Posted on April 5th, 2018
ATTENTION California Employers!
Are you frustrated with California Labor Laws?
If you have a Labor Issue regarding hours, OT or 12-hour shifts contact us for a
OK if you own a business in California with employees then the following will be no surprise to you but here it goes…
A study published by the insurance company Hiscox three years ago found that California ranks among “the top states for employee lawsuit risk in the U.S.”
The risk of litigation in California is specifically 40 percent higher than the national average. That’s huge but it’s also a loud warning to the unprepared.
The same study revealed that small and mid-sized businesses lose an average of $125,000 every time an employee sues. Those who commission low-rent lawyers likely pay even more.
YOU as a California business owner are of course susceptible to such lawsuits. Do our employees work shifts? In that case, sorry to be the one to tell you this, but you’re ESPECIALLY susceptible.
Two quick questions:
Do you know the labor laws for scheduling modified work hour (also known as alternative workweek schedules) in California like the back of your hand?
Do you have an attorney ready on call in case an employee sues?
If you answered “no” to either of these two questions, you’re at risk. And it’s not because you’re a bad person who mistreats your employees. It’s because even an innocent mistake can cost you!
But the solution is simple: Prepare yourself with knowledge of California’s labor laws, and hire a quality attorney that only has a focus on employer defense. The sooner, the better.
We have you covered. First, we have an easy to digest infographic on Alternative Workweek Schedules.
Below that we have a fuller more detailed article!
Quick Guide: Employer Guide to Alternative WorkWeek Schedules in California Infographic:
Share this image on your site:
Labor Laws for 8, 10, 12-Hour Shifts (Alternative Workweek Schedules) in California
Labor laws in California state that you MUST pay employees overtime IF they work past 8 hours per day or 40 hours per week.
There’s one exception to this rule:
If your business is authorized to operate on an Alternative Workweek Schedule (AWS).
This is a special workweek scheduling system that lets your employees work on previously scheduled shifts that are longer than 8 hours without paying overtime.
Therefore, many employers in California wonder if they can schedule 12-hour shifts for their employees without paying overtime. Broadly, the answer to this question is no.
In most industries, 12-hour shifts without paying overtime are not allowed in California.
However, the answer is not as simple and straightforward as this, because the regulations on AWS are complicated and vary depending on the industry.
Generally, under AWS regulations in California, an employee can “work up to ten hours per day within a 40-hour workweek without overtime pay.”
All work performed in a scheduled daily shift up to 12 hours a day or beyond 40 hours per week must be paid at one and one-half times the employee’s regular rate.
All work performed in a scheduled daily shift in excess of 12 hours per day must be paid at double the employee’s regular rate of pay.
It gets more complicated than this. The agreement to establish an AWS must be accepted “by the employees following an election procedure regulated by law.”
Therefore, you cannot just schedule AWS whenever you want to.
You have to go through this election procedure first.
So long as you’ve already done this, you can legally schedule your employees to work up to 10 hour shifts without paying any overtime, or up to 12-hour shifts paying only 2 hours of overtime.
What’s the problem then?
While this all sounds simple enough, a litany of problems can crop up if you’re not careful. And it’d be in your best interests to familiarize yourself with every potential one.
Problem #1: Are You Paying Your Employees Enough?
An AWS agreement requires that you pay overtime if your employees either work beyond 10 hours per day or over 40 hours per week.
If your employees work beyond 40 hours in one week but never more than 10 in a day, you must pay 1.5x their regular pay for each additional hour of work on the week.
Plus, if your employees work over 12 hours in 1 day, you must pay double their regular pay for each additional hour of work.
Simple enough again, right? Not quite my friend. If only all of it were that simple.
What many California business owners don’t realize is that AWS laws go far deeper than just this!
For example what happens if you need an employee to work a 9 hour shift that has not been previously scheduled?
In a case like this, you’d be required to pay 1.5x the employee’s regular pay for every hour worked beyond 8 hours, even if the employee does not work beyond 40 hours a week.
But we’re still not done!
AWS agreements allow room for you to sometimes replace your employees’ 10-hour shifts with regular 8-hour shifts when necessary. You might do this if it’s a slow week, for instance.
Here’s the catch: If you schedule an employee for an 8-hour shift but the employee winds up working 10 hours, you must pay 1.5x his/her regular pay for the two extra hours worked at the end.
Confused? That’s why having a quality attorney hand can be very beneficial.
Problem #2: Are You Allowing Your Employees Enough Meal Breaks?
Employees who work standard 8-hour shifts must be granted a 30-minute meal break, but employees who work more than 10-hour shifts are entitled to a second break if they want.
According to the California Chamber of Commerce, an employee may waive the second meal break only if all three of these conditions are met:
- The employee’s shift for the day doesn’t surpass 12 hours.
- You and the employee BOTH agree to the waiver (in writing).
- The employee’s first meal was not waived.
What happens if, for whatever reason, an employee misses the second meal but the above conditions aren’t met? Then it rests on you to pay the employee for an additional hour of pay at his or her regular rate.
You didn’t think labor laws for shifts in California were this complicated, did you?
That’s the point.
Unfortunately, the deeper you dig into labor laws, the more complex they tend to become. Again, that’s why the value of having a labor attorney just a dial away is immeasurable.
Problem #3: Are You Allowing Your Employees Enough Rest Time?
Employees who work 10-hour shifts must be granted at least two 10-minute rest breaks and employees who work 12-hour shifts must be granted three 10-minute rest breaks. If an employee misses just one of these breaks, you must pay for an additional hour of pay.
If an employee misses both a meal and a rest break, you have to pay even more. And if an employee misses both meals and a rest break, you could very well be in store for a lawsuit.
Contact A Labor Attorney Today
Just to be clear, the problems highlighted here represent just the tip of the iceberg. Labor laws for alternative workweek schedules in California cover a wide spectrum of potential problems, all of which could affect your business one day.
If you want to learn more about labor laws for alternative workweek schedules in California, consider contacting employer defense firm Defend My Biz.
Our firm offers a free 15-minute consultation for any potential labor problems you might have. We also have a Free Ebook available, “6 Tips To Protect Your California Business From an Employee Lawsuit.”
Moreover, our firm ONLY DEFENDS employers.
“The reason we are so effective is because we focus our whole practice just on defending employers. If you are an employee please look elsewhere. You will find plenty of employee-side attorneys to take your case”
ATTENTION California Employers!
Are you frustrated with California Labor Laws?
If you have a Labor Issue regarding hours, OT or 12-hour shifts contact us for a
