In California, employees are entitled to both daily and weekly overtime wages, whichever is greater.  Pursuant to California Labor Code section 510 and 1194, California employees are entitled to one and a half times their regular wage for all hours worked over eight in a day, and double their regular wage for all hours worked over twelve in a day. Additionally, if you work seven days in a row, on your seventh day you must be paid at least one and a half times your regular wage for your first eight hours of work, and double your regular wage for all hours worked over eight.

Even if you do not work over eight hours in a day, if you work over forty hours in a week, you are still entitled to one and a half times your regular wage.

There are some exceptions to the above general rules.  For instance, some employees are considered “exempt” (e.g., doctors and lawyers) and are not entitled to overtime.  Misclassification of non-exempt employees as exempt employees is a very common source of overtime violations. If you would like to know if you are entitled to overtime, contact me for a free evaluation of your case.