Labor Law Center Blog » Blog Archive » Holiday Pay Law Requirements in the State of California (CA)

Holiday Pay Law Requirements in the State of California (CA)

August 18th, 2006 Posted by Madison

California observes the official federal holidays which are New Year’s Day, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Columbus Day, Veterans Day, Thanksgiving Day and Christmas Day as well as days celebrating birthdays or notable people including Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, Lincoln’s and Washington’s Birthdays, and Cesar Chavez Day.

As in many states, California employers are not required to pay their workers holiday pay when they close for business on official holidays. If an employee works on a holiday, they are paid their usual rate of pay unless it is the employer’s policy to pay extra rates such as time-and-a-half. California law does not require the employer to pay any additional pay if an employee works on the day of a holiday unless it is part of their common practice or if the employee has worked in excess of a 40 hour, 8 hour per day work week. Saturdays and Sunday are also paid at the same rate as hours worked during a weekday. In addition, California law does not require its employers to close for business on any holiday or to give their employees the day off for a particular holiday.

Holiday or weekend pay is given to workers at the discretion of the employers according to company policy, the practices adopted by the employer, or the terms agreed upon between the employer and the employee.

The Division of Labor Standards and Enforcement (DLSE) enforce Labor Code statutes, investigate public work complaints and discrimination, and enforces Labor Code statutes among its many duties. At the same time, The Division of Labor Statistics and Research (DLSR) and is dedicated to collecting, compiling and presenting accurate statistics and research regarding the current condition of labor in the state of California. Combined, these two agencies are dedicated to achieving the highest quality of service possible for the people of California.

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Posted in California, Employee Benefits, Paid Leave, Vacation

Posted by: Jacob

This is pure capitalism!!! We live in the world’s superpower (supposedly) yet we work endless hours of hard work, for an income that cannot support a single person… I despise this country and its fascist, imperial, capitalistic ways….

This American culture is a metaphorically sadistic, and perverted version of Nero Cesar’s dream population of unaware sheep, if you will.
Posted by: Wilkey

An employee is out on disability. She is using vacation days, is holiday pay to be paid ?
Posted by: Amelia

Hi Wilkey! That will depend upon company policy. For a more complete answer, post your question on our sister site, http://www.laborlawtalk.com. Thanks for reading our blog! Amelia
Posted by: Mark

I have worked at this company for five years and currently have 102.51 hours of vacation time. When I came back from the Labor Day holiday a memo had been placed in my inbox that stated that the company would not be paying company paid holidays as stated they would pay in our handbook and I have been refused taking vacation time that I have earned. This is not legal but where to I find the laws that govern such actions for California.
Posted by: Amelia

Hi Mark! You’re right — this is probably not legal in California, although it would be in many other states. We have two great resources for you. First, you can post your questions on our sister site for employees, http://www.laborlawtalk.com. And, you can always wade through the official California Department of Industrial Relations site at http://www.dir.ca.gov/DLSE/ to find answers of your own, if you have the time. Thanks for a great question, and for reading the blogs!~ Amelia
Posted by: Juli

If I receive 8 hours of holiday pay for a Monday that I did not work, and then 32 hours of straight pay for working Tuesday - Friday, are any additional hours that I work on that Saturday supposed to be paid as overtime?
Posted by: Amelia

Hi Juli! Unfortuantely, no. You are probably not entitled to overtime pay for Saturday. Both federal and California law require that employees receive overtime after working more than 40 hours in the week. You didn’t work on Monday, so the 8 hours of holiday pay are not included in time “worked” for overtime purposes. This means an employer could legitimately pay you for 48 hours of straight time at the regular rate, if 8 hours of that time was holiday pay. For a more complete explaination, please post your question on our sister site at http://www.laborlawtalk.com. And, thanks for reading the blogs!~ Amelia
Posted by: Debbie

If an employee request time off before & after a holiday do we still pay holiday pay? Example: employee may request July 1-15 off……Since they did not work the day before or after the holiday does the employer still have to pay for the holiday? Employer does pay for holidays normally. But does not state that one must work either the day before or after.
Thanks
Posted by: Amelia

Hi Debbie! This is a matter of company policy. There is no state that requires employers to pay workers for holidays. When an employer does offer this benefit, the employer establishes the rules for it. Most employers have a written policy that an employee who calls in sick on the day before or after the holiday is not eligible for holiday pay. However, most employers do permit employees to take paid leave before or after the holiday, and still receive holiday pay. Example: Friday, July 4 is a paid holiday. Jane takes vacation Monday through Thursday, and is paid for the entire week, using only 4 days of vacation. It is very common for employees to “tack on” holidays to vacation in this way.

In this case, because the employer has no written policy forbidding it, the employee is probably entitled to holiday pay in lieu of vacation pay on that day. (Most employers have a rule that an employee can’t be paid for both on the same day. So Jane is entitled to holiday pay or vacation pay on Friday, but not both.)

By the way, we have a sister site set up specifically to answer questions like yours. It has the same staff members who write on this site, answering all your HR questions at http://www.humanresourceblog.com. HTH, and thanks for reading the blogs!~ Amelia
Posted by: Evelyn

I have worked for a non-profit agency for 23 years as a full-time worker. I was just told that due to funding my employment status will go from 100% to 50% starting Nov. 1, 2008. Do I have a right to holiday pay as I did all these years?
Evelyn
Posted by: Amelia

Hi Evelyn! Probably not. You have been demoted to part-time employee, and you are now entitled only to the benefits that the employer offers other part-time employees. In some cases, that may even mean you lose your group health insurance. In California, as in many states, an employee who has a significant cut in pay is eligible for unemployment, if they quit. However, if you continue to work for several weeks after the pay cut, that will not apply. You can post additional questions on our sister site at http://www.laborlawtalk.com. HTH, and thanks for reading the blogs!~ Amelia
Posted by: USA and UK workers

This is outrageous. I’ve worked both in the US and the UK and the US is by far the worst working situation out of the two. The USA labor laws are by far the worst when compared to other western nations. No holiday pay, so many ways to cheat employees out of overtime pay, no paid lunch time, hardly any employee protection compared to other western nations, and the list goes on and on.

I do not understand why workers in the USA stand for this rubbish. Write a letter to your senator or representative for God’s sake. You barely have any holidays in the USA as it is, then they can make you work on the for regular pay. Explain to me the point of having national holidays if you can’t take them off or at least get paid decently for them? Not much point in that really is there.

This the tiny amount paid vacation time in the US is just crazy. You are meant to feel lucky if you get a week or two of paid time off a year. Most of the world gets at least four weeks of paid vacation — at a minimum. Oh yeah and you have to work at least a year before you qualify. LOL!!! What moron would agree to that? A slave would even want some time off.

Complain and write letters. You are a slave…. stop thinking like one. The stress is killing you. Help yourselves and help your children and your fellow co-workers.

Unbelievable.
Posted by: Amelia

Hi UK and USA! On this site, we usually address only issues related to U.S. labor laws. We approach the problem from the employer’s perspective, rather than the employees. But you know what? We agree with you. U.S. workers have far too few benefits, and far too little protection under the law.

Just one minor point — the U.S. does not really have national holidays in the same sense that other countries do, as a day when by law nearly all employers are closed. They have federal holidays, but that only means a day when federal offices such as the post office are closed. But on almost everything else, we agree with you.

Employment law in the U.S. is written for the benefit of the employer and major corporations, not the worker. The theory was that if employers made a lot of money, they would give workers better benefits, more pay and more security. Unfortunately, it hasn’t worked out that way.

It’s ironic that you posted your comment on the California Holiday Pay article. California has by far the best employment laws of any state in the nation, to the point that HR pros refer to it as the “People’s Republic of California.” Yet even California does not require paid holidays or sick leave. (Although, to be honest, most employers do offer them voluntarily.) If you think working in California is bad, you should try getting a job in a state like Alabama or Mississippi, where there is not even a state minimum wage or a state law that the employer must pay you on time.

American workers face more stress than employees in nearly any other country. In addition to the factors that you mentioned, not having any legally required paid sick leave, paid short term disability, paid maternity leave, health care, having ridiculously low federal disability payments and having no old age pension all contribute greatly to the average employees level of stress. It would be interesting to see if any of that changes in the near future. Thanks for your comments, and thanks for reading the blogs!~ Amelia
Posted by: Patricia

What is the law regarding vacation time not used at the end of the year? My boss said if I haven’t used it that I lose it and that I can’t carry over the days not used to the new year. What is the law?
Posted by: Amelia

Hi Patricia! Your boss would be right, if you worked in almost any state except California. California does not permit the “use it or lose it” vacation policy, UNLESS the employee is paid for any unused vacation at the end of the year.

Example: Penny has 12 hours of vacation left on December 31. Penny’s employer can pay her for 12 extra hours of work, or Penny’s employer can permit her to carry the vacation time over into the new year, in California.

This law is enforced by the Division of Labor Standards Enforcement, a division of the California Department of Labor.

Read more about this at: http://www.dir.ca.gov/dlse/FAQ_Vacation.htm.

You can get more info by posting questions on our sister site at http://www.laborlawtalk.com. HTH, and thanks for reading the blogs!~ Amelia
Posted by: jabbar

Hi Amelia, I have a strange issue. My partner and I work the graveyard shift at our company. Our employer’s workday is from 5am to 5am. Since our shift basically crosses over regular days (12a-8a) we are finding that we are not getting holiday pay like the other people that do the same work in our department who have shifts that do not cross over (9a-5p) or (1p-9p). Is this a fair practice?
Posted by: Amelia

Hi Jabbar! Well, that depends on why you are not getting holiday pay. Suppose that Tuesday is a paid holiday. For the purposes of your employment, Tuesday begins at 5 am on Tuesday. If you and your partner go to work Monday morning and Wednesday morning, but are off on Tuesday, then it would be reasonable for the employer not to pay you for the holiday. However, if you work all three mornings– Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, then it would certainly be unfair that the other workers are receiving a paid holiday and you are not.
But unfair is sometimes different from illegal. Is this practice legal? Probably only the California Division of Labor Standards Enforcement can decide for sure. HTH, and thanks for reading the blog!~ Amelia
Posted by: Danielle

In California is an employer required to pay double time and half for working 10 hours on a holiday? my Employer pays holiday pay at double time but i do not get my overtime by working 10 hours
Posted by: Amelia

Hi Danielle! No, there is no law that requires a California employer to pay double-time-and-one-half…ever. This was probably lawful. There is no law in California (or any other state) that requires an employer to pay workers double-time for working on a holiday. The California law requires the employer to pay time-and-one-half when you work more than 8 hours per day. So the employer has far exceeded what the law requires. HTH, and thans for reading the blogs!~ Amelia
Posted by: Ivan Thomson

Apparently there is no point in having holidays in California. There is no requirement to give the days off. There is no requirement to pay overtime, double pay or anything except the normal pay rate for working on a holiday. And there are practically no holiday days anyway.

So what is the freaking point of having these stupid days designated as Holidays? They are normal days for all practical purposes.

Yeah, lets go celebrate my NOT holiday day working for NORMAL pay. Yippy!!!!
Posted by: Amelia

Hi Ivan! You’re absolutely right! In some European countries, holidays are mandated by law. Employers must be closed, or must pay workers a higher rate. We do not have “holidays” in that sense in the U.S. “State holidays” are merely days when offices of the state government are closed. Ditto with “federal holidays” — they are days when federal agencies like the Post Office are closed.
Under the separation of church and state in the U.S., it is up to every employer to determine what “holidays” — if any — the employer will honor. It is also up to the employer to determine what benefits those “holidays” include: paid or unpaid time off, extra pay, or no benefits.
Nationwide, millions of employees work on every holiday in a variety of industries, including law enforcement, healthcare, utilities, emergency services, hotels, restaurants and retail operations. So the whole concept of “holidays” is sort of irrelevant. HTH, and thanks for reading the blogs!~ Amelia
Posted by: Ivan Thomson

Hi Amelia;

Giving the Employer the right to decide which days (if any) to give employees off and what pay rate increase (if any) for those days is pretty much the same as giving a Slave owner the right to choose what to do with the slaves.

Also, the word Holiday in America is a TOKEN word. What I mean is that the use of the word is designed in the US give the impression of some sort of benefit when if fact there is none (unless you have a generous boss). And then there is another point. This then distorts the concept of generousity since if you happen to have a boss that does give holidays off or offers increased pay for working holidays then that would be preceived as generous when in fact it should be normal.

This, combined with the new (old perhaps) trend of ‘AT WILL’ work contracts and you have a total distortion of what a normal job is now in the US.

Then you slap on the minimum wage issue. California is so generous (again the misuse of the word generous) with its preceived high minimum wage of $8 per hour. Geesh.

Then you slap on the lack of workers rights/protections and any form of workers protecting themselves (such as a simple matter of enforcing basic rules like receiving a lunch break - because believe me, in California there are thousands of workers (if not more) not getting their basic 10 min breaks and their basic 30 min lunch breaks - why? Because how is a worker to enforce their rights? There is practically no system to do so, and whatever system is provided to do so is rubbish, inadequate and does not function well at all, in addition there are too many loopholes for employers to escape out of) and you have a a complete picture of working conditions in California (and the US for that matter).

Then slap on the insult of being so-called “lucky” if you manage to receive health care coverage through your job. Wow, I feel so lucky to receive sub-standard insurance accepted at a limited number of locations that covers very little from a company that will make every attempt to denie me payments when I need them most. But remember, “The US has the best medical system in the world!” - pure hog wash.

Is it any wonder people go postal and there is such a high rate of employee rage and other such problems. The only way you could work under such a system is to burry your head in the sand and pretend everything is wonderful and try to remain numb and ignorant as possible. Because if you bothered to spend any serious time thinking about your situation you would end up angry…then you would end up in jail (oh yeah, doesn’t the US have the highest number of people jailed for an industrialized nation?) after you lashed out from the frustration of a system totally designed to prevent you from getting any help or assisstance.

Then add the expense of an educational system that will bankrupt you before you even take your first class.

But remember, taxes are “So LOW in the US”. Yeah I guess so, if you don’t bother to look at the whole picture then anything would appear to be something that it is not.

Anyway, I was lucky in the sense that I’ve had the opportunity to work and live in various countries and experience the working conditions, employer attitudes, cultural differences, medical system differences and taxes of various countries and receive an education both in the US and the UK. Having been born and raised in Los Angeles, California I was initially blind to the issues as well until I managed to leave the US and see what else is going on in the world. And WOW there is a lot going on besides California and the US. So, I managed to get two degrees without being bankrupted, and I managed to get a lot of health services without having to fill out financial forms and without being bankrupted and I managed to earn a good living without being taxed to death in the so-called “HIGH tax countries” which are not really all the high in taxes once you add up the total picture. In fact I think working and living in California is probably the highest tax place I’ve lived and worked in (with the least benefit to myself and my family).

Anyway, thank you for your comments. I sincerely, hope something serious is done about the appauling conditions in California (and the US in general).

As far as the seperation of Church and State issue that is merely an excuse used by the elite to suppress the poor. If the Government were serious about providing holidays then could simply mandate federal “DAYS OF REST” that happen to fall on the days of other holidays. They would be niether sanctioning nor endorsing any particular religion. Anyway the argument has no merit since they plant a big massive Christmas tree on the white house lawn every year anyway but can’t offer the workers of America the day off?
Posted by: Amelia

Hi Ivan! You make some excellent points, and many people will agree with you.
Just so you know, California offers by far the most protection and the greatest benefits for employees, of any state in the U.S. So much so that HR people traditionally refer to it as “the People’s Republic of California.”
So if you think things are bad in California, try these other states:
*South Carolina, where there is no state minimum wage. An employee can legally be paid 10 cents per hour there (unless the federal minimum wage of $6.55 per hour applies — and for many smaller employers, it does not.)
*Florida, which has a minimum wage law but no state agency to enforce it. The employee has to pay a lawyer to sue the employer
*Most U.S. states, where a small employer (less than 15 workers) can legally discriminate based on race, color, sex, age, disability, pregnancy, etc.
*Tennessee, which has no minimum wage or overtime law, and no law that employees must be paid on payday
*31 U.S. states, which have no break law whatsoever, meaning employees can be required to work 16 or more hours per day without a meal break
*20+ states that have no overtime law, which means (unless the employer is engaging in interstate commerce, and therefore covered by federal law) no overtime, even if they work 100 hours per week
California at least offers employees short term disability, a minimum wage, overtime and a break law. And, it is much more difficult to fire an employee in California than in other states. (By the way, the “at will” doctrine dates back to England, before the U.S. was even a colony. )
Many countries, including most of Europe, have better working conditions for employees than the U.S. does. Not to mention the fact that they often mandate 4 or more weeks of vacation for each employee, by law.
We disagree with you regarding the enforcement of the California break law. The state Department of Labor Standards Enforcement does an excellent job of enforcing it, although there are several loopholes for employers.
We also agree with you that the nation needs some type of universal health insurance, to ensure that everyone has health care. When people say the U.S. has the world’s best healthcare, they mean the variety and success of treatments if you are wealthy. It is almost the only developed nation without universal healthcare. And, the U.S. healthcare is by far the most expensieve.
Many, many people would agree with you — it is better to pay an extra 10% or 15% in taxes, and have healthcare, free or low-cost university education, short-term disability, excellent working conditions and old age pensions, than to have “low” taxes and few benefits. Others call that “socialism”.
Without getting too political, since the Reagan era the U.S. has assumed that if the government treated corporations well, the corporations would treat employees well. It has not always worked out that way. Since you have such fervent beliefs, we would suggest that you become active politically.
We have to disagree with your statement about slavery, however. Slaves who left their owner were subject to the death penalty. Although jobs are hard to find right now, the employee has the option to quit without being killed. There really is no comparison. But we agree with your general concept, which is that many employers will only treat workers as well as they have to. Thanks for your comments!~Amelia
Posted by: Ivan Thomson

Thanks again Amelia;

Your comment give me food for thought. Regarding becoming poltically active I am unsure of how to go about that in an effective manner, but I’ll look into it. Thanks again.

Great blog by the way!
Posted by: Amelia

Hi Ivan! Great! Our suggestion for becomming politicially active would be to write letters or emails to your reps in Congress, letting them know how you feel about U.S. employment laws. For example, this week members of Congress will introduce a bill that would make 7 days of paid sick leave mandatory — a bill that is opposed by major business groups. It would be helpful to contact your reps in Washington D.C. about it.
And, volunteer for the political candidate of your choice. The best chance of having an impact on most employee’s lives is to pass federal, not state, laws.
BTW, workers today worldwide are much better off than ever before. As recently as 75 years ago, children as young as 7 were working up to 16 hours per day on dangerous machinery in factories, with no breaks, no worker safety regulations and no healthcare. They were being paid just pennies per day. So federal laws have improved the lot of American workers! But perhaps not as much as we would like. Thanks for your comments!~ Amelia
Posted by: Amabel

If it is stated in our employee handbook that 4th of july is an observed holiday and falls on a saturday and our work week is Monday - Friday, is it the law that we have to observe either the Friday day before or Monday after.
Posted by: Amelia

Hi Amabel! This is a matter of company policy rather than employment law. Most employers who offer paid holidays and are closed on the weekends will give employees Friday July 3 off with pay this year. However, some may give Monday off or simply not pay employees for the holiday. This situation is not all that unusual. For example, a few years ago Christmas fell on a Saturday. So you should check how your company has handled this in the past. HTH, and thanks for reading the blogs!~ Amelia
Posted by: James

My wife works fulltime at a place where she does not get her two paid breaks and on many occasions she is forced to make a call or grab something while clocked out for lunch or after work. This has been going on now for almost a year. With the economy the way it is and California being an “at will” state she is affraid to report it in fear of losing her job. Being “at will” means her boss can just say she is not needed anymore and it’s legal to let her go! What can she do?

Also, they have no handbook or document stating what there policies are.They seem to make it up as they go. Is that legal?
Posted by: Amelia

Hi James! We have really, really good news for you. Under California law, the employer must provide a net 10-minute paid rest break for each 4-hour work segment “or major portion thereof.” The state has determined that anything over 2 hours is a “major portion.” The break must be as near the middle of the work segment as possible.
Now for the really good news. For any day in which the employee is prevented from taking one or more breaks, the employer must pay an additional hour’s wages. So if your wife gets no breaks, or only one break instead of two today, the employer owes her an extra hour’s pay, over and above the time she worked. If she worked 8 hours but missed a break, the employer must pay her for 9 hours.
Employees can file a wage claim going back 3 years for unpaid wages. So if your wife can figure out what days she did not take a break, she has the right to collect an hour’s pay each day.
It is true that California is an “at will” state — but it sets more limits on the “at will” status than any other state. It is actually very difficult to fire an employee in California without cause. In particular, state law prohibits an employer from firing or taking disciplinary action against an employee due to the employee filing a wage complaint. If that happens, your wife can file a discrimination complaint with the DLSE. She will most likely get her job back, and possibly penalties as well. Check out the link below, especially the final question.
For most issues, there is no law that an employer in California or elsewhere have company policies in writing. In some sense, every small business owner is making it up as they go along. So, yes, as long as the policies are in accordance with state law and do not discriminate against employees based on race, color, religion, etc., this method of operation is legal. HTH, and thanks for reading the blogs!~ Amelia

Read more about this at: http://www.dir.ca.gov/dlse/FAQ_RestPeriods.htm
Posted by: Ivan Thomson

Hey James, my wife has been working at a place since January that gives no breaks and no lunch break. Good luck getting any results. By the way I started working at the same place as well and I and my wife now get breaks but that is only because I threatened to knock the managers head in so he leaves us alone now; prior to that they would yell at your for going on break. unfortunately the state is totally useless in labor law enforcement. Look at how many illegals hold jobs in California for one example.
Posted by: Scooter

I work an alternative work schedule (Tues - Fri), 8 hours each day and get paid for such. When a holiday falls on a Monday (that I am normally off) am I entitled to Holiday pay, another day off in it’s place, or am I out of luck since most holidays fall on Mondays?
Posted by: Amelia

Hi Scooter! This depends upon company policy. Many employers would give you Tuesday or a different day off that week. Others would pay you for 8 hours more than you actually worked that week. Still others would not give you paid holidays at all, because they would consider 32 hours per week part-time. As long as the employer enforces the policy consistently, any of these alternatives is legal. HTH, and thanks for reading the blogs!~ Amelia
Posted by: Ryan

Can an employer offer all of its employees paid holidays, except for probationary employees? In this particular case, my girlfriend works for a small company with less than 10 employees.. roughly 6-8 people. 2 of them are still in the 3-month probation period. She works fulltime 8 hours a day 5 days a week with an occasional 3 hour saturday shift. Shes almost at 3 months come August. Her employer paid them for memorial day holiday without question. Now for the 4th of july holiday her employer said they dont pay probationary employees any holiday pay. Is that legal? I would love to read any thoughts or comments on this. To me it seems that they have no company policy on this, did one thing, and then did another. If anything I knows its plain shady and unfair. But is there any legal pressure she can put on them to either pay up or amend their policy to clarify this going forward? If they dont want to pay, cool, just disclose that unfront and be consistent in the practice. /sigh
Posted by: Amelia

Hi Ryan! Well, we agree with you to a degree. This is probably legal, but it would have been better if the employer was consistent and let the employees know in advance. However…would you really be happier if your girlfriend had also not been paid for Memorial Day???
There is no law that an employer must offer paid holidays to workers. If the employer does offer paid holidays, the employer sets the policies relating to them. Many, perhaps most, employers who offer paid holidays do not pay them to probationary employees.
The employer can also change the policies regarding paid holidays at any time. Ideally, the employer would advise employees of this at the time the change was made, but that is a grey area legally.
If the employer has a written policy that all employees including those in the probationary period are entitled to paid holidays, then legally your girlfriend may make a wage claim with the California DLSE — Department of Labor Standards Enforcement. However, if there is nothing in writing, then she has little recourse legally.
If the employer paid some probationary employees but did not pay others based on race, color, national origin, sexual orientation, etc. that would be illegal discrimination. But it seems that is not the problem here. Frankly, it sounds like the employer made a mistake in your girlfriend’s favor by paying everyone for Memorial Day. HTH, and thanks for reading the blogs!~ Amelia
Posted by: Sharna

The company that I worked for was sold to another company and I’ve been working for them for about a year now. I was told that my sick pay (5 days) would be available to me within one year of service, and holiday pay does not exist. I asked for everything in writing and they would say they would get it to me, but I have yet to see it. Now just yesterday the managers of the company are saying our sick pay will not be in effect until two years of service. Is this legal or right? I don’t see how these people can get away with not giving us holiday’s off with pay and no sick time for 2 years. How can this be?
~Extremely Frustrated!
Posted by: Amelia

Hi Sharna! There is no law in California or other states that an employer must provide benefits like sick pay or paid holidays. This is a matter of company policy, not state law. If the employer had promised certain benefits in writing or in an employee handbook, the state would require that they honor those commitments. However, the company apparently did not put those benefits in writing, and now has changed policies. Sorry, wish we could be more help!~ Amelia
Posted by: Ellena

I am a regular full time employee who works a 4 day-10 hour shift. My employer states that because I work this shift that I’ m only entitled to a 8 hours of holiday pay, even when it lands on a day that I work. If I was to miss this day I would have to use my vacation or sick days to make up for the lost two hours. My employer states that this is all that the labor laws states this I am entitled to. When I stated this company I signed a paper stating that I would work a 10 hour shift in a day and that wouldn’t be overtime. No where in my contract did it state that I would receive only 8 hours holiday time? Is that correct? I feel it is unfair and I should receive the extra two hours. Can you please explain to me why this is.
Posted by: Amelia

Hi Ellena! It is not entirely clear to us, from your question, whether you are working on holidays or not. So we’ll address your question both ways. (We assume you are an hourly employee.)
If you work 10 hours on a holiday, obviously you are entitled to payment for 10 hours. Both California and federal minimum wage laws require the employer to pay workers for every hour they work. If working on a holiday results in you working more than 40 hours in the payroll week, then obviously you are entitled to overtime. If you are not being paid for the time you work, file a wage complaint with the California Division of Labor Standards Enforcement.

However, the situation is different when you are off on a holiday. If you read the article above, you know that California law does not require any employer to offer paid holidays to workers. No state in the US does. If an employer chooses to offer paid holidays to workers, the employer sets the policies regarding paid holidays. Most employers have the policy that an employee who is off on a holiday will be paid 8 hours of straight time as holiday pay. There is no requirement that the employee be paid for 10 or 12 or 16 hours, even if that were the employee’s normal shift.

There are pluses and minuses to working four days per week, 10 hours per day. The plus is that you get 3 days off every week. The minus is that in a week with a holiday, you have 4 days off but only get paid for 38 hours. Many people would consider that a good deal. HTH, and thanks for reading the blogs!~ Amelia
Posted by: Nicole

we have a company handbook that states certain holidays are paid time off (after you pass probation peroid of course) and are entitled to 1 week of vacation time per year (upto 2 weeks) we work. I had to sign a paper stating i had read & understand the rules & regulations. now after 11 years the rumor is they are going to take away some holidays & 1 week of paid vacation time. again this is just a rumor & no one has been notified of this, but the rumor is, we will be notified after the first of the year with a new handbook & will be expected to sign it. is it legal to #1 take away paid holiday & paid vacation time when my signed agreement with the company already gives it to me? #2 fire me if I dont sign it? #3 not notify us ahead of time of changing of the regulations?
Posted by: Amelia

Hi Nicole! The answers to your questions are #1 yes #2 yes and #3 yes. Within legal limits, the employer makes the rules in the workplace and the employee can follow them or find another job — even in California. When you are asked to sign the new employee handbook, you are not giving permission for the changes — you are simply indicating that you have been informed of them. An employer can change employment policies at any time. (We just answered a question from an employer who wants to eliminate Christmas and Christmas Eve as paid holidays, effective today.) An employee who refuses to comply with such a reasonable request certainly can be disciplined and possibly terminated — even in California.
The California employer cannot “take away” vacation time that you have already earned. If you have accrued 32 hours of vacation, you must be permitted to use it or paid for it (in California.) However, the employer certainly can change the way vacation is accrued in the future. As far as being notified in advance, the employer cannot make these changes retroactive, but it appears that they will notify you in advance, so that is lawful. HTH, and thanks for reading the blogs!~ Amelia
Posted by: Liz

I am a salary employee at a California company for 5 yrs. On Christmas eve this year my car broke down on the free way and I could not go into work, On Monday when I returned I was told that because I did not come in on the 24th I would not be paid for the 25th, is this legal? Every other employee at my company is being paid.
I am also being told that I can not have take December 31st off which I had already pre-approved since October because I did not come in on the 24th. I have plenty of paid time off accrued to cover not only the 24th but also the 31st.

I also had an Emergency come up that I need to take a personal day for is it legal for my employer to ask for a note. I told them it was an emergency personal day. Is this legal?

thanks!
Posted by: Amelia

Hi Liz! This would be entirely legal if you were an hourly employee. Even in California, there is no law that employers must provide paid holidays or paid personal days for employees. If the employer does provide such benefits, the employer establishes the policies regarding them. Many, many employers have the policy that an employee who has an unauthorized absence the work day before or after a holiday, is not paid for that holiday.

This is a gray area only because you are a salaried employee. Apparently the employer is assuming that you were not available for work on December 25. You can contact the California DLSE and file a wage claim if you like. If you win, the employer will pay you for Christmas, and probably deduct 8 hours of personal leave for that day.

It is completely reasonable for the employer to require that days off be authorized in advance, and to retract that authorization when circumstances change. By not showing up on Christams Eve, you changed the circumstances.

It is also reasonable for the employer to require proof of an”emergency” that necessitates impromptu use of a personal day. Many employers grant personal days only with advance approval.

For future reference, employees are responsible for getting themselves to work. If you do not have reliable transportation, you need to make back-up arrangements, whether that is taking a cab, a bus, renting a car or having a friend drive you to work. Many employers would have trouble understanding why you could not have your car towed and then come to work. It is always better to be late than to be absent. It is unfortunate that this absence occured on December 24, a day when many people don’t want to work.

We will say that the employer is treating you as an employee with an attendance problem. Our suggestion is that you show the employer you can be a reliable employee. HTH, and thanks for reading the blogs!~ Amelia
Posted by: 99er

I have been working for a company for 2 yrs now, when I first started the hours were very great 37 plus weekly, any way I’m full time status and our boss gave us 30 hrs this week , the part time employeees have gotton 30 to 32 hrs is this legal?
Posted by: Amelia

Hi 99er! Unfortunately, yes, this is legal. Full-time and part-time are matters of company policy, not employment law. So there is no legal definition of how many hours a full-time employee must be scheduled to work — even in California.

The employer has the legal right to schedule employees in any way that is convenient for the employer. Since this represents a change in your schedule, you should ask the employer tactfully if there is a performance problem or another reason for the reduction. (We will say that it is more common for the employer to reduce everyone’s schedule by 10 hours per week, rather than only reducing hours for the full-time employees.)

If the reduction in hours were more significant, say to 20 or 25 hours per week, then you might qualify for partial unemployment benefits while still working. But with a reduction of 5 to 7 hours per week, you probably will not qualify for unemployment benefits. HTH, and thanks for reading the blogs!~ Amelia
Posted by: Paul

I am an hourly employee for a company I will leave unnamed. If I clock in at 8:30pm on Dec. 31st and clock out at 3:30am on Jan 1st am I owed double time or time and a half, if at all, for the 3 and a half hours I worked on a holiday? I was told by a supervisor that due to a loophole the company found, I will only be paid my regular hourly pay rate because I clocked in on a day that is not considered a holiday. Is this legal?
Posted by: Amelia

Hi Paul! This is a matter of company policy, not California employment law. There is no law that an employee in California or elsewhere must be paid a higher rate for working on a holiday. From a legal perspective, hours worked on a holiday are treated like hours worked on any other day of the week.

Some employers do pay employees a premium for working on holidays. In that case, the employer establishes the rules regarding that pay. In the situatuion you describe, some employers would consider the entire shift working on a holiday, others would consider that the employee worked only 3.5 hours on a holiday. Still others would consider the holiday shift the one where employees clock in at 8:30 pm on Jan. 1. Although many people consider December 31 the celebration, in fact the holiday is January 1.

Many employers that have workers around the clock count the entire shift as the same day, as your employer does. So an employee who clocks in on Dec. 31 has performed work on Dec. 31, even if he or she works until noon on Jan. 1.

If you have a union, this is a matter for the union to negotiate and may already be covered under the union contract. HTH, stay safe, and thanks for reading the blogs!~ Amelia

Read more about this at: http://www.dir.ca.gov/dlse/FAQ_Holidays.htm
Posted by: Amy

If an employee schedules a week off prior to the holiday, but calls in sick the week before the holiday, in order to receive 2 weeks off, do we have to pay the holiday pay. For example the employee scheduled off January 4th - January 8th well in advance (on 12/8/2009). But then called in sick on 12/29, 12/30 and 12/31. This employee also turned in an electronic signed Doctor’s note. Do we have to pay the holiday pay?
Posted by: Amelia

Hi Amy! This is a matter of company policy, not employment law, even in California. Review your written holiday pay policies carefully. Many specify that the employee must work his or her last scheduled shift before the holiday and first scheduled shift after the holiday, to be paid for it. In this case, the employee’s last scheduled shift before the holiday was 12/31. If the employee did not work it, then the employee does not receive holiday pay for 1/1/10.

However, other employers have policies that if the employee has an excused absence before the holiday, the employee still receives holiday pay. In that case, if the doctor’s note is genuine, the employee must be paid for any sick leave, plus holiday and vacation pay. For your own protection, phone the doctor’s office and diplomatically verify that the employee’s note was, in fact, issued by the doctor.

This employee needs to be paid according to your current policy. However, if you find that this is a loophole, you can certainly issue a new holiday pay policy tomorrow (in writing) that will close that loophole. HTH, and thanks for reading the blogs!~ Amelia
Posted by: Nic

I have a question regarding pay. it is my understanding that there is salary pay (which means you get paid a certain amount regardless if you work your complete 40 hours or not, though I could be wrong about that) and then there is hourly pay (which means you only get paid for the hours you work). my job pays what they call a “draw” which brings me to my question. I get paid 2xs a month, on the 1st & the 16th. it does not matter if there is 10, 11 or 12 days in a pay peroid, I still get the “draw” of $800 (minus taxes, etc of course) but if I miss time for some reason, they dock my pay for the hours I miss. they do insist I am NOT hourly though. is that legal and is a “draw” pay something that you know about.

also if the company close’s for some reason & they choose not to pay us for it, the company marks that time under sick time. i was not sick, it was the companys choice to close & not pay me, it was not my choice. it makes it look like I call in sick or have a lot of un-paid time off by my choice. and then to top it all off, they cut some people’s hours at my job, 2 hours a day to be exact. they are also putting those 2 hours a day under sick time. can they do that?
Posted by: Amelia

Hi Nic! It appears that you are a salaried non-exempt employee. As such, the employer can reduce your pay when you work less than 40 hours, but must pay overtime when you work more than 40 hours. This form of payment would be lawful, then. However, we are not entirely sure about this — working in California adds an additional wrinkle.

The misuse of sick pay is also problematic. Generally, there is no law (even in California) that an employer must provide paid sick leave. If the employer does provide it, they can establish whatever policies they like regarding it. However, it does appear that under California law they may be misusing sick leave by requiring that you take it when they have no work available for you. Contact the California DLSE to get their opinion on this. HTH, and thanks for reading the blogs!~ Amelia

Contact the DLSE at:
http://www.dir.ca.gov/DLSE/
Posted by: Gabrielle

I have a question regarding holiday pay. As a salaried 32 hour employee, I am considered full-time and I am entitled to holiday pay from my employer. I typically work 4 x 8 hour-days. Should my holiday compensation be based on 32 hours which will give me 6.4 hours pay for each holiday, or should I be paid 8 hours as this is what I typically work in a day?
Posted by: Amelia

Hi Gabrielle! This is a matter of company policy, not employment law, even in California. The employer should have a written policy in place regarding holiday pay, and should abide by that policy.

Many employers would pay you for 8 hours if a holiday fell on your normal work day, but nothing if a holiday fell on a day when you are usually off. By comparison, if the employer is prorating holiday pay based on your usual work week and paying you 6.4 hours for every holiday, that is actually better. But even if it were not, company policy prevails here. HTH, and thanks for reading the blogs!~ Amelia
Posted by: Kristin

Each year our organization attends a conference. The company usually pays for 2 to attend. This year, our office won an additional ticket. It was offered to an employee who accepted. We left on Thursday morning from California to Nevada (1hr flight). The conference was 3 days from 8am-5pm. In the evenings we attended business dinners that lasted 2 hours. We returned home on Sunday. Monday morning, the employee who accepted the free ticket was told that overtime would not be paid since she had the choice to attend or not, even though work was performed the entire visit. She was also instructed by the boss not to include the extra hours on her time card. Is this legal?
Posted by: Amelia

Hi Kristin! No, this is not legal. Both California and federal minimum wage laws require that employees be paid for all the hours worked. The employer should have considered the financial consequences before allowing this employee to attend the conference.
Just to look at the federal law, the FLSA or Fair Labor Standards Act, the regulations on travel time state that the employee be paid for the time she actually worked — 8 am to 5 pm daily, plus the time she was at business dinners, 2 hours daily. Any time that is over 40 hours during the week must be paid at the overtime rate.
The employee also must be paid for any travel that occurs during normal work hers. Being a passenger in a plane, car or taxi is not necessarily working, under federal regulations. But if Cindy normally works 7 am to 3 pm, and she is on a plane from 1 pm to 2 pm, that is counted as work time. Even if this travel occurs on a day when Cindy is normally off, it is work time.
The employee also
In addition, California law will require that this employee be paid overtime for working more than 8 hours per day. The employee should file a wage complaint with the California DLSE, the Division of Labor Standards Enforcement. They will force the employer to pay her for all time worked. HTH, and thanks for reading the blogs!~ Amelia
Posted by: Me

I work 40 hrs a week and only get overtime pay if I go over the 40 hours. I found out today that I should be getting overtime pay for any time I work over 8 hours in one day. I have worked for this organization for a little over a year. I have never been paid for time worked over 8 hours in a day. If I worked 9 hours one day, I was asked to work only 7 the next so that I would stay under 40 hrs a week. Does the organization owe me for back overtime pay for all the days I worked over 8 hours?
Posted by: Amelia

Hi Me! Assuming that you work in California, yes, you are probably owed overtime for every day that you worked more than 8 hours. File a wage complaint with the California Division of Labor Standards Enfocement or DLSE. They will force the employer to pay the overtime you are owed, for the past 2 to 3 years. HTH, and thanks for reading the blogs!~ Amelia
Posted by: mary sandor

Company policy is to pay for the federal holidays, i.e. Christmas, New Years, Fourth of July. The 4th falls on Sunday this year and we are closed but the Observed day is Monday. Would we get paid for Monday as over-time? I’m just curious how this works in terms of holidays.

Thanks.
Posted by: Amelia

Hi mary! This is a matter of company policy rather than employment law. There are no holidays that an employer has to observe under California or federal law, and whether the employer pays overtime to employees who work on the holiday is a matter of company policy. Nor is there any law that the employer must observe the holiday on the same day that the post office does. Most employers who pay a premium on holidays would pay it to employees who work on Sunday, not Monday. HTH, and thanks for reading the blogs!~ Amelia
Posted by: dina

I work 32 hours a week, with Mondays off.
Is there a California law that states I am eligible for a make-up holiday if a state holiday falls on my day off? Meaning, July 5th was a paid company holiday but also my unpaid day off, which I did not get paid for. How does that work?
Thanks!
Posted by: Amelia

Hi dina! No, even in California, paid holidays are a matter of company policy rather than state or federal law. There is no law that a California employer must provide paid holidays to employees. If the employer does provide paid holidays to employers, the employer determines the policies surrounding them. Some employers would not pay the employee or offer an additional day off if the holiday fell on a day when the employee is not usually scheduled to work. As long as the employer enforces this policy equally with all employees, it is legal. HTH, and thanks for reading the blogs!~ Amelia
Posted by: Everett

If my division has a 12 hour normal working day and the other divisions work 8 hours, what should my holiday pay be based on 8hr or 12hr.
Posted by: Amelia

Hi Everett! There is no law in California that requires employers to provide paid holidays to employees. If the employer does provide paid holidays, the employer determines the policies surrounding them. Most employers will pay workers only a maximum of 8 hours holiday pay, regardless of the length of the normal work day. HTH, and thanks for reading the blogs!~ Amelia
Posted by: Will

I have accrued more than 130 hours of vacation time. My employer has demanded that I use 48 hours of vacation time within 45 days.

This is not convenient as I had planned a vacation later in the year for 2-3 weeks and I would potentially lose vacation time if I were forced to take the time now.

Is demanding an employee take vacation time legal in California?
Posted by: Amelia

Hi Will! Yes, this is entirely legal, even in California. In fact, the employer could specify which date you are required to use vacation, without giving you any choice at all. Even in California, an employer can schedule vacation at the employer’s convenience (not the employee’s convenience.) So your employer is actually being generous by allowing you to pick the dates you will use vacation.

Many employers do not permit a worker to use 2 or 3 weeks of vacation all at the same time.

If you do not use 48 hours of vacation within 45 days, you could lose them, as long as the employer paid you for 48 hours at straight time. This is completely legal under California law. HTH, and thanks for reading the blogs!~ Amelia
Posted by: Amy

Message

Amelia,

If an employer provides life inusrance for employees, do they have to continue covering the employee if that employee should go out on a workers comp leave or long term disability leave. After FMLA runs out, we can turn off their benefits but are we liable at all to continue paying the cost for their life insurance. Our policy says that all employees will receive life insurance from the company after 3 months. And since employees on FMLA and Disability are still technically an employee, I want to know if that makes it so we have to keep them covered. The employee is paying no cost for this insurance.

Thanks,
Posted by: Amelia

Hi Amy! The problem here is the company policy. There is no law that requires an employer to provide life insurance to employees. Under FMLA, the employer must provide group insurance benefits on the same basis as to employees who are not on FMLA. Once the employee has used up all his or her FMLA, there is no law that would require you to continue life insurance, even if you allowed the employee to go on long term disability.

However, your company policy appears to require that even employees on long term disability be give free life insurance. As the employer, you can and should change this policy. You will not be able to apply it retroactively, meaning any employee who is already on long term disability must be given life insurance until he or she returns to work. However, moving forward, it does not make much sense to continue to provide this benefit.

Of course, if you did not offer long term disability and terminated the employee after they used all available FMLA and California leave, that would also solve the problem. But check to make sure you can legally do this in California. HTH, and thanks for reading the blogs!~ Amelia
Posted by: Will

Thanks for the fast answer Amelia.

Now to the next question. I am classified as exempt by my employer. I work as a programmer and spend 90% of my time performing such duties as: coding and debugging. I work 60-80 hours per week and my employer knows and acknowledges this. But, my employer demands that I file a time card showing a 40-hour work week. My base salary is $90K.

Is failure to permit me to claim real time worked for the past two years legal?

Thanks
Posted by: Amelia

Hi Will! If you are correctly classified as an exempt employee, there is no law that the employer must permit you to note the number of hours that you actually work. About 99% of employers simply process an exempt employee’s time as 40 hours. If you are exempt you are never entitled to overtime regardless of how many hours you work. Therefore, as an exempt employee information about the number of hours you work is irrelevant.

Employers are required to track how many hours a non-exempt employee works, but not an exempt employee. So the answer is yes, this is legal — if you are an exempt employee.

Our best guess is that you probably are an exempt computer programmer, but it is based on your primary work duties, not solely upon how your employer classifies you. If you are in doubt about your status as an exempt employee, contact the California DLSE or the U.S. Department of labor at http://www.dol.gov. They will investigate and determine whether or not you are being paid correctly. It is illegal for an employer to retaliate against an employee who files a wage claim in good faith.
Posted by: Will

I was given to understand that in California, exempt programmers must be paid according to the actual hours worked, so long as they do not spend more than 50% of their time on management and administrative duties. This is according to some CA legal websites pertaining to wage claims.

However, as an exempt employee the salary must be calculated to accurately reflect the hours worked (which must include) any overtime.

Now, I am more confused than ever. Can you shed any light on this subject?
Posted by: Amelia

Hi Will! No, you were misinformed. A salaried employee can be exempt or non-exempt under both California and federal law. (This is one area where the California law closely mirrors federal law.) By definition, an exempt employee is exempt from state and federal minimum wage and overtime laws. The employee is entitled only to his or her weekly salary, regardless of the number of hours the employee works.

A non-exempt computer programmer would be entitled to payment for each hour that he or she worked. And, the employee’s salary could be docked when he or she works fewer hours. Some non-exempt programmers are on salary, and some are paid hourly.

Some computer programmers are exempt and some are non-exempt, under both federal and California law. This is true, even if the programmer has no supervisory duties at all. To make it even more complicated, some hourly computer programmers are entitled to payment for all hours worked, but not to overtime at 1.5 times the usual hourly rate.

That is why we suggest that you contact the California DLSE or the U.S. Department of Labor for a reading on your situation.

Also be aware that the California courts have overturned a number of state regulations in the past 18 months, that pertain to exempt employees — all in the employer’s favor. So if you are reading info that is more than a year old, it may no longer be accurate. HTH, and thanks for reading the blogs!~ Amelia
Posted by: Susan

My boss has instituted a new policy that really only affects me. I work Tuesday Through Saturday. The other two employees work Mon.-Fri. They get the holiday off with pay. They are hourly employees. I work base or commission, not both.

The unwritten policy before was, if it was a three day holiday weekend and the shop is closed, I got the Saturday off with holiday pay because the shop was closed for the long weekend and the guys has Monday off with Holiday pay..This year On the 4TH of July weekend, we were open that Saturday, I had to work my regular day and The guys got Monday off with holiday pay. I just got holiday pay No time off.

Next week is Labor Day, and my boss wants me to come in on the Monday before the holiday weekend. He says the policy is: If it is a short week because the holiday falls on a Monday, I have to work the previous Monday to have Saturday off with holiday pay, because next week will be a short week. If the holiday falls on a later day in the week I work the Monday of that week because it is a short week. The guys still have the holiday off with pay but don’t have to come in on a Saturday to make up the Full week.

Is this legal
Posted by: Amelia

Hi Susan! There is no federal or California law that an employer must give paid holidays to workers. If the employer grants paid holidays, the employer establishes the policies surrounding them.
If the employer enforces this holiday policy fairly with all employees, then it is legal. For example, Thanksgiving is on Thurs. Nov. 25. If “the guys” want to take Friday off as well, and they have to work on the previous Saturday to make up for it, because otherwise it is a short week, then this is legal. However, if this policy applies to female employees but does not apply to male employees, then that is illegal discrimination based on sex. You should file a discrimination complaint with the EEOC at http://www.eeoc.gov.
If you are working 32 hours per week and everyone else is working 40 hours per week, the employer could simply not offer paid holidays to part-time employees, and consider you a part-time employee. However, if you are working 40 hours in 4 days, you are entitled to the same benefits as the male employees. HTH, and thanks for reading the blogs!~ Amelia
Posted by: Susan

I’m confused. We are all full time employees. Saturdays it’s just the boss and me unless we are very busy and one of the guys comes in for 4 hours. My regular work week is 40 hours + mandatory overtime as needed (averaging .5 -1.5+ hours o.t. per day). The only time it has been less than that is if:

I asked for time off and left early. or…

The boss has taken Saturday off and one of the guys comes on his day off to cover. Then shop is closed at noon, after 4 hours, and I have less than 40 regular hours plus overtime for that week. or…

Before for example: (all last year and memorial day this year)

When the shop was closed for the extended 3 day Sat. – Mon. holiday weekend; Saturday was my holiday with time off with pay and Monday was the guy’s holiday with time off with pay. My pay check the week before the Monday holiday would be 32 reg. hours + o.t. + holiday pay with time off. The guys pay check would be a normal pay check. The following week the guys pay check would show 32 hours reg. pay + holiday pay with time off. Mine would be 40 hours + o.t., a normal pay check.

Now my boss is saying that if there is a short week everybody works Monday. This really only affects me because it’s my normal day off, everybody else works Monday and has Saturday off. He says, as I understand it, that now Ihave to work the Monday before any Holiday because of the short week ( or the upcoming short week).but The guys don’t have to work before or after any holiday because of the short week.
My thinking is if it was fair and the policy applied equally: If it’s mandatory that I have to work the Monday before I take my holiday then it would be mandatory that the guys have to work the Saturday following the holiday. So even if the holiday falls on a Thursday, If I have to mandatorily work that Monday in the week then shouldn’t the guys mandatorily have to work that Saturday in the week following the Holiday?

Nothing is in writing.
Posted by: Amelia

Hi again Susan! You may want to calmly and tactfully discuss this with your boss again. Your explanation is not very clear, which leads us to think that you do not understand the policy. We can’t really tell from your explanation if the policy is discriminatory or not, because as you note, you are confused.

First of all, the employer can change holiday policies at any point. So the way it worked last year is not necessarily the way it works this year.

Again, the Labor Day holiday is on Monday. It is not a 3-day weekend. If you want to take Saturday off with pay it is reasonable for your boss to require you to work another day. Even if the employer decides to close on Saturday, Sunday and Monday, he can require that you work the Monday before, or he could simply pay you 24 hours worked + 8 hours holiday for the week — it’s his choice.

If the male employees worked the same schedule that you do, and were treated differently, this would be illegal discrimination based on sex. But as long as all the employees who work Tues through Sat are affected, there is a valid business reason for this difference. Again, if you are working more than 40 hours in any one payroll week, you are entitled to overtime. HTH, and thanks for reading the blogs!~Amelia
Posted by: Gidget

In California if part of your employee benefit package is that you are paid for Christams and New Years and the holiday falls on a weekend, in which the office is closed, does the employer have to give you a paid day off for that holiday or do you lose the holiday pay for that holiday?
Posted by: Amelia

Hi Gidget! There is no California law that would require the employer to pay you for the holiday, if it falls on a non-work day. When Christmas is on a Saturday, as it is this year, many employers will close on Friday and treat that day as a paid holiday. However, there is no law that they must do so. HTH, and thanks for reading the blogs!~ Amelia
Posted by: Liam

I am a full time salaried Manager at a restaurant in California and I was wondering if I should get paid for working an observed holiday like Christmas or Thanksgiving. The restaurant always closed on Thanksgiving and Xmas, however this would be the first year we’re open for thanksgiving since we’ve opened 25 years ago.(Change in the hours of the operation).
Posted by: Amelia

Hi Liam! We have good news and bad news for you. The good news is yes, as an exempt manager in California, you absolutely should be paid for working on a holiday like Christmas or Thanksgiving. The bad news is, if you are an exempt salaried employee, you should be paid exactly the same amount as if you did not work on the holiday.

An exempt employee is usually entitled to his or her full salary for any week in which th employee does any work at all. Suppose exempt restaurant manager Jose is paid $600 per week. During a week in which the restaurant is closed one day for a holiday, Jose is entitled to his usual salary of $600 for the week. During a week in which the restaurant is open on a holiday, and Jose works on that day, he is entitled to his usual salary of $600 for the week. So Jose makes the same amount of money that week, whether he works on the holiday or not.

The California employer is not required to pay any employee a higher rate for working on a holiday than the employee earns on any other work day.

If by chance you are not an exempt employee, post another question and we’ll address that issue. HTH, and thanks for reading the blogs!~ Amelia
Posted by: Adam

Hi There,
I read thru this blog and did not see this situation mentioned. I work for a company that only pays for federal holidays. This Thanksgiving, they are closing the office on the day after Thanksgiving and not paying employees any holiday pay for that day. We are being forced to either make up the time and not get paid overtime or use our vacation. Is this legal?
Posted by: Amelia

Hi Adam! Yes, this is legal for hourly employees. The employer is only required by law to pay you for the hours you work. They are not even required to offer holiday pay for Thanksgiving day. There is no law that requires an employer in California to offer paid holidays. If the employer does offer holiday pay, the employer determines which holidays.

In this case, the company is closed on the Friday after Thanksgiving, but it is not a paid holiday for workers. It is simply a day off without pay. This is completely legal in California. This answer would be different if you were a salaried exempt employee. HTH, and thanks for reading the blogs!~ Amelia
Posted by: Susie Kwon

Hi, Amelia! How are you???
I would like to know if it is mandatory for employers to close business on Firday if the holiday is on Saturday, like this Christmas this year…

Thank you !
Posted by: Amelia

Hi Susie! I’m great! Thanks for asking!!

No, there is no law in California that an employer in private business must close on Friday when a holiday falls on Saturday. A few states do have such a law, but California does not.

In fact, there is no law that a California employer must offer any holidays at all — the business could be open 365 days per year, and many are. If the employer does close the business on certain holidays, there is no law that requires the employer to pay workers for the holiday.

Even if a California employer offers paid holidays, the employer sets the policies surrounding them. Many, many employers will give workers Friday off this year to enjoy the Christmas holiday, but there is no law that an employer must do so. Some employers will close on Saturday, and only employees who normally work on Saturday will be paid for the holiday. Others will be open Friday, but pay all workers for 8 hours more than they actually work that week. This is a matter of company policy, rather than employment law in California. It is also governed by business necessity. Many retail stores and other businesses need to stay open on Friday. In other industries, such as air conditioning repair, it is a very slow day and there is no need to stay open.

Having said all that, any employer normally closed on Saturday who does not give workers Friday off this year can justifiably be called a “Scrooge.” That is almost exactly the plot of A Christmas Carol, the popular story by Charles Dickens and the many movies based on it. HTH, and thanks for reading the blogs!~Amelia

Read more about this at: http://www.dir.ca.gov/dlse/faq_holidays.htm
Posted by: Kit

Hi Amelia,

I think I know the answer to my question but I’ll ask anyway.
I’m an exempt employee at a California company and I supervise three non-exempt employees. Each year, this year included, the company announces that we will be closing early (half-day) on Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve, and that employees will be paid for the full 8 hours, though they only work 4. However, the department I supervise is not allowed to close early on those days and will be working the full 8 hours. Neither I nor my employees will be given alternate time off or any other compensation (besides normal pay of course) to make up for it this year. There is no written policy regarding this practice, though in the past we have been given alternate time off equal to the amount of time off the other 90% of employees were paid for.

So, is this legal? (My guess is yes, but I just had to ask anyway!)

Thanks!
Posted by: Kit

An interesting addenda to my previous comment - I see in our employee handbook that if an employee schedules a vacation day on a day when the company closes early, “the employee will be paid a combination of both vacation and holiday hours.” But no other comment is made about pay when the company closes early.

Thanks again!
Posted by: Amelia

Hi Kit! Yes, this is probably legal, even in California. That is assuming there is a valid business reason for your department to be open on New Year’s Eve and Christmas Eve.

If the company decided to deprive the people in your department of a benefit based on race, color, sex, disability, national ancestry, etc. that would be illegal. But it is legal to close some departments (and allow the employees to go home with pay) while keeping others open.

Many employers have an informal policy of closing early on Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve, and there is no requirement that the benefit be extended to those who must work. You could certainly approach HR and explain that it is hard to maintain high morale in your department when your employees see that everyone else has a benefit that they do not. This might enable you to get half a day off at another time for your staff members, and if you were lucky it would extend to you as well. You can also point out that this is what has been done in years past.

Feel free to post any additional questions you might have — even if you know the answer to them as well! HTH, and thanks for reading the blogs!~ Amelia
Posted by: Kit

Thanks so much for your answer!

I ended up taking it to HR and they agreed to give us the alternate time off after the first of the year. I guess we lucked out!
Posted by: Amelia

Hi Kit! Good job! Your employees should be thankful for your excellent leadership. Enjoy the holidays!~ Caitlin
Posted by: Amy

I would like clarification on paid company holidays in California. I understand that in CA, an employer does not have to offer any holiday as paid, is that correct? I want to know, if the handbook states that there are 8 holidays per year and lists the holidays can the company amend that option each month prior to the holiday. So for example..I assume based on the handbook that I will have Thanksgiving and Christmas off but in October we are notified that Thanksgiving is not a paid holiday and so now I assume I only have Christmas and then again in November there is another amendment telling us there is no holiday again. Does the company have the right to do this?
Posted by: Amelia

Hi Amy! This is legal in California. You are correct that there is no federal or California law that requires an employer to offer paid holidays to employees. A business can be open 365 days per year. Or, the employer can close on the holidays but only pay employees for the hours that they actually work. Either is completely legal in California.

If the employer does offer paid holidays, the employer sets the policies surrounding them (in the absence of a union contract.) The employer can also change the holiday policy, as long as employees are informed in advance. Informing the employees a month in advance is more than sufficient notice, in California.

Some employers offer paid holidays but do not pay employees for a holiday that falls on a day of the week that the employee is usually off. HTH, and thanks for reading the blogs!~ Amelia
Posted by: Jabbar

Hi Team,
I think you may have answered this in a different blog, but I have trouble finding it.

My daughter works for a well known fast food restaurant and they frequently change her schedule. Previously, they have changed the schedule without warning and told her that she had come in too early resulting in her having to wait outside or do other things for an hour or two until her shift starts. It takes about 35-45 mins to get there and my daughter does not want to be disqualified for being late. So I told her to call them before she goes in. (Already, you may begin to see an unreasonable amount of calls about to occur. Imagine calling every 10 minutes to verify your work schedule!)

Last week, she went in to work a 4 hour schedule, she was told to relieve a person for their 10 minute break, then the manager asks her why she’s there. Duh! She’s there to work, right? Well, the manager says, she wasn’t scheduled to start work until 4 hours later. Apparently, they changed the schedule twice that day without warning as she was on the way to work.

I read previous blogs so I understand that an employer can change schedules whenever they want to but there are 2 things that I have an issue with:

1) Since she showed up and relieved a person based on the INTENDED 4 hour schedule, is she entitled to wages for a portion of the INTENDED schedule?
2) Hypothetically, If they can move schedules around without any prior notice, does an employee have any protections or restitution under the law should an employer schedule an employee to come in, have the employee come in, send the employee away because the schedule was changed to a later time, change the schedule again and then disqualify the employee (write a reprimand) when the employee comes in for the later time by stating that they should’ve come and stayed for the previous schedule? (Might be confusing, so here’s the layman’s breakdown - Employee gets scheduled for Monday 8a-12p. Employee comes in at 7:55a and is told not to work until 1p-5p. Employee comes in at 12:55p and is told he/she will written up because he/she was supposed to come in at 8a.)
Posted by: Amelia

Hi Jabbar! First we will say that some of our advisors have extensive experience in the fast food industry and they note that this type of scheduling is very unusual, almost unheard of, and completely unprofessional. No well-managed store would be operated this way. In fact, one of our advisors used the term “insane” to describe runnng a business this way. While it is common for schedules to be changed during the week, it is not common for those changes to be made with less than 24 hours notice. When a schedule must be changed with less than 24 hours notice, a good fast food manager will take it upon himself or herself to inform employees of the change, either in person or by phone.

Having to call the restaurant twice while en route to see if the schedule has changed is unreasonable. It is also, no doubt, very annoying for the people who are trying to work there and must answer the phones. We suspect that there is something else going on here. Perhaps a feud between two managers is causing one to change the schedule and the other to change it back. (Or, perhaps for unknown reasons neither manager wants to work with your daughter, or they are trying to get her to quit. It would be interesting to know if every employee is scheduled this way, or only your daughter.)

The ultimate solution to this problem is for your daughter to find another job. Almost any fast-food restaurant will be better managed than this one, and that industry is one that is doing very well in the current economy. At a well-run restaurant, the schedule for the week is posted and it is not changed for most of the employees, during most weeks.

Meanwhile, your daughter probably has some protection under California law. To answer your questions:

1) Yes. A provision of the law called “reporting time” requires that an employee be paid 2-4 hours for reporting for a scheduled shift, even if the employer has no work for the employee. If your daughter is scheduled to work 8 am to 12 noon, shows up at 8 am and is told to come back at 1 pm, she is entitled to 2 hours pay just for showing up ready to work at 8 am. (In addition to pay for the hours she actually works.) California is one of the very few states that has such a law. Read more about reporting pay at: http://www.dir.ca.gov/dlse/FAQ_ReportingTimePay.htm

Ideally, your daughter should ask to make a photocopy of the written work schedule for the week when she leaves each day. (She can present this as “I want to be sure I’m here at the right time.”) If the employer refuses, your daughter should create her own hand-written copy by writing down the hours she is scheduled for the next day. For example, when she leaves work on Wednesday she would note her scheduled shift for Thurdsay. When your daughter arrives on Thursday for her scheduled shift, if they have no work for her, she should be paid for half the scheduled shift, or 2-4 hours. If she is not, she should file a wage claim with the DLSE at http://www.dir.ca.gov/dlse/HowToFileWageClaim.htm. If she is required to come back the same day, she must be paid for work time in addition to reporting pay. We suspect that when the employer learns she has filed one claim, the impromptu schedule changes will stop. (It is illegal for the employer to retaliate against an employee who files a wage claim in good faith.)

Our recommendation would be that your daughter stop calling so frequently. (One scenario we can imagine is that coworkers are telling her “Yes, Tina, your schedule has changed since you called 10 minutes ago” when in fact it has not, simply because the calls are so annoying.) Remember that every call interrupts someone who is working on something else. It may also be that managers interpret these calls as an opportunity to change the schedule. If she does call to verify the schedule, she should note the date, time and any changes on the back of her photocopied or hand-written schedule. (And please don’t do this while driving.) She should save all of these schedules with notes on the back. But really, calls should not be necessary. She is probably entitled to reporting pay based on the time she noted on her schedule the day before.

2) Yes and no. This conduct by the employer would be completely unreasonable, and California offers more protections than other states do against unreasonable conduct by an employer. Your daughter should use the back of her photocopied or hand-written schedule to note any problems like this, with dates, times and potential witnesses. In the worst possible case scenario, these records can be used as evidence in an unemployment claim, or a lawsuit regarding discrimination or wrongful termination. This is another reason why your daughter should rely on the written schedule, instead of making constant phone calls.

We will add that most employers are reasonable people. When an employer is acting in a way that seems irrational, there is usually a reason for it. Your daughter should sit down with the store’s General Manager and ask if there is a problem with her performance or something she should be aware of. She should be tactful and listen to the manager’s point of view without arguing. This may uncover an underlying issue that is creating these problems.

If your daughter is the only employee being treated this way, and she is of a different race, color, religion, national ancestry, or sex from other employees, then this may be illegal discrimination. If so, she can file a complaint with the EEOC at http://www.eeoc.gov. Again, the employer cannot retaliate. But once more, the ultimate solution is to find a job at a restaurant that is better managed. HTH, and thanks for reading the blogs!~ Amelia
Posted by: US

Hi Amelia,

A few questions.
We use to have PTO, on January 2, 2010 the company decided that they would not give PTO for 2010, but 2010’s PTO was earned in 2009. Does the company have the right to do that without a written letter.

Also the bosses tell our employess that they need to come to the office even if they aren’t assigned a job. They clock in, 30 min later they are told there is no work. Company policy is they need to come to the office. I heard that the company should be paying at least 2 hours even if only “worked” 30 min.

The company just decided that they can no longer afford to pay health insurance from 1 month to the other, they are giving 1 months notice.

Where do we file complaints?

Thank you for your help! Have a nice day!
Posted by: Amelia

Hi US! You may be entitled to payment for PTO that was earned in 2010, in California. Contact the California DLSE athttp://www.dir.ca.gov/DLSE/dlse.html and file a wage claim for the unpaid PTO. They will investigate, and if they find you are owed PTO, they will force the employer to pay you.
California has a minimum 2 hours reporting pay. This means if you are required to report to work, and there is no work available for you, you must be paid for half of your usual shift, or a minimum of two hours, whichever is greater. Read more here: http://blog.laborlawcenter.com/wp-admin/edit-comments.php. Again, you would file a wage complaint with the DLSE for this issue.
Unfortunately, it is legal for the employer to discontinue health insurance with one month’s notice. Until 2014, there is no law that any employer must provide health insurance to employees. HTH, and thanks for reading the blogs!~ Amelia
Posted by: Debra

In California if a company designates certain days as paid holiday in their company handbook and then requires you to work on that “paid holiday”. Are you entitled to the 8 hours of holiday pay and 8 hours of straight time pay for the total of double time?

Thanks
Posted by: Amelia

Hi Debra! Not necessarily. Even in California, there is no law that an employer must provide paid holidays to employees. When an employer provides paid holidays, the employer determines the policies surrounding them. Most employers follow the policy you have outlined, paying an employee who works on the holiday his or her wages for the day, plus an additional 8 hours of holiday pay. However, other employers pay holiday pay only to those who work on the holiday, and still others pay holiday pay only to those who are off on the holiday. This last policy is short-sighted, since it actually penalizes employees who work on the holiday — but all of the policies are legal. As long as the employer enforces the holiday pay policy consistently, almost any policy is legal. HTH, and thanks for reading the blogs!~ Amelia
Posted by: US

Hi Amelia,

Thanks for answering my questions. I told my bosses about the reporting time. They weren’t happy! One asked me who told me and now that they know that there is such a law till this date they haven’t paid reporting time. And when I told him that they may owe us PTO he said well there’s no money. They have been acting a little different towards me but there is also other stuff going on, this just may be the straw that broke the camels back. Unfortunately, there are too many employees scared of going to the labor commission.

Thanks,
US
Posted by: Amelia

Hi again US! You are very welcome. We would encourage you to file a wage complaint regarding reporting pay and nonpayment of PTO with the California DLSE at http://www.dir.ca.gov/dlse/dlse.html. Only one person has to file the complaint. If they find abuses, the DLSE will then investigate everyone’s wages. They can force payment for unpaid wages (reporting pay) for the past 2 -3 years, plus payment of the PTO.

Another reason to file a complaint: You actually have more protection against retaliation if you file the complaint. It is illegal for an employer to retaliate against an employee who files a complaint in good faith. Even if it turns out that the employer does not owe any back wages, the employee is protected from negative actions like being written up or fired for a trumped-up reason. If there are any negative consequences, the DLSE will investigate the retaliation as a separate charge. It is actually much easier to show retaliation when an employee officially files a complaint, rather than when an employee just asks the employer. HTH, and thanks for reading the blogs!~ Amelia
Posted by: Amelia

Hi again US! Just wanted to add, before you make a final decision not to complain to the labor board, follow this link, scroll to the bottom of the page and read the comment from Cindy: http://blog.laborlawcenter.com/2006/08/10/wyoming-labor-law-board/ HTH!~ Amelia
Posted by: Pablo

Message
In California, USA is it legal for an employer to pay less to an employee that was hired for a higher wage because the person is told to do some other job? The person in question is a cook being paid $14 p/hr at hire. Due to budget cuts, the employer is telling this person they will only pay $10 p/hr when this person washes the dishes for the kitchen. The cook was hired as part-time, but has been puting in full-time hours, being called in on days off, when someone else calls in sick, or for some other reason. The employer does not want to hire another person to wash dishes so they are pressuring the cook to do the dish-washing for the lower wage. Can they do that?
Posted by: Amelia

Hi Pablo! That’s a really interesting question, and you’ll probably have to contact the California DLSE or Division of Labor Standards Enforcement for an answer.

It is legal in California and other states for an employer to pay a worker at two different rates. However, the employee has to know that ahead of time. If the employee believes he is working at $14 per hour and then finds he has only been paid $10 per hour on his paycheck, that is not legal.

Many employees would just work the extra hours washing dishes at $10 per hour. They would figure they were better off working additional hours, even at a lower rate. Suppose Carl was hired to work 20 hours per week at $14 per hour as a cook. His boss also asks Carl to work an additional 20 hours per week as a dishwasher at $10 per hour. Carl might be happy to be working the extra hours and earning $200 more per week.

However, it is not clear if a California employer could fire a cook who refused to work additional hours as a dishwasher. It is hard to fire employees in California, and the cook would be doing nothing wrong.

For a complete reading on your situation, contact the DLSE at http://www.dir.ca.gov/dlse/. HTH, and thanks for reading the blogs!~ Amelia

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Holiday Pay Law Requirements in the State of California (CA)

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