California has specific rules regarding wages and working hours. These include regulations about minimum wage, overtime pay, and mandated meal and rest breaks. A large number of lawsuits against employers in California relate to violations of these wage and hour standards.

A frequent issue is employers failing to correctly compensate employees for overtime work. Under California law, non-exempt employees must be paid:

• 1.5 times their regular rate for any hours worked over 8 hours in a single day, and
• 2 times their regular rate for any hours worked beyond 12 hours in one day.

Importantly, employees cannot legally waive their right to receive overtime pay.

Another common violation involves misclassifying workers as independent contractors instead of W-2 employees. This misclassification often allows employers to avoid paying proper wages and overtime. If done deliberately, this is a serious offense under California law, subject to significant penalties. The key distinction between a W-2 employee and an independent contractor lies in the level of control the employer has over how the work is performed.