Do Salaried Employees Get Paid Overtime in California? Salary Threshold Lawsuits

Attorneys working with ClassAction.org are looking into whether lawsuits can be filed against employers in California that may be illegally denying overtime pay to salaried employees who make less than $66,560 a year.

While many salaried employees are exempt from receiving overtime pay under California labor law—which generally requires workers to be paid time-and-a-half wages when they work more than eight hours per day or 40 per week—employees must make more than a certain salary threshold in order to qualify as exempt. The attorneys believe some salaried workers may have been illegally misclassified as overtime exempt despite making less than the state’s $66,560 salary threshold.

Now, the attorneys want to hear from employees who may have been misclassified as they determine whether class action lawsuits can be filed to help workers get back any unpaid overtime wages.

California Overtime Exemption Salary Threshold

Under California labor law, overtime exemptions depend on the type of work an employee performs and how much they make.

For example, employees who spend most of their time performing professional, administrative or executive work are generally considered exempt from overtime requirements if their salary is at least twice the state minimum wage. As of January 2024, the minimum wage in California is $16 per hour, which means employees must earn an annual salary of at least $66,560 to meet the overtime exempt salary threshold. In 2023, the minimum wage was $15.50 per hour, making the minimum salary for an overtime exemption $64,480.

Other examples of jobs that must meet the minimum salary threshold to qualify as exempt from overtime include work that is primarily intellectual, managerial or creative and requires the exercise of discretion and independent judgment.

Notably, employees are not exempt from overtime just because their employer classifies them as exempt. If your position does not fall under one of the law’s specific exemptions, or if you make less than the minimum salary threshold, you are entitled to time-and-a-half overtime wages by law—regardless of how your employer classifies your position or whether you’re paid a salary, by the hour or on some other basis.

Overtime Laws in CA: How Much Should Employees Get Paid?

Overtime laws are stricter in California than federal labor law and state that eight hours of work constitutes a full workday. Any hours of work in excess of eight in one day and 40 in one week must be paid at a rate of at least one and a half times the employee’s regular rate of pay.

Employees also receive time-and-a-half overtime wages for the first eight hours worked on the seventh consecutive day of work in a week.

Further, California law requires that any work in excess of 12 hours in one day or eight hours on the seventh day of a workweek must be compensated at a rate of twice the employee’s regular pay rate.

How Could a Class Action Lawsuit Help?

A class action lawsuit could help employees recover money for any unpaid overtime wages they’re owed. It could also force employers to change their pay practices, including how they classify employees.

What You Can Do

After you get in touch, an attorney or legal representative may reach out to you directly to ask you some questions and explain how you may be able to help get a class action lawsuit started. It costs nothing to fill out the form or speak with someone, and you’re not obligated to take legal action if you don’t want to.

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