As of January 1, 2026, to be considered an exempt employee in the U.S., a worker must be paid a minimum salary of $684 per week, or $35,568 per year. Exempt workers in California, meanwhile, must be paid a salary that is at least twice the state’s minimum wage. The 2026 California minimum wage is $16.90 …
Commission-based pay is workplace compensation based on an employee’s sales productivity. It can be tied to the overall quantity of sales or the value of the things sold. The commission agreement sets out how your particular commission pay is generally calculated. State and federal laws regulate commission-based pay. Four key things to know are: you can …
There are numerous important things to know about California’s payroll and employment laws. Five of the most important are: they cover all non-exempt workers in the state, they forbid employers from requiring their employees to work off the clock, they require employers to provide rest breaks and meal breaks, they set the state’s minimum wage …
In California, employers are required to fully reimburse you when you use your personal vehicles for business purposes. In total, there are 4 ways to calculate your reimbursement: Lump-sum payments, Actual mileage, Actual expenses, or A mixture of fixed and variable rates. Many employers adopt the IRS’s reimbursement rates, which go by actual mileage, as …
Warehouse workers often face significant wage and hour issues in the workplace. 5 of the most common are: minimum wage protections, overtime pay, payments for rest and meal breaks, being required to work off the clock, and receiving unpaid wages after termination. These concerns are growing more and more important as large companies, like Amazon …
California does not have a state employment law that defines part-time work as being less than a certain number of hours. Instead, it is generally up to the employer to define what “part-time” means. The Labor Market Information Division of the California Employment Development Department has a non-legally binding definition of part-time work as fewer than …
The general rule is that California employers cannot take away wage payments.1 This includes sales commissions that have been earned.2 However, employers can carve out exceptions to this rule in the commission agreement, which is an employment contract. These exceptions in the employment agreement must be tied to the employee’s sales rather than general business …
In California, marital status is a protected class under the Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA). This means that employers cannot discriminate against you based on your marital status. If you are fired, demoted, passed over, harassed, or otherwise retaliated against based on whether you are married, you have legal recourse under anti-discrimination laws in the …
In California, the Order, Decision or Award (ODA) of the Labor Commissioner is the ruling of the hearing officer in a wage claim, often for wage theft. ODAs are issued after the wage claim hearing. The decision indicates who won the hearing and how much the employer must pay to the worker. The ODA can …
In California, fraudulent inducement of employment is when an employer makes false promises so that you move in order to take a job or keep the one you have. If you are fraudulently induced into moving to take or keep a job, you have legal recourse. Fraud is an exception to at-will employment. You may …
TL;DR In most cases, your car insurance covers someone else driving your car if you gave them permission. If another driver caused the crash, that driver is generally liable, though your rates may still increase. If your friend caused the accident with your permission, your insurance usually pays first under permissive use. Your coverage typically …
California is not a “right-to-work” state. Right-to-work states make it unlawful to require employees to join a union or pay union dues. Attempts to implement such legislation in California have failed. Therefore, private California employers may require you to join a union in order to get hired or keep your job. What is a right-to-work …
In California, if you report your income on a Form 1099, you are an independent contractor, while if you report it on a W-2 form, you are an employee. Payroll taxes are automatically withheld if you are a W-2 employee; meanwhile, if you are an independent contractor, you are responsible for paying them. If you …
As a hospital worker in California, you may be subject to 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 …
TL;DR If a leased car is totaled, you must notify your insurer and leasing company and still owe the remaining lease balance. Insurance only pays the car’s fair market value, which may be less than what you owe. Gap insurance can cover the difference between the insurance payout and the remaining lease amount. The insurance …
Employers who offer a severance agreement to induce you to waive your rights must follow special rules if you are at least 40. Federal law requires these severance agreements to be clearly written and explicit. You must be given adequate time to review the agreement and cannot be pressured into signing it. Violations can amount …
In California, “use it or lose it” vacation policies are prohibited. However, employers are only prohibited from taking back vacation time that has already accrued. They can take other measures to limit how much vacation time you can accumulate, such as capping the number of vacation days you can build up. California prohibits “use it …
Workers may be entitled to receive compensation for any unused vacation time after they quit. In some states, workers forfeit their unused paid time off (PTO) when they separate from the company. In other states, including California, employers must pay out any unused vacation time immediately upon termination. Many companies, however, maintain a policy of …
TL;DR Drivers who hit pedestrians in a crosswalk can face tickets, license penalties, lawsuits, and criminal charges. Liability depends on fault, and drivers may avoid consequences if the pedestrian caused the accident. At-fault drivers can be sued for medical bills, lost income, and pain and suffering. Serious injuries, DUI, or hit-and-run can lead to severe …
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) says that a normal work shift is no more than 8 consecutive hours in a day, with each shift split by at least 8 hours of rest. A normal workweek is 5 such work days.1 However, this is not binding. OSHA does not penalize employers who demand more. …
You commit the criminal offense of contributing to the delinquency of a minor when you: commit some act or fail to act in a certain way, and the action or inaction makes a child more prone to engage in illegal activities. Common examples include: allowing your 13-year-old son to stay out after curfew and he …
In California law, homicide is the killing of another human being while murder is an unlawful homicide with malice aforethought. Therefore, homicide is an umbrella term that includes all situations where someone gets killed. Murder is a type of homicide. This chart summarizes the differences between murder and homicide: Murder Homicide It is the killing …
Alcohol can remain on your breath for up to 12 to 24 hours after consuming your last drink.1 Keep in mind, however, that everyone’s body is different, and the absorption of alcohol and its detection will vary by body type. Note that alcohol on your breath, on its own, does not necessarily mean that you …
There is a subtle difference between the meaning of attorney and lawyer. You are a “lawyer” if you graduate from law school. You then become an “attorney” if you pass the bar exam and enter the State Bar Association for the state in which you practice law. If a lawyer does not go on to …
Prank calling can be illegal in some situations. While each state is different, most states prohibit making prank calls to annoy or harass someone. All states make it illegal to prank call 911. Recording a prank call can constitute illegal wiretapping in many states, including in California. Annoying or harassing someone because of a protected …
