California Hourly Labor Laws: Wages, Breaks & Overtime

If you work by the hour in California, your employer owes you at least $16.90 an hour as of January 1, 2026, overtime after eight hours in a day or 40 in a week, paid rest breaks and unpaid meal breaks on a fixed schedule, paid sick leave, reimbursement for work expenses, an itemized pay stub, and a final paycheck on tight deadlines when the job ends. California’s hourly labor laws go well past the federal floor, and they apply to non-exempt employees regardless of employer size.

Minimum Wage

The statewide minimum is $16.90 per hour as of 2026, and it applies to every employer no matter how many people they employ.¹ The rate adjusts each year based on the consumer price index.

Two industries have higher state minimums. Fast food restaurant employees must earn at least $20.00 per hour, in effect since April 2024.¹ Healthcare workers at covered facilities are on a separate escalating schedule under SB 525, with rates between $22 and $25 per hour depending on the employer type. Independent physician practices with 24 or fewer physicians are exempt from the healthcare minimums.

Many cities and counties set their own minimum wages above the state figure. When that happens, your employer must pay whichever rate is higher.

If you’re paid below the applicable minimum, you can recover the unpaid wages plus liquidated damages equal to that amount, plus interest.² Liquidated damages apply to minimum wage shortfalls only, not to unpaid overtime.

Overtime Pay

California counts overtime by the day and by the week, which is the single biggest departure from federal law. You earn 1.5 times your regular rate for hours beyond eight in a workday, hours beyond 40 in a workweek, and the first eight hours of the seventh consecutive day in a workweek.³

Double time applies to hours beyond 12 in a workday and to hours beyond eight on that seventh consecutive day.³ A five-day stretch of 9-hour shifts, 45 hours total, generates five overtime hours in California on the daily count alone. Federal law would reach the same five hours only through the weekly calculation.

Your overtime rate has to be built on your full regular compensation, not just your base hourly wage. Non-discretionary bonuses, shift differentials, and similar pay all have to be rolled into the regular rate before overtime is calculated. Leaving them out is one of the more common payroll errors behind wage claims.

Alternative Workweek Schedules

Workplaces can trade daily overtime for a longer regular shift if at least two-thirds of employees in a work unit approve the arrangement by secret ballot. Under an alternative workweek, you can work up to 10 hours a day within a 40-hour week without triggering daily overtime.⁴ A 4/10 schedule, four 10-hour days with three days off, is a common version.

Overtime still applies to hours beyond the scheduled daily maximum and beyond 40 in a week, and double time applies past 12 hours in a day.⁴ Your employer cannot cut your hourly rate to offset the adoption or repeal of an alternative schedule.

PAGA Penalties

Unpaid overtime can trigger civil penalties under the Private Attorneys General Act on top of the wages owed. The baseline is $100 per affected employee per pay period, rising to $200 per employee per pay period if the employer was previously found to have the same unlawful practice or acted maliciously.⁵

Meal and Rest Breaks

A 30-minute unpaid meal break is required when your shift runs longer than five hours.⁶ The statute phrases it as not working “more than five hours” without a meal period, so the break must start before you hit the five-hour mark. You have to be relieved of all duties during that period. Staying tethered to a phone or watching a station isn’t a compliant meal break.

A second 30-minute meal period is required when your shift runs longer than 10 hours. You can waive the first meal period by mutual agreement if your whole shift is six hours or less, and you can waive the second if your whole shift is 12 hours or less, provided you took the first.⁶

Rest breaks are different. You get a paid 10-minute rest period for every four hours worked, and the 10 minutes have to be net rest, not counting the walk to and from the break area.⁷ Rest periods count as hours worked and are paid, but you cannot be assigned tasks during them.

Penalties for Missed Breaks

A missed meal period entitles you to one extra hour of pay at your regular rate for that workday. A missed rest break triggers a separate one-hour penalty.⁸ If both are skipped on the same day, two extra hours are owed.

Lactation Breaks

Employees who need to express breast milk are entitled to a reasonable amount of break time whenever the need arises. The time should overlap an existing rest break when possible; additional pumping time does not have to be paid. The employer must provide a private, clean room that is not a bathroom, with a place to sit, a surface for the pump, electricity, and proximity to a sink and refrigerator. Violations draw one hour of premium pay per incident, and the Labor Commissioner can also issue a $100 civil citation for each day you’re denied a break or adequate space.⁹

Paid Sick Leave

Employers must provide at least 40 hours or five days of paid sick leave per year, whichever is greater for the employee.¹⁰ On a schedule of 10-hour shifts, five days equals 50 hours, and that’s your entitlement. Accrual runs at a minimum of one hour for every 30 hours worked, starting on your first day, but you cannot use accrued time until your 90th day on the job.¹¹

Unused sick time carries over year to year. Your employer can cap total accrual at 80 hours (10 days) and limit annual usage to 40 hours or five days.¹¹ Some employers skip the accrual math and front-load the full five days at the start of each year. Either method is legal.

Reporting Time and Split Shift Pay

If you show up for a scheduled shift and your employer sends you home with less than half your usual day’s hours, you’re owed reporting time pay. The rule guarantees at least half your scheduled hours, with a minimum of two hours and a maximum of four, at your regular rate.¹²

A split shift is a schedule with two or more work periods in one day separated by an unpaid gap that isn’t a meal break. When your employer schedules one, you’re owed a premium of one additional hour at the state minimum wage.¹³ If your hourly rate is above minimum wage, the difference between your rate and the minimum can offset part or all of the premium, so this protection matters most for workers at or near minimum wage.

Pay Stub Requirements

Every pay period, your employer must give you an itemized written wage statement showing gross wages, total hours worked, all deductions, net wages, the pay period dates, your name and the last four digits of your Social Security number (or an employee ID), the employer’s legal name and address, and all hourly rates in effect during the pay period alongside the hours worked at each rate.¹⁴ Piece-rate workers must also see the number of units earned and the applicable rate.

Your current paid sick leave balance has to appear on each pay stub or on a separate document provided with your wages.¹¹ The statement has to be complete on its face. If you’d need another document to figure out your deductions or rate, it doesn’t comply.

An employee injured by a knowing violation can recover $50 for the first pay period and $100 for each subsequent period, up to $4,000 total, plus attorney’s fees.¹⁴ You’re considered injured any time the employer fails to provide a wage statement or omits required information.

Expense Reimbursement

If your job requires you to spend your own money, your employer owes you reimbursement. Labor Code Section 2802 covers all necessary expenses incurred performing your duties.¹⁵ That includes mileage when you drive your personal car for work, a portion of your cell phone bill if you use it for work calls, home internet costs if you work from home, and office supplies you buy yourself.

Many employers use the IRS standard mileage rate, which is 70 cents per mile for 2025 business travel. The law isn’t limited to that figure. Your employer must cover the actual cost of using your vehicle, including wear and tear, insurance, and fuel. Awards for unpaid reimbursements carry interest from the date you incurred the expense.¹⁵

Paydays and Final Pay

Most hourly employees have to be paid at least twice a month. Work from the 1st through the 15th must be paid between the 16th and the 26th, and work from the second half of the month must be paid between the 1st and the 10th of the following month.¹⁶

Final Paycheck Timing

If you’re fired or laid off, all earned wages are due immediately at the time of termination.¹⁷ The final check must include accrued but unused vacation, which California treats as vested wages.¹⁸

If you quit with at least 72 hours’ notice, you must be paid on your last day. If you quit without notice, the employer has 72 hours to deliver the final check.¹⁹

Waiting Time Penalties

An employer that willfully fails to pay final wages on time owes a penalty of one day’s wages for each day the payment is late, capped at 30 days.²⁰ For someone earning $20 an hour over an 8-hour day, that’s $160 per day, up to $4,800 in penalties on top of the unpaid wages.

Vacation

“Use-it-or-lose-it” vacation policies are prohibited. Once earned, vacation time belongs to you as wages and must be paid out when you leave, regardless of why.¹⁸ Employers can set a reasonable accrual cap that stops further accumulation, but they cannot take back what you’ve already earned.

Filing a Wage Claim

If an employer violates any of these rules, you can file a wage claim with the California Labor Commissioner’s Office by email, mail, or in person.²¹ There is no filing fee. The Labor Commissioner investigates and can order the employer to pay what’s owed plus applicable penalties and interest. A lawyer isn’t required, though one can help with complex claims. Keep pay stubs, time records, and written communications about scheduling or pay. That documentation is what separates claims that succeed from those that stall.

1
Department of Industrial Relations. Minimum Wage
2
California Legislative Information. California Code LAB 1194.2 – Liquidated Damages
3
California Legislative Information. California Code LAB 510 – Eight Hours of Labor
4
California Legislative Information. California Code LAB 511 – Alternative Workweek
5
California Legislative Information. California Code LAB 2699 – PAGA
6
California Legislative Information. California Code LAB 512 – Working Hours
7
California Department of Industrial Relations. Rest Periods/Lactation Accommodation
8
California Legislative Information. California Code LAB 226.7 – Premium Pay for Missed Breaks
9
Labor Commissioner’s Office. Lactation Accommodation
10
Department of Industrial Relations. California Paid Sick Leave – Frequently Asked Questions
11
California Legislative Information. California Code LAB 246 – Paid Sick Leave
12
Department of Industrial Relations. Reporting Time Pay
13
Department of Industrial Relations. Split Shift
14
California Legislative Information. California Code LAB 226 – Wage Statement
15
California Legislative Information. California Code LAB 2802 – Employer Reimbursement of Employee Expenses
16
California Legislative Information. California Code LAB 204 – Semimonthly Paydays
17
California Legislative Information. California Code LAB 201 – Payment of Wages
18
Division of Labor Standards Enforcement. Vacation
19
Department of Industrial Relations. Paydays, Pay Periods, and the Final Wages
20
Department of Industrial Relations. Waiting Time Penalty
21
Department of Industrial Relations. File a Wage Claim