Overtime Exemptions

California General Overtime Requirements

When an employee in California works more than 8 hours in a single workday or more than 40 hours in a single workweek, the employee must be paid at "the rate of no less than one and one-half times the regular rate of pay for an employee." An employee must also be paid at this overtime rate whenever he or she, after working on each of the first six days of a workweek, also works on the seventh day of that workweek. California Labor Code section 510. For more detailed information on California overtime requirements, please see our Overtime, Rest Breaks, And Meal Breaks page.

Exemptions to California Overtime Requirements

There are several exemptions to California overtime requirements. If an exemption to California overtime requirements applies, then the employer can legally require an employee to work more than 8 hours in a single workday or 40 hours in a single workweek without any obligation to pay the employee for those additional hours of work.

Executive Employee Exemption

In order for the Executive Employee exemption to apply:

• The employee’s duties must involve management of the employer’s business or a department or subdivision of the employer’s business;
• The employee must customarily direct the work of two or more employees;
• The employee must have the authority to hire or fire employees, or the employee’s suggestions concerning hiring or firing and promotions are given significant weight;
• The employee must customarily exercise discretion and independent judgment;
• The employee must perform executive duties more than half of the worktime; and
• The employee’s monthly salary must be at least twice the state minimum wage (or local minimum wage if the city or county in which the employee works has adopted a higher minimum wage than the state minimum wage) for full time employment.

For more information, see our Executive Duties page and California Labor Code section 515.

Administrative Employee Exemption

In order for the Administrative Employee exemption to apply:

• The employee’s duties must involve office or nonmanual work directly related to management policies or general business operations of the employer;
• The employee must customarily exercise discretion and independent judgment;
• The employee must perform, under general supervision only, specialized or technical work that requires special training, experience, or knowledge (or regularly assists a proprietor, executive, or administrator, or performs special assignments under general supervision only);
• The employee must perform administrative duties more than half of the worktime; and
• The employee’s monthly salary must be at least twice the applicable minimum wage for full time employment.

For more information, see our Administrative Duties page and California Labor Code section 515.

Professional Employee Exemption

In order for the Professional Employee exemption to apply:

• The employee must be licensed or certified by the state and primarily engaged in the practice of law, medicine, dentistry, optometry, architecture, engineering, teaching, or accounting; OR
• The employee must be primarily engaged in an occupation recognized as a learned or artistic profession (e.g. some but not all musicians and journalists);
• The employee must customarily exercise discretion and independent judgment in performing the duties of the profession; and
• The employee’s monthly salary must be at least twice the applicable minimum wage for full time employment.

For more information, see our Professional Duties page and California Labor Code section 515.

Computer Professional Exemption

In order for the Computer Professional Exemption to apply:

• The employee in the computer software field must earn at least $98,907.70 a year for full-time employment or $47.48 per hour (as of January 1, 2021) and must otherwise qualify as a computer professional.

For more information, see our Computer Professional page and California Labor Code section 515.5.

Outside Salesperson Exemption

In order for the Outside Salesperson Exemption to apply:

• The employee must be at least 18 years of age; and
• The employee must regularly work more than half the working time away from the employer's place of business selling products, services, or use of facilities.

For more information, see our Salespersons page and California Labor Code section 1171.

National Service Exemption

In order for the National Service Exemption to apply:

The employee must be participating in a national service program pursuant to 42 United States Code Section 12571.

Driver Exemption

This exemption applies to certain drivers whose hours of service are regulated by the United States Code of Federal Regulations, Title 49, Sections 395.1 to 395.13; or California Code of Regulations, title 13, section 1200 et seq.

Commissioned Salesperson Exemption

In order for the Commissioned Salesperson Exemption to apply:

• The employee must be at least 18 years of age; and
• The employee’s earnings must exceed one and one-half times the applicable minimum wage and more than half of his or her compensation must be in the form of commissions.

For more information, see our Salespersons page and California Code of regulations, title 8, section 11040(3)(D).

Other Exemptions

• Employees whose duties consist entirely of those of a motion picture projectionist. Industrial Welfare Commission Wage Order No. 10(3)(G).
• Full-time carnival ride operators employed by a traveling carnival. Industrial Welfare Commission Wage Order No. 10(1)(F).
• Announcers, news editors, and chief engineers employed by a radio or television station in a city or town with a population of 25,000 or less. Industrial Welfare Commission Wage Order No. 11(3)(K).
• Airline Employees who work more than 40 hours but not more than 60 hours in a workweek due to a temporary modification in the employee’s normal work schedule arranged at the request of the employee and which was not mandated by the employer. Industrial Welfare Commission Wage Order No. 9(3)(N).
• Professional actors. See Industrial Welfare Commission Wage Order No. 12(1)(C).
• Personal attendants, and persons under the age of 18 employed as a babysitter for a child of the employer in the employer’s home. Industrial Welfare Commission Wage Order No. 15(1)(B).
• Employees who have entered into a collective bargaining agreement in accordance with the Railway Labor Act, 45 United States Code section 151 et. seq.; Industrial Welfare Commission Wage Order No. 9(1)(E).
• Taxicab drivers. Industrial Welfare Commission Wage Order No. 9(3)(M).
• Student nurses. Industrial Welfare Commission Wage Order No. 5(1)(A).
• Crew members employed on a commercial passenger fishing boat licensed under California Fish and Game Code section 7920, et seq.

There are also several special rules (see Industrial Welfare Commission Wage Order No. 14 concerning agricultural employees) affecting the basis upon which the payment of overtime must be paid.

The classification of a worker is not determined by title but instead is determined by duties or by both salary and duties. It is irrelevant if an employee not exempt from California overtime laws agrees to work overtime without additional compensation; California law requires them to receive additional compensation for working overtime. California Labor Code section 1194.

Contact Us

If you have not received proper overtime wages, or if you believe your employer or former employer has otherwise violated your rights, call the experienced employment law attorneys at Kokozian Law Firm, APC or Contact Us via our online form.

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