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California requires employers to pay overtime rates when employees work more than 8 hours in a day or 40 hours in a week. Overtime pay must be at least 1.5 times the hourly rate with some exceptions. Simple but costly overtime errors include miscounting hours or paying the wrong rate. Other errors come from not paying on time and explaining overtime calculations on the pay stub. Sometimes employers misclassify employees as exempt or not eligible for overtime. Worse, employers sometimes illegally make workers skip lunch, work off-the-clock or perform work-related tasks without paying them. Check your paycheck for overtime errors.

Don’t be a victim of paycheck underpayment errors. California provides strong protections for its workers. Every hourly worker has a right to meal and rest breaks. They also must be paid for work-related tasks like donning safety equipment, walking to their station, and travel under the employer’s control. Even workers on salary must be paid at least the equivalent of the minimum wage for straight hours. Employers must properly classify each worker as salaried or hourly, exempt or non-exempt. Pay for piecework and seasonal agriculture work must also follow clear rules. Find out if you were underpaid.

Your pay rate and eligibility for overtime depend on job classification. If your employer gets it wrong, you could be underpaid. California has strict rules defining hourly and salaried workers, for example. Rules also define exempt and non-exempt for overtime. Most exempt workers are salaried, but not all salaried workers are exempt. The rules are not easy to understand and can make a big difference in what you bring home. If you are misclassified, you could be owed back wages, taxes, penalties and interest. Watch out for paycheck classification errors.

Your paycheck should be easy to read. California labor law requires it. Your employer must give you wage and hour information so that you understand the pay you receive. You should not have to use a calculator. You should not need to look at a calendar. Your paycheck must be clear, so that you can easily understand it. If your paycheck is confusing, or appears to be inaccurate in any way, it may be in violation of the law. Violations may mean money is owed to you as penalty. An expert employment attorney can review your paycheck for violations of this complicated law. Find out if you have paycheck itemization errors.