Does anyone know California labor laws well?

[baseline bum]

I'm not sure if I'm legally entitled to make a claim for double time at my job. I worked 84 hours in 8 consecutive days, but not 7 in a week as far as pay periods are concerned. I know California law requires double-time for any time after 8 hours on a 7th consecutive day, but I don't know if it has to be a 7th day in one pay period, and whether it requires anything for an 8th consecutive day. I get the feeling my employer, Activision, is trying to go EA on me, and screw me out of what's rightfully mine (I've already had to complaiin to my boss multiple times about getting paid late and/or never for my OT in the past).

[missmyzte]

I know California labor laws pretty well due to my job.

This should help you:

For more than 8 hours in a day, an employee must be paid 1.5 times his or her usual rate, and for over 12 hours in a day must be paid twice the standard rate. In addition, if an employee works 7 consecutive days, they must be paid 1.5 times the usual rate for the first 8 hours, and doubletime for any hours over 8. The 7th consecutive day law applies regardless of how many hours an employee worked in the preceding six days. Also, any hours over 40 in a week must be paid at time and a half.

http://www.workforcesoftware.com/labor-laws/ca_laws.html

So, if you worked 8 consecutive days, regardless of where those days fall on the pay period, you are entitled to time and a half (not double time) for the 7th and 8th day. If you worked more than 8 hours on the 7th and 8th day, those hours would count as double time.

[baseline bum]

Thanks, misti.

[baseline bum]

One other quick question. There's a chance I end up working 16-18 hour days as we're trying to make a code release scheduled late next week. I've heard there is another pay level at 16 hours per day. Is that true?

[missmyzte]

No, I've never heard of more than double-time. However, make sure you are getting all of your required lunch breaks - that's another popular California labor law violation. You must take a break within your first 5 hours of work for any work shift longer than 6 hours. Your second lunch must be taken within the first 10 hours of any work shift longer than 12 hours (and so on). If you take a late lunch or don't take a lunch, they are required to pay you one hour regular pay. If you have more than one lunch violation in a single day, you still only get one hour of pay. If you have a lunch violation on mulitple days, you get one hour per day that you have a violation.

[Guru of Nothing]

I hear the military pays you for 24 hours a day, whether you work that much, or not.

[missmyzte]

^^^ Difference between hourly/salary

[baseline bum]

Misti, let me see if I have this right...

Assume I worked Wed Sept 13th, Thur Sept 14th, Fri Sept 15th, Sat Sept 16th, Sun Sept 17th (all 10.5 hour shifts)

Assuming my day off is Thursday, then my timesheet for this week (all 10.5 hour shifts) should then be:

Mon Sept 18th:
8 hrs @ REGULAR, 2.5 hrs @ OT

Tue Sept 19th:
8 hrs @ OT, 2.5 hrs @ DOUBLE (7th day in a row)

Wed Sept 20th:
8 hrs @ OT, 2.5 hrs @ DOUBLE (8th day in a row)

Fri Sept 22nd:
8.5 hrs @ REGULAR, 2.0 hrs @ OT (2.0 hrs over 40)

Sat Sept 23rd:
10.5 hrs @ OT (over 40 hours)

Sun Sept 24th:
10.5 hrs @ OT (over 40 hours)

---------------------------------------------------

TOTAL:

16.5 hours @ REGULAR
41.5 hours @ OT
5.00 hours @ DOUBLE
-----------
63.0 hours

Is that correct?

[missmyzte]

Misti, let me see if I have this right...

Assume I worked Wed Sept 13th, Thur Sept 14th, Fri Sept 15th, Sat Sept 16th, Sun Sept 17th (all 10.5 hour shifts)

Assuming my day off is Thursday, then my timesheet for this week (all 10.5 hour shifts) should then be:

Mon Sept 18th:
8 hrs @ REGULAR, 2.5 hrs @ OT

Tue Sept 19th:
8 hrs @ OT, 2.5 hrs @ DOUBLE (7th day in a row)

Wed Sept 20th:
8 hrs @ OT, 2.5 hrs @ DOUBLE (8th day in a row)

Fri Sept 22nd:
8.5 hrs @ REGULAR, 2.0 hrs @ OT (2.0 hrs over 40)

Sat Sept 23rd:
10.5 hrs @ OT (over 40 hours)

Sun Sept 24th:
10.5 hrs @ OT (over 40 hours)

---------------------------------------------------

TOTAL:

16.5 hours @ REGULAR
41.5 hours @ OT
5.00 hours @ DOUBLE
-----------
63.0 hours

Is that correct?
Not quite, OT does not count towards the 40 hours that takes you into OT. This is assuming your workweek is Monday - Sunday (as opposed to the usual Sunday - Saturday).
Here's how it should break down:

Mon Sept 18th:
8 hrs @ REGULAR, 2.5 hrs @ OT

Tue Sept 19th:
8 hrs @ OT, 2.5 hrs @ DOUBLE (7th day in a row)

Wed Sept 20th:
8 hrs @ OT, 2.5 hrs @ DOUBLE (8th day in a row)

Fri Sept 22nd:
8 hrs @ REGULAR, 2.5 hrs @ OT

Sat Sept 23rd:
8 hrs @ REGULAR, 2.5 hrs @ OT

Sun Sept 24th:
8 hrs @ REGULAR, 2.5 hrs @ OT

---------------------------------------------------

TOTAL:

32 hours @ REGULAR
26 hours @ OT
5.00 hours @ DOUBLE
-----------
63.0 hours

[johnsmith]

Christ, you're working too much. Find a new job.

[E20]

Christ, you're working too much. Find a new job.
I bet he gets paid bank though. BUMP :lol

[baseline bum]

Activision tells me they are only required to pay double time for anything over the 8th hour only on a 7th day in a pay period, and any day I work more than 12 hours.

[SequSpur]

dude that's f in hostile!

[missmyzte]

Activision tells me they are only required to pay double time for anything over the 8th hour only on a 7th day in a pay period, and any day I work more than 12 hours.
Well, they're wrong. California penalties for paying employees incorrect wages are steep. Print out the laws from California DOL's site (DOL = Department of Labor) and take it to HR, they have to pay you correctly. An audit from the DOL would end up costing them dearly.

[The sone]

i know a few things...mexicans must work for less than min. wage and not complain!...is that good?


uhh...what flavor are you?

[baseline bum]

Call us spoiled? Americans are the hardest workers in the first world. We have the least vacation time and all work long hours. Of course I'm going to exercise my full rights to be paid in full when my company is working me such heavy hours. I didn't work those 8 straight days by choice.

[ducks]

just be careful bb
they may want to fire you as soon as they can later
yeah you can sue them later but it takes time and you could be broke by then

[missmyzte]

California has the toughest laws protecting workers, sometimes it's a pain and sometimes it's really good. Why protect a big company trying to screw you out of what you've rightfully earned? They owe baseline bum this money, they should pay it. There are also laws protecting him against retaliation from his company for fighting for his rights.

[baseline bum]

It looks like Activision is adhering to the law. This is what I found at the website for the California Division of Labor Standards Enforcement (http://www.dir.ca.gov/dlse/DLSE-Publications.htm)

§ 500. Definitions
For purposes of this chapter, the following terms shall have the following meanings:
(a) "Workday" and "day" mean any consecutive 24-hour period commencing at the same time each calendar day.
(b) "Workweek" and "week" mean any seven consecutive days, starting with the same calendar day each week. "Workweek" is a fixed and regularly recurring period of 168 hours, seven consecutive 24-hour periods.


§ 510. “Day's work”; Hours
(a) Eight hours of labor constitutes a day's work. Any work in excess of eight hours in one workday and any work in excess of 40 hours in any one workweek and the first eight hours worked on the seventh day of work in any one workweek shall be compensated at the rate of no less than one and one-half times the regular rate of pay for an employee. Any work in excess of 12 hours in one day shall be compensated at the rate of no less than twice the regular rate of pay for an employee. In addition, any work in excess of eight hours on any seventh day of a workweek shall be compensated at the rate of no less than twice the regular rate of pay of an mployee. Nothing in this section requires an employer to combine more than one rate of overtime compensation in order to calculate the amount to be paid to an employee for any hour of overtime work. The requirements of this section do not apply to the payment of overtime compensation to an employee working pursuant to any of the following:
(1) An alternative workweek schedule adopted pursuant to Section 511.
(2) An alternative workweek schedule adopted pursuant to a collective bargaining agreement pursuant to Section 514.
(3) An alternative workweek schedule to which this chapter is inapplicable pursuant to Section 554.
(b) Time spent commuting to and from the first place at which an employee's presence is required by the employer shall not be considered to be a part of a day's work, when the employee commutes in a vehicle that is owned, leased, or subsidized by the employer and is used for the purpose of ridesharing, as defined in Section 522 of the
Vehicle Code.
(c) This section does not affect, change, or limit an employer's liability under the workers' compensation law.

[velik_m]

Call us spoiled? Americans are the hardest workers in the first world. We have the least vacation time and all work long hours. Of course I'm going to exercise my full rights to be paid in full when my company is working me such heavy hours. I didn't work those 8 straight days by choice.

That just makes you least effiecent workers in first world. ;)

A little revolution does wonders for worker's rights.
:madrun

[missmyzte]

It looks like Activision is adhering to the law. This is what I found at the website for the California Division of Labor Standards Enforcement (http://www.dir.ca.gov/dlse/DLSE-Publications.htm)

§ 500. Definitions
For purposes of this chapter, the following terms shall have the following meanings:
(a) "Workday" and "day" mean any consecutive 24-hour period commencing at the same time each calendar day.
(b) "Workweek" and "week" mean any seven consecutive days, starting with the same calendar day each week. "Workweek" is a fixed and regularly recurring period of 168 hours, seven consecutive 24-hour periods.


§ 510. “Day's work”; Hours
(a) Eight hours of labor constitutes a day's work. Any work in excess of eight hours in one workday and any work in excess of 40 hours in any one workweek and the first eight hours worked on the seventh day of work in any one workweek shall be compensated at the rate of no less than one and one-half times the regular rate of pay for an employee. Any work in excess of 12 hours in one day shall be compensated at the rate of no less than twice the regular rate of pay for an employee. In addition, any work in excess of eight hours on any seventh day of a workweek shall be compensated at the rate of no less than twice the regular rate of pay of an mployee. Nothing in this section requires an employer to combine more than one rate of overtime compensation in order to calculate the amount to be paid to an employee for any hour of overtime work. The requirements of this section do not apply to the payment of overtime compensation to an employee working pursuant to any of the following:
(1) An alternative workweek schedule adopted pursuant to Section 511.
(2) An alternative workweek schedule adopted pursuant to a collective bargaining agreement pursuant to Section 514.
(3) An alternative workweek schedule to which this chapter is inapplicable pursuant to Section 554.
(b) Time spent commuting to and from the first place at which an employee's presence is required by the employer shall not be considered to be a part of a day's work, when the employee commutes in a vehicle that is owned, leased, or subsidized by the employer and is used for the purpose of ridesharing, as defined in Section 522 of the
Vehicle Code.
(c) This section does not affect, change, or limit an employer's liability under the workers' compensation law.
Re-read this and especially the part I put in bold, they do have to pay you OT for the first 8 hours on the 7th day (besides the fact that it's over 40 hours for the week so it'd be OT anyway).

[CavsSuperFan]

It is a little known fact that CA labor laws do not apply to farm workers, film industry workers & certain branches of defense workers.... :smokin

[baseline bum]

Re-read this and especially the part I put in bold, they do have to pay you OT for the first 8 hours on the 7th day (besides the fact that it's over 40 hours for the week so it'd be OT anyway).

Maybe I'm interpreting this wrong, but our workweek begins on Monday @ 9AM every week (as far as payroll is concerned), and according to that definition, only Sunday could be a 7th day of a workweek.

I'll probably end up working 13 or 14 straight to get one of our projects submitted next week, and I'd love to get ot and double time on the last six instead of just this Sunday (I'm on the 7th today), but that passage is pretty clear in defining our workweek. :(

Is there some loophole or something that I'm missing? By the definition of workweek the California Division of Labor Standards Enforcement gives, the phrase "the seventh day of work in any one workweek" seems like it can only be a Sunday on a workweek that begins on Monday.

[baseline bum]

It is a little known fact that CA labor laws do not apply to farm workers, film industry workers & certain branches of defense workers.... :smokin

Also, an experienced computer programmer is not required to get OT in California if he makes more than $41.00 an hour. This rule applies only to programmers.

Fucking Steve Jobs. :cuss

[missmyzte]

Gotcha, I see what you're saying now. I'd have to double-check, but I could have sworn that it was mandatory OT for 7 days in a row, regardless of where it falls on the workweek. I remember it being a big deal during a DOL audit a few years back.