What are the rules for paying overtime?

In California, the rules for paying overtime are covered by wage and hour law. California requires employers to pay overtime to all nonexempt employees who work more than eight hours in a day or 40 hours in a week. Non-exempt employees must be paid one and a half times their regular hourly rate for any time worked over the eight-hour day or 40-hour week limit. For example, if a nonexempt employee works 50 hours in a week, their employer must pay them for 10 hours of overtime at 1.5 times their regular rate. California also requires workers to be paid double their regular rate for any time worked over 12 hours in a day or seven days in a row. This is called double time. For example, if a nonexempt employee works 14 hours in a day, they must be paid for two hours of double time at twice their regular hourly rate. Finally, California employers are required to provide employees with meal and rest periods. Employees must receive at least one 30-minute uninterrupted meal period for every five hours of work, and must receive rest periods of at least 10 minutes for every four hours of work. If employers fail to provide these meal and rest periods, employees may be entitled to receive an additional hour of pay for their overtime hours.

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