When Must Overtime Be Paid?

If you are a California worker, your overtime wages must be paid at the same time as your regular wages. In most cases, this is at least twice during each calendar month. The California Department of Industrial Relations says that many employers choose to pay their workers semi-monthly. If this is the payment schedule your employer chooses, the wages for work you perform between the first and 15th day of a month must be paid by the 26th of that month. Wages for work you perform between the 15th and ending day of a month must be paid by the 10th of the following month.

If your employer has established a different payroll period, such as every week or every other week, your wages must be paid within seven calendar days after the end of the payroll period in which you performed the work. Be aware that if you are an executive, professional or administrative employee rather than an hourly worker, your employer is allowed to pay you on a monthly basis.

Overtime exceptions

California Labor Code Section 204(b)(2) covers overtime wages. If you do not receive your overtime wages when they are due because there was a glitch in your payroll records regarding how many overtime hours you worked during a regular pay period, your employer can still be in compliance with this Section by paying your “late” overtime wages in the following pay period.

Your employer is required to record such “late” overtime wages as a correction, including a notation of the pay period being corrected, on the itemized statement of the current pay period. This is general information only and is not intended to provide legal advice.