I  work over 8 hours a day and sometimes more than 40 hours a week. Do I deserve overtime?

The short answer is yes, you deserve overtime, but only  if you are a non-exempt employee. Under California labor law, everyone who works beyond normal hours deserves overtime pay.

M y employer classified me as an independent contractor. What difference does it make whether I am an independent contractor or employee?

The short answer is that if your employer misclassified you as an independent contractor, you may be owed  a great deal of money in back wages.