Unpaid Overtime

Whatever the mechanism, unpaid overtime is one of the most common forms of wage theft in Los Angeles, and it adds up fast. An extra unpaid hour a day is roughly 250 hours a year at your overtime rate, before interest and penalties.

Labor Law PC is an employee-side firm based in Santa Monica. Our unpaid overtime lawyers represent workers across Los Angeles, from warehouse and delivery workers moving freight out of the ports of LA and Long Beach, to line cooks in Pasadena, medical assistants in Glendale, and "assistant managers" in Burbank retail stores who spend their days stocking shelves. The consultation is free and we only get paid if you do. Call (877) 775-2267.

California Overtime Law: Daily, Weekly, and Double Time

California Labor Code section 510 goes well beyond federal law. If you are a non-exempt employee, you are generally entitled to:

• Time and a half (1.5x your regular rate) for hours worked beyond 8 in a single workday.
• Time and a half for hours beyond 40 in a workweek.
• Time and a half for the first 8 hours worked on the seventh consecutive day of a workweek.
• Double time (2x your regular rate) for hours beyond 12 in a single workday.
• Double time for hours beyond 8 on the seventh consecutive day of a workweek.

Two details trip up even well-meaning employers, and dishonest ones exploit them:

Daily overtime exists in California. Federal law (the FLSA) only counts weekly hours. In California, a single 11-hour day generates 3 hours of overtime even if your weekly total stays under 40. Employers who run payroll on out-of-state systems set to federal rules routinely underpay California workers this way.

The "regular rate" is more than your hourly wage. Overtime must be calculated on your regular rate of pay, which generally includes non-discretionary bonuses, commissions, shift differentials, and certain other compensation, not just the base hourly number. If you earn a production bonus and your overtime is still computed on base wage alone, you are being underpaid on every overtime hour.

"But my employer says I'm exempt" or "I'm salaried"

A salary does not eliminate overtime rights. To be exempt under the main white-collar exemptions, you generally must earn a salary of at least twice the state minimum wage for full-time work and spend more than half your time on genuinely exempt duties, such as managing a department and directing other employees, or exercising independent judgment on significant matters. Titles do not decide this; your actual day-to-day work does. If you are misclassified, every overtime hour is owed. Learn more on our employee misclassification page.

Deadlines

Unpaid overtime claims generally reach back three years under the Labor Code, and California's Unfair Competition Law can allow recovery of unpaid wages going back four years. Penalty claims, including PAGA civil penalties, can have much shorter windows. Deadlines vary with the facts, so get advice early rather than guessing.

Common Unpaid Overtime Schemes We See in Los Angeles

• Federal-only payroll settings that ignore California daily overtime and seventh-day rules.
• "No unauthorized overtime" policies used to refuse payment for overtime the employer knew about and accepted. If they suffered or permitted the work, they owe for it, approval or not.
• Time shaving and editing, where supervisors adjust punches so recorded shifts never exceed 8 hours.
• Automatic meal deductions that subtract 30 minutes daily whether or not you actually took the break, quietly pushing real hours over 8 without pay.
• Flat "day rates" or piece rates with no overtime calculation, common in construction, garment work, and delivery.
• Comp time instead of cash. Private employers generally cannot substitute informal "take Friday off" arrangements for legally required overtime pay.
• Working through unpaid time: answering the radio during lunch, finishing charts after clock-out, or securing the truck after the shift ends. That overlaps with off the clock work, and the two claims often travel together.
• Misclassifying inside salespeople, dispatchers, coordinators, and "managers" as exempt when their duties are not.

How We Prove and Recover Unpaid Overtime

1. Free case review. We map your actual schedule against your pay stubs. Many workers learn in one phone call that their pay math has been wrong for years.
2. Records demand. California entitles you to copies of your payroll records and personnel file. We obtain punch data, schedules, and payroll registers.
3. Damages model. We calculate unpaid daily and weekly overtime at the correct regular rate, plus interest, and identify related violations: inaccurate wage statements, break premiums, and waiting time penalties if you have left the job.
4. Resolution. We pursue your recovery through demand, Labor Commissioner proceedings, or litigation in Los Angeles courts, including class or PAGA actions where the same payroll practice hits your coworkers.

What an Unpaid Overtime Claim May Recover

Depending on the facts, workers may pursue unpaid overtime and double time for up to three to four years, interest, penalties for inaccurate wage statements, waiting time penalties of up to 30 days of wages if final pay was short, PAGA civil penalties where applicable, and attorney's fees and costs. No lawyer can promise a result, but California's remedies are designed to make underpaying workers more expensive than paying them correctly.

Frequently Asked Questions

• My boss says overtime was not approved, so it will not be paid. Is that legal?

  No. If your employer knew or should have known you were working, the hours must be paid at the correct rate. The company can discipline someone for breaking an approval policy, but it cannot withhold pay for work it accepted.

• Does overtime apply if I work four 10-hour days?

  Usually yes: each 10-hour day includes 2 hours of daily overtime. An exception exists for properly adopted alternative workweek schedules, which require a formal secret-ballot election and state filing. Many employers claim a "4/10 schedule" without ever completing that process, which means the overtime is owed.

• I get paid a day rate on job sites in LA. Do I get overtime?

  Generally yes. Day rates and piece rates do not waive overtime. Your regular rate is computed from your total pay and hours, and overtime is owed on top for daily and weekly overtime hours.

• Can my employer fire me for demanding overtime pay?

  Retaliation for asserting wage rights is illegal. If it happens, you may have a retaliation and wrongful termination claim in addition to the overtime claim, and the retaliation often makes the case stronger.

• I never wrote my hours down. Can I still make a claim?

  Yes. Recordkeeping is the employer's legal duty. When records are missing or falsified, you can establish hours through reasonable estimates, coworker testimony, schedules, texts, badge data, and delivery or job logs.

Related Wage and Hour Claims

• Wage and Hour Overview: all the ways Los Angeles employers underpay, in one place.
• Off the Clock Work: unpaid pre-shift, post-shift, and after-hours work that pushes you into overtime.
• Employee Misclassification: exempt-salary and 1099 misclassification that hides overtime rights.
• Final Paycheck Violations: waiting time penalties when unpaid overtime is missing from your last check.

Find Out What Your Overtime Is Worth

Bring us your schedule and a few pay stubs, and we will tell you honestly whether you have a case. Call (877) 775-2267 or contact us online for a free consultation. No fees until we win.