Employment Matters
In California, the legislature has established minimal standards for employers to provide employees with a safe, healthy and clean working environment. Moreover, the legislature has established a minimum wage and guidelines which regulate how an employee will be paid for their time spent on the job. the following provides a general overview of California Law.

Wage and Hour Guidelines

Minimum Wage:
Effective 2012, your employer must pay you at least the minimum wage. In the State of California, the minimum wage is $8.00 an hour, and $10.24 per hour for residents of San Francisco County. Contact the City of San Francisco for more information. If you are paid on a piece-rate basis and make less than the minimum wage based on your piecework, your employer must make up the difference to pay you minimum wage.

Overtime:
Typically in California, if you work over 40 hours a week or over 8 hours a day, you must be paid overtime at the rate of 1.5 times your hourly rate. If you work more than 12 hours a day, you must be paid overtime at the rate of 2.0 times your hourly rate. If you work 7 days in a row, on the 7th day, you must be paid at the rate of 1.5 times your hourly rate for the first 8 hours and at the rate of 2.0 times your hourly rate for any hours after the first 8 hours for that day. If you work in the fields, overtime in California typically begins after 10 hours have been worked.

Immigration Status:
You have the right to minimum wage and overtime pay even if you do not have work documents. Slavery has been abolished.

Make-up Time:
With the approval of your employer, you can take time off for personal needs and make up that time in the same workweek without being paid overtime. You cannot work more than 11 hours in a day or more than 40 hours in a week to make up the missed time.

No Waivers:
You cannot be required to sign a statement giving up your rights to minimum wage or overtime pay. Even if you agree to give up your right, your employer is obligated by law to pay you minimum wage and overtime pay.

Meals/Rest Breaks:
You are entitled to a paid rest period of at least 10 minutes for each four hours you work. You are entitled to get an unpaid meal period (where you are not required to work) of at least 30 minutes for each 5 hours of work. If the employer fails to provide the meal or rest period as provided in the order, you can recover one additional hour of pay at your hourly rate each workday that the meal and/or rest period is not provided. Thus, if you are not provided a meal and rest period in one work day as explained above, your employer may owe you two hours in wages (one hour for each violation).

If You Quit or Are Discharged

Immediate Payment of Wages:
Your employer must pay you immediately all wages earned. If you quit without giving 72 hours notice, your employer must pay all your wages within 72 hours after you quit. You can recover up to 30 days of your wages if your employer willfully refuses to pay you at the time of discharge or quitting.

Vacation and Holiday Pay:
If you have been promised paid vacation time and holiday pay, you must be paid the holiday pay promised to you and the amount of vacation time you have earned / accumulated at the time you quit or are discharged.

Taking Precautions:

Keep Records: Always keep track of your hours (time you start and end, and if a meal period is provided) and the days you work. Write this information on a calendar every day and keep it in a safe place.

Know Who Your Employer Is: Many workers do not know the full name of their employer in English. Keep all your check-stubs and W-2 forms. Make a copy of your paychecks before cashing them. Keep all of this information in a safe place for at least four years. If you are paid in cash, look for the name of the employer on a business card, on company automobiles, or other places where the name might be displayed. Write down your boss's license plate number.

Copies of Records: You are entitled to get a copy of all your time cards and payroll records from your employer, even after you leave your job. You do not have to sign anything you do not understand. Get copies of anything you sign at work. Keep anything that your employer gives you that states your rights.

Retaliation: It is illegal for an employer to fire you or discipline you for filing a claim for wages, or for asking to be paid the minimum wage or overtime. Your employer cannot fire you for refusing to talk to him or her alone, if you think s/he want to discuss a disciplinary matter about you. You have the right to have a co-worker present.

If you are Undocumented: California Labor Code § 1171.5 provides in part that immigration status is not relevant to an employee's right to recover wages.

In order to recover your wages, it is important that you have the following information:

Employer Name (in English)
Employer Address:
Manager's Name:
First Day of Work:
Last Day of Work:
Promised Rate of Pay:
Job Title and Duties:
Amount Actually Paid:

Discrimination

State laws

The California Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA) [Gov. Code §12940 et seq.] protects workers under nearly all types of discrimination, including race, sex, religious creed, color, national origin, disability, pregnancy, medical condition, marital status, and ancestry. This law applies to employers of private companies who have 5 or more employees, employment agencies, unions, state licensing boards and state and local governments. In cases of harassment prohibited by FEHA, no minimum employer size is required.

The California Labor Code §1102.1 protects workers from discrimination based on sexual orientation. This law applies to employers with 5 or more employees; however, religious and non-profit corporations are exempt.

Federal laws

Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act prohibits discrimination based on race, color, sex, national origin, religion, or pregnancy in hiring, firing, or creating working contracts with workers [42 U.S.C. §2000e-2]. This only applies to employers who have 15 or more employees for each working day in each of twenty calendar weeks in the current or preceding year. This also applies to employment, or "temp," agencies and unions.

The Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA) forbids employers from discharging an employee on the sole basis of age. To be protected under this act, the employee must be at least 40 years old. This law applies only to employers who have 20 or more employees and to employment agencies and unions.

The Civil Rights Act of 1866 [42 U.S.C. §1981] protects workers from discrimination only of race and national origin in the making, performance, modification, and termination of contracts. This includes enjoyment of all benefits, privileges, terms and conditions of contractual relationships including terms and conditions of employment.

The Equal Pay Act [29 U.S.C. §206(d)] requires employers to give equal pay to both men and women if they are doing work that requires equal amounts of skill, effort and responsibility under similar working conditions. This also applies to employment agencies and unions.