CALIFORNIA FARM OVERTIME RULES: Your Right to Time-and-a-Half Pay
For every hour past their eighth of work in a day, California farm workers are now entitled to overtime pay at one and a half times their normal rate of pay. What does this mean?
Key Changes in California Agricultural Overtime Law
- A farm worker who worked an 8.75 day is owed .75 hours of overtime pay at one and a half their normal hourly rate.
- Farm laborers who worked only 38 hours in a week are still owed overtime if they worked one 9-hour shift (1 hour of overtime).
- Farm workers who were told to work off-the-clock and ended up working more than 40 hours in a week or 8 hours in a day are owed overtime.
- Farm workers who worked more than forty hours in a week are owed overtime.
- Farm and field workers who worked more than 12 hours in a day are owed double time.
- Farm and field hands who worked more than 60 hours in a week are owed overtime.
- Farm workers without proper papers to work may still collect overtime.
- The previous law that required farm workers to work 60 hours a week to get overtime was repealed in September of 2016.
- Farm workers who are paid piece rates are also entitled to overtime based upon their piece rates, which must be minimum wage or higher.
Piece Rate Workers and Paystub Violations
If you are a piece rate worker—paid by the barrel, pound, or per unit of produce—we advise you consult with an experienced overtime attorney. We can determine if you are properly paid piece rates and properly paid overtime for your piece work.
Who is Entitled to Overtime in Agriculture? (Exempt vs. Nonexempt)
Farm workers, like other California employees, are considered nonexempt and are entitled to overtime if they do not regularly manage 2 or more full-time employees more than 50% of the time and earn at least twice the minimum wage.
- Farm workers such as pickers, egg handlers, tractor drivers, loaders, packers, seed sorters, feeders, and animal groomers are usually entitled to overtime.
- Foremen who supervise 2 or more full-time farm workers, spend more than half their time supervising, and earn at least twice minimum wage may be exempt.
- We have represented many supervisors and managers who were wrongly classified because they did not meet the pay or duty requirements. If you fall into those categories, you may be entitled to overtime pay.
Contact a Winning California Overtime Lawyer at (818) 783-7300 if you think you are owed overtime
GENERAL CALIFORNIA OVERTIME PAY RULES
Generally, several principles govern California overtime for all employees:
- Overtime is due to persons primarily performing manual labor.
- Overtime is not due to supervisors and managers regularly supervising or managing two or more full-time persons if they are paid twice minimum wage.
- Overtime is not likely due to an employee in a primarily intellectual profession who makes independent decisions.
- California overtime is based upon the daily work day (over 8 hours) and for work over 40 hours in a week.
- Employers must pay double time if the employee works more than 12 hours in a day.
- Do not rely on job titles like "blue collar" or "white collar." Eligibility depends on duties and pay.
THE FOLLOWING POSITIONS ARE GENERALLY ENTITLED TO OVERTIME PAY:
Employees performing assembly work, automotive repair technicians, bank tellers, bookkeepers, clerical workers, construction workers, cooks, data entry, drivers, dry cleaning pressers, farm workers, film crews, grocery workers, hair stylists, janitors, laborers, maintenance workers, manufacturing workers, messengers, nurses, packers, porters, retail workers, security officers, ticket agents, wait staff, and warehouse workers.
THE FOLLOWING JOBS MAY OR MAY NOT BE ENTITLED TO OVERTIME PAY (Consult an attorney):
Broadcasters, computer programmers, dancers who create their own routines, lab technicians, outside sales people, persons with advanced degrees, property managers, theater performers, writers.
- Union Contracts may specify groups of workers are entitled to overtime if they are not entitled to overtime by law.
THE FOLLOWING ARE USUALLY NOT OVERTIME POSITIONS:
Artists, certified accounting professionals, certain engineers, doctors, executives, lawyers, managers, theatrical personnel such as A-list actors.
CALIFORNIA OVERTIME LAW & Retaliation Protections
California labor laws are found in the California Labor Code and Code of Regulations. Given the complexity, we highly recommend calling (818) 783-7300 to find out if you have an overtime case.
Besides overtime laws, there are legal rights protecting the jobs of employees who demand overtime wages. Employers who retaliate against employees who ask to be paid overtime may be required to pay punitive damages and/or a California Labor Code Section 1102.5 penalty. Firing employees for making legitimate complaints about their entitlement to overtime is wrongful termination.
Our Overtime Case Experience and Dedication
Our California overtime lawyers handle individual, multi-employee, Private Attorney General (PAGA), and class actions for employee overtime. Firm founder, Karl Gerber, started handling overtime cases for employees in 1993. Our labor attorneys do not charge employees any money up front; we advance all court costs. We have handled more than 2,000 individual employee lawsuits.
Selected Case Results (Although not a guarantee or prediction):
- $800,000 for emergency and disaster workers
- $800,000 for prevailing wage in the Central Valley
- $775,000 for caregivers not properly paid
- $750,000 to hotel maids not paid overtime
- $515,000 for FEMA workers
- $400,000 for phlebotomists not paid overtime because they had to work off the clock
- $400,000 for off-the-clock work at a national big box store in Bakersfield
- $400,000 for oil rig workers denied meal breaks, off the clock work
- $300,000 in penalties alone for security officers who were underpaid
- $175,000 for two limousine drivers
- $175,000 for several exotic dancers not paid overtime
- $125,000 for a nonexempt social worker who was fired for complaining about her entitlement to overtime
OVERTIME LAWSUITS CAN BE LARGE: CALL (818) 783-7300 FOR A CALIFORNIA OVERTIME ATTORNEY
Our Firm: No upfront fees or costs
Contingency Fee Representation
All employment cases for employees are taken on a contingency basis. We are only paid a fee when and if we win your case, and we advance all litigation costs. Our goal is to make expert legal representation accessible to every hardworking employee.
Serving Fresno County
We have proudly served all of Fresno County since 1993.
The Employment Lawyers Group has successfully handled
2,000+
Separate California Employment Cases
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Sample Case Results
Employment Case
$18,402,868
Jury verdict for male visually harassed and subject to crude comments by a female manager
breach of commission contract
$1,150,000
Unpaid commissions of two plaintiffs
unpaid wages
$875,000
For 4 oil field service industry workers whose times worked were not recorded on timesheets and were on-call
Disclaimer: These results are based on the facts of these specific cases and do not guarantee or predict a similar result in any future case.
Practice Areas
Discrimination
Age, Disability, Family Medical Leave (FMLA/CFRA), Gender, National Origin, Pregnancy, Race, and Sexual Orientation claims.
Unpaid Wages & Overtime
Recovering earnings for Overtime, Bonuses, Commissions, Meal & Rest Breaks, and Prevailing Wage violations.
Sexual Harassment
Compassionate and effective representation for victims of sexual harassment and hostile work environment claims.
Wrongful Termination
Representing employees terminated in violation of public policy, contracts, or California and Federal law.
Leaves & Retaliation
Protecting employees who face adverse actions after reporting illegal activity or taking protected medical leave.
Whistleblowers
Advocating for employees who report fraud, waste, or abuse in their organizations under whistleblower protections.
Our California Locations
Bakersfield
5401 Business Park S, #214,
Bakersfield CA 93309
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777 Campus Commons Rd, #200,
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524 Union St, #400,
San Francisco CA 94133
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Additional Sites
BostonLaborLaw.com
DcLaborAttorney.com
FresnoEmployeeLawyer.com
JobLawyer.net
MarylandLaborAttorney.com
ModemStud.com
VintageLosAngeles.org
WorkLawyerCA.info
About Firm Founder, Karl Gerber
Firm Founder, Karl Gerber, has been an employment wrongful termination attorney since 1993. He has represented a wide range of employees throughout California.
Mr. Gerber has won 51 of the binding arbitrations and jury trials he first chaired, and a number of his appeals are published. This deep trial experience is the foundation of the firm's strategic approach to litigation.
The employment attorneys employed by the Employment Lawyers Group have worked at the firm well in excess of five years, have also tried many different labor cases, and have all been extensively trained on employment wrongful termination by Karl Gerber.
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