Hours worked - California

Summary of differences between federal and state regulations

The federal law does not spell out actual hours that must be worked in a work day. Under the federal Fair Labor Standards Act, the workweek ordinarily includes all the time during which an employee is required to be:

• On the employer's premises,
• On duty, or
• At a prescribed work place.

In California, 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 overtime rate of pay.

The state defines “hours worked” as “the time during which an employee is subject to the control of an employer, including all the time the employee is suffered or permitted to work, whether or not required to do so.”

Because of this definition, the state follows different interpretations of what constitutes paid working time as compared to the federal regulations. For example, all time spent in travel required by the job must be paid, including travel that is substantially longer than an employee's regular commute. The state also has provisions for meal and break periods, and daily overtime requirements.

State

Contact

California Department of Industrial Relations—Division of Labor Standards Enforcement

Regulations

California Division of Labor Standards
Industrial Welfare Commission
www.dir.ca.gov/IWC/

The number of hours worked in a day by covered employees without overtime compensation is eight hours. The number of hours worked in a week by covered employees without overtime compensation is 40 hours. The number of days worked consecutively by covered employees in any workweek without overtime compensation is six days.

Federal

Contact

The Department of Labor is the federal agency that monitors hours worked.

Regulations

U.S. labor regulations for hours worked can be found in CFR 29:

• Part 785 Hours Worked
• Part 778 Overtime Compensation