California Labor Code Section 204: Pay Dates, Overtime, and Penalties

California Labor Code Section 204 requires employers to pay most wages at least twice during each calendar month, with earned wages due inside fixed windows after each pay period closes. Miss those windows and the employer owes civil penalties on top of the wages themselves.

The Two Semi-Monthly Pay Windows

Section 204’s default schedule splits the month in half and gives the employer a short processing cushion after each half closes.

Wages earned between the 1st and the 15th are due between the 16th and the 26th of the same month.
Wages earned between the 16th and the last day of the month are due between the 1st and the 10th of the following month.

These are hard deadlines, not guidelines. An employer who routinely pays on the 28th for work performed in the first half of the month is out of compliance every pay period, even if workers eventually receive the full amount.¹

Weekly and Biweekly Schedules

Employers don’t have to use the semi-monthly calendar. Section 204 allows weekly, biweekly, or alternative semi-monthly schedules so long as wages reach the employee within seven calendar days after the pay period ends. If your biweekly period closes on a Saturday, the paycheck must arrive no later than the following Saturday.¹

Seven days is the outer limit. Many employers pay sooner, especially with electronic payroll. To check whether yours is compliant, count seven calendar days from the last day of the pay period. Anything after that is late.

When Overtime Can Lag One Paycheck

Section 204 carves out overtime. Wages for hours worked beyond your regular schedule do not have to appear on the same paycheck as the straight-time hours they go with. Overtime is due no later than the payday for the next regular payroll period, and the employer can show the extra hours as a correction on the following stub as long as the stub identifies the dates being corrected.¹

So if you worked overtime in a pay period ending March 15, the employer can wait until the next regular payday, possibly in early April, to pay those overtime hours. Workers often assume this lag means they were shorted. It usually means the statute is working as written.

Monthly Pay for Exempt Employees

Section 204 allows a once-a-month pay cycle for salaried executive, administrative, and professional employees who meet the federal Fair Labor Standards Act exemption. Payment must arrive on or before the 26th of the month in which the work is performed, and it has to cover the entire month, including the days between payday and month’s end.¹

This exception only reaches genuinely exempt employees, and California’s salary floor runs higher than the federal one. As of January 1, 2026, an employee must earn at least $70,304 per year (twice the state minimum wage of $16.90 per hour at full time) to clear the initial salary prong of the exemption test.² Labeling a non-exempt worker exempt to justify monthly pay creates exposure under Section 204 and under the overtime and meal-period rules as well.

Commissions Are Handled Separately

Commission wages fall outside Section 204’s standard windows. The statute defers to Section 204.1 for commission timing.¹ In practice, when a commission is “earned” turns on the written commission agreement, and once the amount is calculable it must be paid promptly. Complex plans tied to milestones, chargebacks, or quarterly targets sometimes get used as cover for months-long delays. A vague or missing agreement does not hand the employer unlimited time.

Union Contracts Override the Default

If a collective bargaining agreement sets up different pay arrangements, those arrangements control instead of Section 204’s rules. The carve-out is written broadly, so a union contract can establish less frequent paydays or different windows without violating the statute.¹

Penalties When an Employer Pays Late

Labor Code Section 210 imposes civil penalties on employers who miss Section 204’s deadlines. These penalties stack per employee, per pay period, and sit on top of any back wages:

First violation: $100 per employee for each failure to pay on time.
Subsequent or willful violations: $200 per employee, plus 25 percent of the wages unlawfully withheld.

Employees can recover these penalties directly through the Labor Commissioner’s wage claim process or through a Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA) action.³ The 25 percent surcharge on repeat violations is what makes the statute bite. An employer who underpays 50 employees by $500 each across two pay periods faces $12,500 in percentage penalties alone, before per-employee penalties and the back wages themselves.

Filing a Wage Claim for Late Pay

If your employer is paying outside Section 204’s windows, you can file a wage claim with the California Labor Commissioner’s Office. Claims go in online, by email, by mail, or in person at a local office. There is no filing fee.⁴

After filing, the case typically runs through a settlement conference first. If that doesn’t resolve it, the matter proceeds to a hearing where an officer reviews the evidence and issues a decision.

Watch the deadlines. You have three years to file claims for minimum wage violations, unpaid overtime, illegal deductions, and unpaid reimbursements. Claims based on an oral promise to pay above minimum wage carry a two-year window; claims on a written contract get four years. Penalties for bounced paychecks or denial of access to payroll records must be filed within one year.⁴ The clock runs from the date of the violation, not from when you discover it, so a late paycheck is worth acting on rather than waiting out.

1
California Legislative Information. California Code LAB 204 – Time of Payment of Wages
2
Department of Industrial Relations. California Minimum Wage Set to Increase to $16.90 Per Hour
3
Department of Industrial Relations. FAQs – Late Payment of Wages
4
Department of Industrial Relations. How to File a Wage Claim