California Labor Laws

Sick Time

To qualify for sick leave, an employee must:

  • Work for the same employer, on or after January 1, 2015, for at least 30 days within a year in California, and
  • Satisfy a 90-day employment period (similar to a probationary period) before taking any sick leave

“Accrual “ vs. “Up Front” Policies

Employers adopting new policies to comply with the law may choose whether to have an “accrual” policy or a “no accrual/up front” policy.

An accrual policy is one where employees earn sick leave over time, with the accrued time carrying over in each year of employment. In general terms (and subject to some exceptions), employees under an accrual plan must earn at least one hour of paid sick leave for each 30 hours of work (the 1:30 schedule). Although employers may adopt or keep other types of accrual schedules, the schedule must result in an employee having at least 24 hours of accrued sick leave or paid time off by the 120th calendar day of employment.

Although employees may accrue more than three days of paid sick leave under the one hour for every 30 hours worked (or under an alternative accrual standard) under an accrual method, the law allows employers to limit an employee’s use of paid sick leave to 24 hours or three days during a year. The law also allows an employer to limit an employee’s total accrued paid sick leave to no more than 48 hours or six days.

A no accrual/up front policy makes the full amount of sick leave for the year available immediately at the beginning of a year-long period, except for initial hires where it must be available for use by the 120th day of employment. The employer must provide at least 24 hours or three days of paid sick leave per year and the full amount of this leave must be available for the employee’s use from the beginning of each year of employment, calendar year, or 12-month period.  Note: the employer determines how the year will be calculated, whether it tracks a typical calendar year, fiscal year, or other 12-month period).

Lastly, the law allows certain types of existing sick leave policies to be “grandfathered,” if the policy was in existence prior to January 1, 2015.  These policies are deemed to comply with the new law if:

  • The accrual provides no less than one day or 8 hours of accrued paid sick leave or paid time off within three months of employment per year, and
  • The employee was eligible to earn at least three days or 24 hours of paid sick leave or paid time off within 9 months of employment.

 

Cap on use of Sick Leave

The use of paid sick leave may be limited to 3 days or 24 hours per year.

 

What Sick Leave can be used for

You can take paid sick leave for yourself or a family member, for preventive care or diagnosis, care or treatment of an existing health condition, or for specified purposes if you are a victim of domestic violence, sexual assault or stalking.

 

Family members include the employee’s parent, child, spouse, registered domestic partner, grandparent, grandchild, and sibling.

 

Preventive care would include annual physicals or flu shots.

The employee may decide how much paid sick leave he or she wants to use (for example, whether you want to take an entire day, or only part of a day). Your employer can require you to take a minimum of at least two hours of paid sick leave at a time, but otherwise the determination of how much time is needed is left to the employee.

 

 

 

Meal Periods

Under California law (IWC Orders and Labor Code Section 512), employees must be provided with no less than a thirty-minute meal period when the work period is more than five hours (more than six hours for employees in the motion picture industry covered by IWC Order 12-2001).Unless the employee is relieved of all duty during the entire thirty-minute meal period and is free to leave the employer's premises, the meal period shall be considered "on duty," counted as hours worked, and paid for at the employee's regular rate of pay. An "on duty" meal period will be permitted only when the nature of the work prevents the employee from being relieved of all duty and when by written agreement between the employer and employee an on-the-job meal period is agreed to. The test of whether the nature of the work prevents an employee from being relieved of all duty is an objective one. An employer and employee may not agree to an on-duty meal period unless, based on objective criteria, any employee would be prevented from being relieved of all duty based on the necessary job duties. Some examples of jobs that fit this category are a sole worker in a coffee kiosk, a sole worker in an all-night convenience store, and a security guard stationed alone at a remote site.

 

 

 

 

Overtime

In California, the general overtime provisions are that a nonexempt employee 18 years of age or older, or any minor employee 16 or 17 years of age who is not required by law to attend school and is not otherwise prohibited by law from engaging in the subject work, shall not be employed more than eight hours in any workday or more than 40 hours in any workweek unless he or she receives one and one-half times his or her regular rate of pay for all hours worked over eight hours in any workday and over 40 hours in the workweek. Eight hours of labor constitutes a day's work, and employment beyond eight hours in any workday or more than six days in any workweek is permissible provided the employee is compensated for the overtime at not less than:

  • One and one-half times the employee's regular rate of pay for all hours worked in excess of eight hours up to and including 12 hours in any workday, and for the first eight hours worked on the seventh consecutive day of work in a workweek; and
  • Double the employee's regular rate of pay for all hours worked in excess of 12 hours in any workday and for all hours worked in excess of eight on the seventh consecutive day of work in a workweek.

There are, however, a number of exemptions from the overtime law. An "exemption" means that the overtime law does not apply to a particular classification of employees. There are also a number of exceptions to the general overtime law stated above. An "exception" means that overtime is paid to a certain classification of employees on a basis that differs from that stated above.

 

 

 

 

 

Breaks

What are the basic requirements for rest periods under California law?
Employers of California employees covered by the rest period provisions of the Industrial Welfare Commission Wage Orders must authorize and permit a net 10-minute paid rest period for every four hours worked or major fraction thereof. Insofar as is practicable, the rest period should be in the middle of the work period. If an employer does not authorize or permit a rest period, the employer shall pay the employee one hour of pay at the employee's regular rate of pay for each workday that the rest period is not provided.

 

Must the rest periods always be in the middle of each four-hour work period?
Rest breaks must be given as close to the middle of the four-hour work period as is practicable. If the nature or circumstances of the work prevent the employer from giving the break at the preferred time, the employee must still receive the required break, but may take it at another point in the work period.

 

My employer is not allowing me to take a rest period. Is there anything I can do about this situation?
Yes, there is something you can do if you are an employee covered by the rest period requirements of the Industrial Welfare Commission Wage Orders. If your employer fails to authorize and permit the required rest period(s), you are to be paid one hour of pay at your regular rate of compensation for each workday that the rest period is not authorized or permitted. If your employer fails to pay the additional one-hour's pay, you may file a wage claim with the Division of Labor Standards Enforcement.

 

Is it permissible if I choose to work through both of my rest periods so that I can leave my job 20 minutes early?
No, working through your rest period does not entitle you to leave work early or arrive late.

 

Can my employer require that I stay on the work premises during my rest period?
Yes, your employer can require that you stay on the premises during your rest break. Since you are being compensated for the time during your rest period, your employer can require that you remain on its premises. And under most situations, the employer is required to provide suitable resting facilities that shall be available for employees during working hours in an area separate from the toilet rooms.

 

Can I have additional rest breaks if I am a smoker?
No, under California law rest period time is based on the total hours worked daily, and only one ten-minute rest period need be authorized for every four hours of work or major fraction thereof.

 

When I need to use the toilet facilities during my work period does that count as my ten minute rest break?
No, the 10-minute rest period is not designed to be exclusively for use of toilet facilities as evidenced by the fact that the Industrial Welfare Commission requires suitable resting facilities be in an area "separate from toilet rooms." The intent of the Industrial Welfare Commission regarding rest periods is clear: the rest period is not to be confused with or limited to breaks taken by employees to use toilet facilities. This conclusion is required by a reading of the provisions of IWC Orders, Section 12, Rest Periods, in conjunction with the provisions of Section 13(B), Change Rooms And Resting Facilities, which requires that "Suitable resting facilities shall be provided in an area separate from the toilet rooms and shall be available to employees during work hours."

Allowing employees to use toilet facilities during working hours does not meet the employer's obligation to provide rest periods as required by the IWC Orders. This is not to say, of course, that employers do not have the right to reasonably limit the amount of time an employee may be absent from his or her work station; and, it does not indicate that an employee who chooses to use the toilet facilities while on an authorized break may extend the break time by doing so. DLSE policy simply prohibits an employer from requiring that employees count any separate use of toilet facilities as a rest period.

 

 

 

 

Vacation

My employer's vacation plan states that no vacation is earned during the first six months of employment. Is this legal?

Yes. DLSE's enforcement policy does not preclude an employer from providing a specific period of time at the beginning of the employment relationship during which an employee does not earn any vacation benefits. This could apply to a probationary or introductory period, and can even apply to the whole first year of employment

 

How is vacation earned?

In California, because paid vacation is a form of wages, it is earned as labor is performed. An employer's vacation plan may provide for the earning of vacation benefits on a day-by-day, by the week, by the pay period, or some other period basis. For example, an employer's policy may provide that an employee will earn a proportionate share of his or her annual vacation entitlement for each week of a calendar year in which the employee either works at least one full day or receives at least one full days' pay during such week. Thus, for example, if an employee is entitled to two weeks (10 work days) annual vacation, and works full-time, eight hours per day, 40 hours per week, in the above example for each week the employee works at least one full day, he or she will earn 1.538 hours of paid vacation, calculated as follows:

10 work days entitlement per year x 8 hours/day = 80 hours vacation entitlement per year

80 hours vacation entitlement per year ÷ 52 weeks per year = 1.538 hours of vacation earned per week

In contrast to how vacation pay may be earned, the calculation of vacation pay for terminating employees (a quit, discharge, death, end of contract, etc.) who have earned and accrued and unused vacation on the books at the time of termination must be prorated on a daily basis and must be paid at the final rate of pay in effect as of the date of the separation. For example, an employee who is entitled to three weeks of annual vacation (15 work days entitlement per year x 8 hours/day = 120 hours vacation entitlement per year) who quits on August 7, 2002 (the 219th day of the year) without having taken any vacation in 2002, who has no vacation carry-over from prior years, and whose final rate of pay is $13.00 per hour, would be entitled to $936.00 vacation pay upon separation, calculated as follows:

Pro rata daily basis:

219 days (August 7, 2002, date of quit) ÷ 365 days/year = 60%

60% of 120 hours vacation entitlement = 72 hours vacation earned and accrued through August 7, 2002

Vacation days used in 2002 = 0

Vacation earned but not taken at time of separation = 72 hours

72 hours x $13.00/hour = $936.00 vacation pay due at separation.

 

I am a part-time employee, and am excluded from my employer's vacation plan (only full-time employees get vacation). Is this legal?

Yes, it is legal. If an employer's vacation plan/policy excludes certain classes of employees, such as part-time, temporary, casual, probationary, etc., such a provision is valid, and the agreement will govern. To avoid any misunderstandings in this area, the vacation plan/policy should state clearly and specifically which employee classification(s) are excluded.

 

My employer's vacation policy provides that if I do not use all of my annual vacation entitlement by the end of the year, that I lose the unused balance. Is this legal?

No, such a provision is not legal. In California, vacation pay is another form of wages which vests as it is earned (in this context, "vests" means you are invested or endowed with rights in the wages). Accordingly, a policy that provides for the forfeiture of vacation pay that is not used by a specified date ("use it or lose it") is an illegal policy under California law and will not be recognized by the Labor Commissioner.

 

My employer's vacation policy provides that once an employee earns 200 hours of vacation, no more vacation may be earned (accrued) until the vacation balance falls below that level. Is this legal?

Yes, such a provision would be acceptable to the Labor Commissioner. Unlike "use it or lose it" policies, a vacation policy that places a "cap" or "ceiling" on vacation pay accruals is permissible. Whereas a "use it or lose it" policy results in a forfeiture of accrued vacation pay, a "cap" simply places a limit on the amount of vacation that can accrue; that is, once a certain level or amount of accrued vacation is earned but not taken, no further vacation or vacation pay accrues until the balance falls below the cap. The time periods involved for taking vacation must, of course, be reasonable. If implementation of a "cap" is a subterfuge to deny employees vacation or vacation benefits, the policy will not be recognized by the Labor Commissioner.

DLSE has repeatedly found vacation policies which provide that all vacation must be taken in the year it is earned (or in a very limited period following the accrual period) are unfair and will not be enforced by the Division.

 

Can my employer tell me when to take my vacation?

Yes, your employer has the right to manage its vacation pay responsibilities, and one of the ways it can do this is by controlling when vacation can be taken and the amount of vacation that may be taken at any particular time.

 

My employer's vacation policy provides that if I don't use all of my vacation by the end of the year, he will pay me for the vacation that I earned and accrued that year, but did not take. Is this legal?

Yes, your employer has the right to manage its vacation pay responsibilities, and one of the ways it can do this is by paying you off each year for vacation that you earned and accrued that year, but did not take.