What are the overtime rules for California hospital workers?

As a hospital worker in California, you may have special overtime rules.

If you are classified as an exempt worker, you are not entitled to overtime (time-and-a-half) pay unless your employer chooses to provide it.

If you are non-exempt, you are entitled to overtime pay for working more than:

• 8 hours in a workday,
• 40 hours in a workweek, or
• 6 days in a single workweek.[4]

However, if you have an alternative workweek schedule (AWS)  (which involves working more than eight hours in a workday)  you are entitled to overtime pay for working more than:

• the regularly scheduled number of hours of work in a workday, as established by the AWS, or
• 40 hours in a workweek.¹¹

Which hospital workers are exempt vs non-exempt?

You are classified as an exempt worker if there is an exemption for your job from certain California labor laws.

In the healthcare field, the following types of jobs are considered exempt:

• white-collar jobs, like executive, administrative, or professional employees,
• computer professionals,
• doctors,
• surgeons,
• public employees, and
• employees in the University of California system.

To be considered a white-collar job, you must:

• spend at least half of your time doing executive, administrative, or professional tasks,
• regularly use your independent judgment and discretion on the job, and
• earn a minimum salary at least twice as high as the applicable minimum hourly wage for full-time work.[1]

If you are a hospital employee who does not fall into one of these exemptions, you are classified as a non-exempt employee.

The difference between exempt versus non-exempt classifications is significant. As a non-exempt worker, you are protected by both federal law and state law. While the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) is a federal employment law that applies across the United States and is enforced by the Department of Labor, California’s labor laws provide stronger protections in the state. These protections offer:

• overtime pay,
• meal and rest breaks, and
• minimum wages.

If you are an exempt worker, you do not have these same legal protections.

Is a registered nurse an exempt worker?

Suppose you are a registered nurse in California. In that case, you are a non-exempt worker unless you satisfy the legal requirements for a white-collar employee and primarily engage in executive or administrative tasks.[2]

However, if you are a registered nurse working for a public employer – including a hospital run by the state of California, a city, or a county – you are an exempt employee.[3]

Do non-exempt workers get overtime?

Yes. If you are a non-exempt worker, private California employers must pay you overtime if you work more than a certain number of hours. However, the required hours can change if you agree to an alternative workweek schedule.

As a nurse, you should be entitled to overtime unless you are classified as an exempt employee.

Generally, as a non-exempt worker, you are entitled to overtime wages that are one and one-half times your regular rate of pay if you work more than:

• 8 hours in a workday,
• 40 hours in a workweek, or
• 6 days in a single workweek.[4]

You are entitled to “double time,” or wages twice your normal hourly rate, if you work past:

• 12 hours in a single workday, or
• 8 hours for a seventh consecutive day.[5]

What is an alternative workweek schedule?

An alternative workweek schedule is an agreement between you and your employer that alters your work schedule and your overtime hours.[6]

These schedules allow you to work for up to 10 hours in a workday without being entitled to an overtime rate. You are still entitled to overtime wages if you work:

• more than the number of hours authorized in the alternative schedule, or
• more than the standard 40-hour workweek.^[7]

Alternative workweek schedules can only be adopted if more than two-thirds of the affected employees approve them. You all have to vote by secret ballot for the approval to be valid.^[8]

If you are a unionized employee, you can also adopt an alternative workweek schedule through a collective bargaining agreement. That agreement can also alter the standard overtime rules.[9]

These alternative workweek schedules are especially common in the healthcare industry, where hospital workers tend to have longer-hour shifts to meet staffing needs.

Can exempt workers earn overtime?

Neither state nor federal law forbids overtime pay if you are an exempt employee. However, very few employers choose to provide it. Additionally, calculating daily overtime for your extra hours as a salaried employee is more difficult because your regular rate of pay will also include bonuses and any commission you have earned, in addition to just your hours of work.

How can I recover unpaid overtime?

If you are a California hospital worker who is not being paid overtime for your extra hours of work, you can file a wage and hour claim against your employer.

These lawsuits demand time-and-a-half pay for your extra work time, in compliance with California’s wage laws. You can also recover interest on your unpaid wages, as well as reasonable attorneys’ fees.[10]

Additional Resources

For more information on California overtime law, refer to the following:

• How to file a wage claim – Instructions provided by the California Labor Commissioner.
• Free overtime calculator – A program provided by Forbes that lets you input your salary and hours so you can estimate what your paycheck should be.
• An overview of overtime laws by state – A comparison provided by an employment software company.
• Fair Labor: A Brief History of Overtime in America – Audio story by The Takeaway.
• What California Employers Need to Know About Overtime for Employees – Information provided by the Poster Compliance Center.

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Legal References