Overtime and Double Time: Everything an Employee/Employer Needs to Know

Regarding the payment of employees, California law has various conditions that must be met by the employer. Failure to address two of these requirements, overtime and double time pay, can lead to both an underpaid employee and significant liability on the part of the employer. Thus, it is imperative to have a comprehensive understanding of what overtime/double time are, how they are calculated, and when they must be paid.

Who can receive overtime/double time?

♦ In California, only nonexempt employees over the age of 18 receive overtime/double time pay.

Who cannot receive overtime/double time?

♦ There are many groups that are exempted from overtime/double time benefits, such as executives, administrative employees, and professional employees who earn twice the current minimum wage.

♦ The State of California’s Department of Industrial Relation website has a list of exemptions from the overtime laws that should be referenced if one is unsure about an employee’s status.

When is overtime/double time applicable?

♦ Overtime

o All hours worked over 8 hours up to and including the 12th hour in a single

workday

o The first 8 hours worked on the seventh consecutive day of work in a workweek

o All hours worked over 40 hours in any workweek

♦ Double Time

o All hours worked over 12 hours in a workday

o All hours worked over 8 hours on the seventh consecutive day of work in a workweek

How do you calculate overtime/double time?

♦ Overtime is calculated as 1.5x the regular hourly rate of pay of the employee

♦ Double time is calculated as 2x the regular hourly rate of pay of the employee

Below is a table illustrating the overtime/double time rules for seven days of consecutive work:

Overtime/Double-Time Table

Since most people learn better with the use of examples, let’s look at two hypothetical examples of employees to demonstrate these rules better.

Example #1:

John is a non-exempt employee who gets paid $15 an hour at his retail job. For the most recent workweek, he worked 9 hours every single day.

Applying this information to the table, this is how his pay would be calculated for the week:

Because John worked seven consecutive days, he qualifies for overtime for any hours worked on the sixth day, and double time for any work done past 8 hours on the seventh day.

Now adding up all his hours and multiplying it by the correct hourly rate, John’s total pay for the week is calculated as follows:

⬧    Regular Time: 40 hrs x $15 = $600

⬧    Overtime: 18 hrs x $22.5 = $405

⬧    Double Time: 1 hrs x $30 = $30

⬧    Total: $1035

Example #2:

Emma is a non-exempt employee who gets paid $15 an hour at the same retail job as John. For the most recent workweek, she worked 9 hours every day except for Saturday, which she had off.

Applying this information to the table, this is how her pay would be calculated for the week:

Because Emma didn’t work seven consecutive days like John, she doesn’t qualify for the overtime or double time benefits that John received on Saturday and Sunday.

However, notice how despite this, Emma still qualifies because she worked over 40 hours in the week. As a result, she is eligible for an extra 9 hours of overtime pay.

Now adding up all her hours and multiplying it by the correct hourly rate, Emma’s total pay for the week is calculated as follows:

⬧    Regular Time: 40 hrs x $15 = $600

⬧    Overtime: 14 hrs x $22.5 = $315

⬧    Double Time: 0 hrs x $30 = $0

⬧    Total: $915

While this blog post provides general information that might be useful, the best way to receive tailored legal advice is to contact an attorney. To schedule a meeting with one, please contact us at (408) 599-3191 for a confidential case evaluation.