Network operations engineers, information technology (“IT”) specialists, systems administrator/engineers, database administrators, network administrators, network analysts, desk support, regardless of titles given by employers, these employees are known to share  two things in common:  long working hours and high-risk overtime liability for employers.

This post is written to provide employees and employers with an understanding on how to calculate overtime hours under California overtime laws. If you do not like math, you can refer to our easy-to-use online overtime calculator that will do to all computations for you.

Over the last decade, California employers have witnessed a state-wide increase in wage-and-hour lawsuits filed in state and federal courts.  Employers’ failure to pay split-shift premiums is often alleged as a cause of action.  This post is written in a Q&A form to provide employers and employees with brief guidelines on how California split-shift law works. Keep in mind that these rules apply only to hourly non-exempt employees.  

In one of the previous posts, we discussed how some commercial bus drivers may be exempt from California overtime laws under Industrial Welfare Commission Wage Order No. 9 section 3(L). It is crucial to keep in mind that in addition to state law, hours and days of work of commercial bus drivers are also regulated by federal law, namely, the Federal Standard Labor Act of 1938 (“FLSA”.)

In establishing their payroll policies and procedures, many California transportation industry employers often times face the question whether they should pay their drivers an hourly rate or flat rate compensation. While both types of payments are legal under California and Federal wage-and-hour laws, employers must be particularly careful when drivers are paid on a flat fee basis (or “piece rate”).