THE LAWS RELATING TO THE TIME, MANNER AND PAYMENT OF WAGES

SOURCES OF INFORMATION AND FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

The DLSE has recently released pre-recorded informational phone lines that cover a broad range of topics.  The pre-recorded messages are provided in their entirety in English and Spanish, with introductory statements in Mandarin, Cantonese, Tagalog, Vietnamese and Korean.  At the back of the booklet, and on their website, you will find phone numbers for the pre-recorded information lines for each DLSE district office as well as general phone numbers and addresses for each District Office.  If you are unsure of which office services your city of residence, go to their website at www.dir.ca.gov/dlse and click on the link for Office Locations.  At the top of the Office Locations page you will find an office locater link that provides a link to an alphabetical listing of cities in California that matches the city to its corresponding DLSE District Office.

2006 CALIFORNIA LABOR CODE

LAWS RELATING TO THE TIME, MANNER AND PAYMENT OF WAGES

§ 200.  Definitions

            As used in this article:

(a) "Wages" includes all amounts for labor performed by employees of every description, whether the amount is fixed or ascertained by the standard of time, task, piece, commission basis, or other method of calculation.

(b) "Labor" includes labor, work, or service whether rendered or performed under contract, subcontract, partnership, station plan, or other agreement if the labor to be paid for is performed personally by the person demanding payment.

§ 201.  Discharge of employee;  Immediate payment; Seasonal employment

(a)  If an employer discharges an employee, the wages earned and unpaid at the time of discharge are due and payable immediately.  An employer who lays off a group of employees by reason of the termination of seasonal employment in the curing, canning, or drying of any variety of perishable fruit, fish or vegetables, shall be deemed to have made immediate payment when the wages of said employees are paid within such reasonable time as may be necessary for computation and payment thereof; provided, however, that such reasonable time shall not exceed 72 hours, and further provided that payment shall be made by mail to any such employee who so requests and designates a mailing address thereof.

§ 202.  Quitting employee; Payment within 72 hours; Notice of intention

(a)  If an employee not having a written contract for a definite period quits his or her employment, his or her wages shall become due and payable not later than 72 hours thereafter, unless the employee has given 72 hours previous notice of his or her intention to quit, in which case the employee is entitled to his or her wages at the time of quitting. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, an employee who quits without providing a 72-hour notice shall be entitled to receive payment by mail if he or she so requests and designates a mailing address. The date of the mailing shall constitute the date of payment for purposes of the requirement to provide payment within 72 hours of the notice of quitting.

            (b)  [discusses the requirements of the State of California as the employer]

§ 203.  Willful failure to pay discharged or quitting employee; Penalty; 30-day limitation; Avoidance or refusal to receive payment; Time for filing suit for penalties

If an employer willfully fails to pay, without abatement or reduction, in accordance with Sections 201, 201.5, 202, and 205.5, any wages of an employee who is discharged or who quits, the wages of the employee shall continue as a penalty from the due date thereof at the same rate until paid or until an action therefor is commenced; but the wages shall not continue for more than 30 days.  An employee who secretes or absents himself or herself to avoid payment to him or her, or who refuses to receive the payment when fully tendered to him or her, including any penalty then accrued under this section, is not entitled to any benefit under this section for the time during which he or she so avoids payment.

Suit may be filed for these penalties at any time before the expiration of the statute of limitations on an action for the wages from which the penalties arise.

§ 206.  Payment of amount conceded due in case of dispute; Remedies of employee; Time for payment of claim after determination of validity by Commissioner; Penalty

(a)  In case of a dispute over wages, the employer shall pay, without condition and within the time set by this article, all wages, or parts thereof, conceded by him to be due, leaving to the employee all remedies he might otherwise be entitled to as to any balance claimed.

(b)  If, after an investigation and hearing, the Labor Commissioner has determined the validity of any employee's claim for wages, the claim is due and payable within 10 days after receipt of notice by the employer that such wages are due. Any employer having the ability to pay who willfully fails to pay such wages within 10 days shall, in addition to any other applicable penalty, pay treble the amount of any damages accruing to the employee as a direct and foreseeable consequence of such failure to pay.

§ 206.5.  Prohibition against, and invalidity of, release of claim for wages; Violation as misdemeanor

No employer shall require the execution of any release of any claim or right on account of wages due, or to become due, or made as an advance on wages to be earned, unless payment of such wages has been made. Any release required or executed in violation of the provisions of this section shall be null and void as between the employer and the employee and the violation of the provisions of this section shall be a misdemeanor.

§ 207.  Notice of paydays and time and place of payment; Posting

Every employer shall keep posted conspicuously at the place of work, if practicable or otherwise where it can be seen as employees come or go to their places of work, or at the office or nearest agency for payment kept by the employer, a notice specifying the regular pay days and the time and place of payment, in accordance with this article.

§ 208.  Place and manner of payment

Every employee who is discharged shall be paid at the place of discharge, and every employee who quits shall be paid at the office or agency of the employer in the county where the employee has been performing labor. All payments shall be made in the manner provided by law.

§ 209.  Striking employees; Payment of earned wages; Return of deposit or guaranty

In the event of any strike, the unpaid wages earned by striking employees shall become due and payable on the next regular payday, and the payment or settlement thereof shall include all amounts due the striking employees without abatement or reduction. The employer shall return to each striking employee any deposit, money, or other guaranty required by him from the employee for the faithful performance of the duties of the employment.

§ 210.  Penalty for failure to pay; Recovery; Disposition of money recovered

In addition to, and entirely independent and apart from, any other penalty provided in this article, every person who fails to pay the wages of each employee as provided in Sections 204, 204b, 204.1, 204.2, 205, 205.5, and 1197.5, shall be subject to a civil penalty as follows:

(a) For any initial violation, one hundred dollars ($100) for each failure to pay each employee.

(b) For each subsequent violation, or any willful or intentional violation, two hundred dollars ($200) for each failure to pay each employee, plus 25 percent of the amount unlawfully withheld.

The penalty shall be recovered by the Labor Commissioner as part of a hearing held to recover unpaid wages and penalties pursuant to this chapter or in an independent civil action. The action shall be brought in the name of the people of the State of California and the Labor Commissioner and the attorneys thereof may proceed and act for and on behalf of the people in bringing these actions. Twelve and one-half percent of the penalty recovered shall be paid into a fund within the Labor and Workforce Development Agency dedicated to educating employers about state labor laws, and remainder shall be paid into the State Treasury to the credit of the General Fund.

§ 221.  Collection or receipt of wages previously paid

It shall be unlawful for any employer to collect or receive from an employee any part of wages theretofore paid by said employer to said employee.

§226.7.  Meal or rest period

(a) No employer shall require any employee to work during any meal or rest period mandated by an applicable order of the Industrial Welfare Commission.

(b) If an employer fails to provide an employee a meal period or rest period in accordance with an applicable order of the Industrial Welfare Commission, the employer shall pay the employee one additional hour of pay at the employee's regular rate of compensation for each work day that the meal or rest period is not provided.

§ 227.3.  Payment for vested vacation time on termination of employment

Unless otherwise provided by a collective-bargaining agreement, whenever a contract of employment or employer policy provides for paid vacations, and an employee is terminated without having taken off his vested vacation time, all vested vacation shall be paid to him as wages at his final rate in accordance with such contract of employment or employer policy respecting eligibility or time served; provided, however, that an employment contract or employer policy shall not provide for forfeiture of vested vacation time upon termination.  The Labor Commissioner or a designated representative, in the resolution of any dispute with regard to vested vacation time, shall apply the principles of equity and fairness.

§ 232.  Prohibition against requiring employee to refrain from disclosing amount of wages

            No employer shall do any of the following:

(a) Require, as a condition of employment, that any employee refrain from disclosing the amount of his or her wages.

(b) Require any employee to sign a waiver or other document which purports to deny the employee the right to disclose the amount of his or her wages.

(c) Discharge, formally discipline, or otherwise discriminate against, for job advancement, an employee who discloses the amount of his or her wages.

§ 232.5 Prohibition against requiring employee to refrain from disclosing working conditions

            No employer may do any of the following:

            (a) Require, as a condition of employment, that an employee refrain from disclosing information about the employer’s working conditions.       

            (b) Require an employee to sign a waiver or other document that purports to deny the employee the right to disclose information about the employer’s working conditions.

            (c) Discharge, formally discipline, or otherwise discriminate against an employee who discloses information about the employer’s working conditions.

            (d) This section is not intended to permit an employee to disclose proprietary information, trade secret information, or information that is otherwise subject to a legal privilege without the consent of his or her employer.

§ 500.               Definitions

               For purposes of this chapter, the following terms shall have the following meanings:

               (a) "Workday" and "day" mean any consecutive 24-hour period commencing at the same time each calendar day.

               (b) "Workweek" and "week" mean any seven consecutive days, starting with the same calendar day each week.  "Workweek" is a fixed and regularly recurring period of 168 hours, seven consecutive

24-hour periods.

                  (c) "Alternative workweek schedule" means any regularly scheduled workweek requiring an employee to work more than eight hours in a 24-hour period.

§ 510. “Day's work”; Hours

(a) Eight hours of labor constitutes a day's work. Any work in excess of eight hours in one workday and any work in excess of 40 hours in any one workweek and the first eight hours worked on the seventh day of work in any one workweek shall be compensated at the rate of no less than one and one-half times the regular rate of pay for an employee. Any work in excess of 12 hours in one day shall be compensated at the rate of no less than twice the regular rate of pay for an employee. In addition, any work in excess of eight hours on any seventh day of a workweek shall be compensated at the rate of no less than twice the regular rate of pay of an employee. Nothing in this section requires an employer to combine more than one rate of overtime compensation in order to calculate the amount to be paid to an employee for any hour of overtime work. The requirements of this section do not apply to the payment of overtime compensation to an employee working pursuant to any of the following: 

(1) An alternative workweek schedule adopted pursuant to Section 511.

(2) An alternative workweek schedule adopted pursuant to a collective bargaining agreement pursuant to Section 514. 

(3) An alternative workweek schedule to which this chapter is inapplicable pursuant to Section 554. 

(b) Time spent commuting to and from the first place at which an employee's presence is required by the employer shall not be considered to be a part of a day's work, when the employee commutes in a vehicle that is owned, leased, or subsidized by the employer and is used for the purpose of ridesharing, as defined in Section 522 of the Vehicle Code. 

(c) This section does not affect, change, or limit an employer's liability under the workers' compensation law. 

§ 512.  Meal Periods

               (a) An employer may not employ an employee for a work period of more than five hours per day without providing the employee with a meal period of not less than 30 minutes, except that if the total work period per day of the employee is no more than six hours, the meal period may be waived by mutual consent of both the employer and employee. An employer may not employ an employee for a work period of more than 10 hours per day without providing the employee with a second meal period of not less than 30 minutes, except that if the total hours worked is no more than 12 hours, the second meal period may be waived by mutual consent of the employer and the employee only if the first meal period was not waived.

               (b) Notwithstanding subdivision (a), the Industrial Welfare Commission may adopt a working condition order permitting a meal period to commence after six hours of work if the commission determines that the order is consistent with the health and welfare of the affected employees.

               (c) Subdivision (a) does not apply to an employee in the wholesale baking industry who is subject to an Industrial Welfare Commission wage order and who is covered by a valid collective bargaining agreement that provides for a 35-hour workweek consisting of five seven-hour days, payment of 1 and1/2 the regular rate of pay for time worked in excess of seven hours per day, and a rest period of not less than 10 minutes every two hours.

            (d) If an employee in the motion picture industry or the broadcasting industry, as those industries are defined in Industrial Welfare Commission Wage Orders 11 and 12, is covered by a valid collective bargaining agreement that provides for meal periods and includes a monetary remedy if the employee does not receive a meal period required by the agreement, then the terms, conditions, and remedies of the agreement pertaining to meal periods apply in lieu of the applicable provisions pertaining to meal periods of subdivision (a) of this section, Section 226.7, and Industrial Welfare Commission Wage Orders 11 and 12.             

§  550.  “Day’s rest”

            As used in this chapter “day’s rest” applies to all situations whether the employee is engaged by the day, week, month, or year, and whether the work performed is done in the day or night time.

§ 551.  Right to day of rest

            Every person employed in any occupation of labor is entitled to one day’s rest there from in seven.

§  552.  Number of days in work week

            No employer of labor shall cause his employees to work more than six days in seven.  

Many of the public forms on the website, as well as internal forms used by our staff to communicate with the public, are available in Spanish, Chinese, Tagalog, Vietnamese and Korean in addition to English. 

Other sources of information found on our website include: