CDF Partner Nancy "Niki" Lubrano recently authored the article "Navigating Through California's Wage and Hour Laws - What Employers Should Know" for HR.com. In this article, Niki summarizes: 1) California laws regarding timekeeping, recording, workdays and workweeks, 2) California laws regarding rest breaks, 3) California laws regarding meal breaks, 4) California laws regarding overtime, and 5) electronic pay stub rules.
Excerpt:
"Navigating through California’s wage and hour laws is a daunting task for employers. The following summarizes California’s requirements relating to meal and rest breaks, overtime pay,
timekeeping, work weeks, and paychecks in an effort to assist in ensuring compliance with California laws.Summary of California Laws Regarding Timekeeping/Recording and Workdays/Workweeks
Every employer must keep accurate time records with respect to when non-exempt employees begin and end each work period, meal period, and split-shift intervals. It is not permissible under state law simply to rely on work schedules posted in advance. Employers also must keep a record of the applicable rates of pay as well as the total hours worked in a payroll period.
Timekeeping and Recording Guidelines: Employers must maintain accurate records of their employees’ hours of work and compensation. Failure to maintain accurate records of
hours of work and compensation will make it difficult for an employer to disprove what an employee claims to have been his/her actual work hours.The state Labor Commissioner uses the U.S. Department of Labor practice of rounding employees' hours to the nearest five minutes when calculating the number of hours worked. However, for enforcement purposes, the Labor Commissioner will accept the practice of computing working time by rounding to the nearest five minutes, or one-tenth or one-quarter of an hour. These rounding methods can be used, provided that they are used in such a manner that will not result, over a period of time, in failure to compensate the employees properly for all time they have actually worked.
Workday: The workday must be defined by the employer. A workday is any consecutive 24-hour period starting at the same time each calendar day. If an employer does not define
the workday, the California Labor Commissioner will presume a workday of 12:01 a.m. to midnight.Workweek: A workweek must be defined by the employer. If an employer does not define the workweek, the California Labor Commissioner will presume a workweek of Sunday through
Saturday. The definition of workday and workweek are important because they affect the payment of overtime compensation."
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Niki Lubrano
Experienced in defending against all types of employment claims through trial on behalf of employers of all sizes. Lubrano takes an aggressive defense approach whether the case involves a single plaintiff alleging wrongful…
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