Q: I am a salaried employee with the addition of "straight time overtime" for work past 40 per week. Is this legal in CA?
I was an hourly employee. My company was bought out by a larger corporation. The new company would only offer me a salary, vice hourly pay. I refused as my job requires long hours during certain projects. I negotiated my base salary with an agreement to be paid "straight time overtime" for all hours greater than 40 per week. I am an exempt employee that is offered overtime as described earlier, I don't see this situation anywhere in the CA labor law website. The new company is from out of state and I believe they may be wrong by not paying overtime after 8 hours per day and also not paying at 1.5 times wage instead of straight time.
A:
A properly characterized exempt employee is not entitled to overtime premiums - ever. If you are an exempt employee who is being offered any kind of overtime, it is a discretionary benefit offered by your employer and the law will not impact that benefit.
Of course, if you are misclassified as exempt and should be classified as non-exempt, then all of the CA overtime rules will apply.
Good luck to you.
A:
It is difficult to tell from your post. If you are truly an exempt employee, you are not entitled to any overtime. You have to be performing Executive, professional or administrative functions, and meet certain qualifications to be in one of those three categories. You must also be paid at least the equivalent of 80 hours a week minimum wage. If you meet these classification and wage criteria, the employer can classify you as "exempt" and not pay overtime to you even if you work more than 40 hours a week. So without more specifics about your type of work and the exact terms of your employment contract, it appears that you have negotiated to be "exempt plus" or otherwise exempt and getting paid an hourly for more than 40 hours a week. So from your description, you are getting additional pay over your salary that the Labor Code does not require for an "exempt" employee. You should contact an employee rights attorney for a consultation and review of your situation for a definitive answer.
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