use a “no overtime” policy as an excuse to withhold your wages, but they can definitely use it as a reason to let you go for breaking company rules.
It doesn’t matter what you signed or said. Even if you told your boss, “Hey, just pay me my normal rate for everything,” you are still legally owed overtime. In California, you aren’t allowed to “waive” your rights to that extra pay.
Basically, an agreement to skip overtime is worthless in the eyes of the law. If you put in the hours, your employer has to pay the premium period. You can’t opt out of this protection even if you want to.
You first have to know exactly when your boss says the “workweek” starts and ends. It’s usually from Sunday to Saturday. They can pick any seven-day stretch they want, though.
The Workweek Trap
This timing is everything. Look at the difference:
The Actual Math
Once you’ve got your calendar sorted, here is how the pay rates break down in California:
Time and a Half:
Double Time:
Step 1: Call them out (with receipts)
First, just talk to your employer. Sometimes it really is a “payroll messed up” situation. But don’t just go in there guessing—bring a list of the exact days and hours you worked extra. If you’ve been keeping a private notebook or a calendar with your hours, show it to them. It’s way harder for them to blow you off when you have your own data.
Step 2: Get some backup
Reach out to a credible lawyer. Don’t panic if the conversation goes nowhere.
Step 3: State claim
This is the big one. In California, you file a “wage claim” with the Labor Commissioner.
The upside: It’s free, and you don’t need a lawyer to do it. It’s basically a system built for workers to get paid without having to go to “real” court.
The limit: There isn’t one. Unlike Small Claims (which caps at $12,500), the Labor Commissioner can help you get back every cent you’re owed, no matter how much it is.
Step 4: The Federal route
You may report the company to the U.S. Department of Labor. They handle the federal 40-hour workweek rules. It’s an extra layer of heat you can put on a shady employer.
Pro Tip: From this second forward, start your own log. Don’t trust the company’s app or punch clock. Write down your start time, when you ate lunch, & when you left every single day. Your personal notes are very important if this ever goes to a hearing.
Yes, if your boss skips out on overtime, they don’t just owe you the missing wages—they can be hit with extra penalties that go straight into your pocket. Here is how that works in California.
1. Liquidated Damages (Double Pay)
You can ask for “liquidated damages” when an employer fails to pay you at least the minimum wage for every hour you work. This is essentially a penalty equal to the amount of unpaid minimum wages. This effectively doubles what you’re owed for those hours.
2. Waiting Time Penalties (The “30-Day” Rule)
If you no longer work for that employer, the penalties get much steeper. If they “willfully” failed to pay your full final wages (including that missing overtime) when you left, you are entitled to a waiting time penalty.
Calculation: You get a full day of wages for every day the employer makes you wait (a maximum of 30 days).
3. Interest and Legal Fees
On top of everything else, your employer has to pay 10% interest per year on the wages they kept from you. Also, if you have to hire a lawyer to sue them for overtime and you win, the judge can force your employer to pay your attorney’s fees and court costs.
You typically have a three-year window to file a claim for unpaid overtime in California. You can generally reach back and collect the money you were owed for any work done in the last 36 months if you file today.
However, there is a way to go back even further:
The 4-Year Option: If you file a lawsuit in court (rather than just going through the Labor Commissioner), a lawyer can often use California’s “Unfair Competition Law” to reach back four years. This law argues that by not paying overtime, your employer gained an unfair business advantage over companies that actually follow the law.
The Written Contract Rule: If you have an actual written employment contract that mentions your pay, you also have four years to file for a breach of that contract.
One warning: If your claim is based on a verbal promise (an “oral contract”) to pay you more than the minimum wage, you only have two years to take action.
Even though you have a few years to act, you should start as soon as possible. Memories fade, managers move on, and companies can “lose” records. The more recent the hours are, the easier they are to prove.
Overtime rules aren’t meant to be confusing, even though they often feel that way in real life. The basics stay the same: if you put in the hours and you don’t truly meet an exemption, you should be paid extra. It doesn’t matter what your job title says, how your pay is labeled, or whether your boss calls it “part of the job.” The law looks at what actually happened, not how it was explained to you.
If your pay doesn’t add up, trust that instinct. Start tracking your time. Ask questions. Push back when something feels off. A lot of wage problems don’t come from one big mistake, but from small unpaid hours piling up quietly.
Overtime isn’t a bonus, and it isn’t optional. It’s money you already earned. And you’re allowed to ask for it.
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