Pay & Scheduling Q&A

California Wage Orders

• What Wage Order covers employees of a temporary agency or employee leasing agency?
• We collect a mandatory service charge from our patrons that is not distributed to employees. Our employees are demanding that we distribute this amount. Is it a tip?
• Under what circumstances might an employer not owe reporting time pay to an employee?

Wages and Salaries

• What is the difference between flexible scheduling and flex time?
• What information must be included on paycheck deduction statements?
• Do I have to pay an employee who is leaving for unused sick and/or vacation time?
• What happens to earned wages and vacation of a deceased employee?
• How do I factor bonuses into premium pay for terminated employees?
• Do we have to pay an hourly employee if she fails to clock in and out?
• If an employee clocks in early but doesn't start to work (goes to get coffee, talks to co-workers), do I have to pay for the early clock-in?
• Do I have to pay an employee who does not turn in their timecard?
• Do I have to pay an hourly employee for attending elective training?
• If an employee changes into a uniform before work and out of a uniform and into street clothes after work, must we pay for time spent changing clothes?
• Is there a minimum number of hours I must pay an employee who reports to work?
• With the time change coming, how do we calculate hours worked for the graveyard shift?
• Who is ultimately responsible for timecard information?
• May I use a manager's bonus pay to meet the minimum salary requirements for the executive exemption?
• Do I have to post both state and federal minimum wage posters since California's minimum wage is higher than the federal rate?
• Can an employee receive total compensation that averages at least the required minimum wage for hours worked?
• Do I pay the state or federal minimum wage amount?
• What is the minimum salary for an exempt employee?
• What is the penalty for failure to pay wages on payday?
• May I change my employees' paydays?
• Our company uses pay cards to pay employees in other states. Can we offer pay cards to our California employees?
• How often and by what dates am I required to pay employees?
• Can an employer require that all employees have direct deposit?
• Do I have to pay nonexempt employees for time spent traveling to and attending a conference?
• Can employees discuss wage rates, working conditions?
• What is the Fair Labor Standards Act and who does it cover?
• Do I have to pay employees who volunteer at fun company functions?
• What are the legal requirements regarding information on pay stubs?
• Do I have to pay exempt employees the day after a paid holiday?
• Are we in compliance with California law if we use an out-of-state bank?
• Can we refuse to reimburse an employee for expenses until the employee submits documentation verifying the claimed expenses?
• How do I prepare for a labor commissioner hearing?
• If an employee works for me in another state, which state's laws do I have to follow?
• May I set reimbursement rules by company policy?
• Can an employee's wages be garnished by more than one order at a time?
• Are there any minimum amounts required for expense reimbursement?
• Can I require employees to submit makeup time requests each week in order to create an alternative workweek schedule?
• What are the guidelines for reducing our schedule from five eight-hour days per week to four eight-hour days for all hourly employees?
• If a new employee scheduled vacation in a few weeks but does not have enough accrued vacation time, can we deduct from salary?
• Can we deny baby bonding leave when it is not convenient or would result in an undue hardship to the company?
• Is there any statutory prohibition against reducing wages without prior notice to the employee, or retroactively reducing wages to the beginning of the pay period?
• What are some of the issues to consider when reducing wages in lieu of layoffs?
• When, and at what rate of pay, must an employee be paid for attending a short meeting on a day that is not a scheduled workday?
• What penalties would an employer face for failing to pay employees on the designated pay date or if the employer has insufficient funds to satisfy his/her payroll obligations?
• What are the payday requirements when an employer is closed?
• Our payroll checks are no longer negotiable after six months. May I have a policy in our employee handbook warning that after six months any uncashed paychecks will be cancelled and not reissued?
• Does an employer have to pay an employee for on-call time when the employee sleeps on the premises on a 24-hour shift?
• Are employee meetings and training sessions considered hours worked?

Deductions from Wages

• May I make deductions from an exempt employee's salary?
• When may an employer honor more than one wage garnishment order?
• Is a voluntary wage assignment the same as a garnishment notice?
• Are you allowed to double health deductions to cover the full-month premium if the employee's last day is during the first week of the month? (Our payroll is biweekly.)
• Can we collect money owed through payroll with a promissory note in place?
• When an employee comes back from leave, can our company "catch up" her normal benefit deductions to repay what she has not paid?
• Can we deduct for unpaid holidays?
• Can we deduct a partial day’s pay from salaried nonexempt employees?
• Can you take money from expense reports for damaged equipment?
• What does "disposable earnings" mean in the garnishment laws?

Incentive Pay

• When are commissions due discharged employees?

Uniforms, Tools and Equipment

• Can I deduct the cost of unreturned equipment or uniforms from an employee's final paycheck?
• What may I do about employees who fail to return company property when they leave my employment?
• Can I hold an employee’s final paycheck if he/she fails to turn in company equipment or required paperwork for expense reimbursements?
• Is a black shirt with a company logo a uniform that must be provided by the employer?
• Must employees be paid twice the minimum wage if the employer fails to provide necessary tools?

Hours of Work and Recording Time Worked

• What are the requirements when an employee works a split shift?
• How much time off or rest must I give an employee between shifts?
• Is there a minimum amount of time I have to give an employee off between shifts?
• Is there any requirement that employees have a certain amount of time between work shifts?
• Our company's procedure is to only keep time records for total daily hours worked, but not in-and-out time records. Does this practice comply with the law?
• Can make-up time be used in a workweek other than the workweek for which it is requested?
• Is it OK to keep time records for exempt employees?
• When planning a company holiday party are there any legal issues to consider?
• Are employees and/or their supervisors required to sign employee timesheets?

Overtime Pay

• Can an employee make up time missed in one day by working extra another day without overtime?
• Will we have to pay overtime to employees who want to work a second shift performing completely different duties?
• Do I pay my employees based on overtime worked in one day, or in one week?
• Which poster explains overtime pay?
• Are intrastate truck drivers exempt from overtime?
• Can an intrastate truck driver be exempt from California overtime but still be subject to federal overtime?
• Are public agency employees subject to overtime rules?
• How do I calculate overtime?
• If I put an employee on salary is he exempt from overtime?
• Are salaried employees entitled to overtime?
• Do I have to pay overtime to an employee who worked the extra hours without permission?
• Must I pay overtime on hours an employee is paid for time off such as vacations, holidays and sick time?
• How is overtime calculated for an employee paid two different hourly rates?
• What are the overtime requirements for an employee who returns to work in less than eight hours after working an eight-hour shift?
• Does a holiday count as a day worked when calculating overtime pay?
• We owe retroactive overtime pay. Will auditing for the previous two years be sufficient?

Meal and Rest Breaks

• Must I provide a break area or room for my employees?
• How much time do I have to give my employees for meal and rest breaks?
• Is the meal break penalty used in calculating overtime?
• If an employee wants to leave early, may he waive his meal period?
• What do I do about smokers who take more breaks than non-smokers take?
• Can we automatically deduct a half-hour for meal period if an employee doesn't clock in and out?
• Can the meal period requirement be waived for a working lunch?
• Can the 10-minute rest break be waived?
• Are employers' meal and rest break obligations the same?
• When planning a company holiday party are there any legal issues to consider?

Alternative Workweek Scheduling

• How do we pay holiday pay on an alternative workweek schedule?
• Are employees on alternative workweek schedules entitled to overtime, and if so, how do I pay them overtime?
• How do I create an alternative workweek schedule?
• How do changes in staff affect the alternative workweek schedule?
• Are there different alternative workweek rules for the health care industry?
• How do I implement an alternative workweek schedule in keeping with current requirements?
• Can an alternative workweek be established for only one person?
• What is the difference between an alternative workweek schedule and flextime?
• There seems to be some dissatisfaction among the employees with the adopted alternative workweek schedule. Production has been adversely affected. Can the alternative workweek schedule be terminated?

Telecommuting

• Am I required to let an employee telecommute if he or she wants to?
• Am I responsible for creating a safe workplace for a telecommuting employee?
• What are the requirements for posters for employees who work out in the field or at home?
• What are the pitfalls of having people work from home?