Employment & Unemployment FAQ

Yes, California law requires that employers pay overtime, whether authorized or not, at the rate of one and one-half times the employee’s regular rate of pay for all hours worked in excess of eight up to and including 12 hours in any workday, and for the first eight hours of work on the seventh consecutive day of work in a workweek, and double the employee’s regular rate of pay for all hours worked in excess of 12 in any workday and for all hours worked in excess of eight on the seventh consecutive day of work in a workweek.

An employer can discipline an employee if he or she violates the employer’s policy of working.

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

An employer is not required to ensure that no work is performed.  However, an employer must do more than simply make a meal period “available.”  In general, to satisfy its obligation to provide a meal period, an employer must actually relieve employees of all duty, relinquish control over their activities, permit them a reasonable opportunity to take an uninterrupted 30-minute break (in which they are free to come and go as they please), and must not impede or discourage employees from taking their meal period.  (For employees in the health care industry covered by IWC Orders 4 or 5, however, minor exceptions exist as to the employee’s right to leave the employment premises during an off-duty meal period.)  Employers may not undermine a formal policy of providing meal periods by pressuring employees to perform their duties in ways that omit breaks (e.g., through a scheduling policy that makes taking breaks extremely difficult).  As the California Supreme Court has noted, “The wage orders and governing statute do not countenance an employer’s exerting coercion against the taking of, creating incentives to forego, or otherwise encouraging the skipping of legally protected breaks.”  Which particular facts in any given case will satisfy the employer’s obligation to provide bona relief from all duty may vary from industry to industry.  See Brinker Restaurant Corp. v. Superior Court (2012) 53 Cal.4th 1004.

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

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

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

There is nothing in state law that mandates an employer pay an employee a special premium for work performed on holidays, Saturdays, or Sundays, other than the overtime premium required for work in excess of eight hours in a workday or 40 hours in a workweek. Unless your employer has a policy or practice of paying a premium rate for working on a holiday, or you are subject to a collective bargaining or employment agreement that contains such a term, your employer is only required to pay you your regular rate of pay for all the straight time hours worked on the holiday, and the overtime premium required for work in excess of eight hours in a workday or 40 hours in a workweek. 
Since you did not work over eight hours on the holiday, or more than 40 hours during the workweek, you were paid correctly.

No. There is nothing in state law that mandates that an employer must close its business on any particular day, if at all. It is up to your employer to select which days, if any, it chooses to be open and closed for business, and if your employer is open on a holiday and schedules you to work that day, there is nothing in the law that obligates your employer to pay you anything but your regular pay and any overtime premium for all overtime hours worked.

Unemployment Insurance is a program that was started in the 1930’s as means of protecting workers who lost their jobs through no fault of their own.  It is intended to provide some income to assist a worker during the job search after a termination or a layoff.

If you lost your job through a termination, a layoff, or a voluntary quit where you were forced to leave your employment because of compelling reasons, you may be eligible to receive Unemployment Insurance.

You must apply for it through the online form which is accessed through the website: https://eapply4ui.edd.ca.gov

Benefits are calculated based upon earned income during the 18 months prior to your application date, and range from a minimum of $40 weekly to a maximum of $450 weekly, paid for a maximum of 26 weeks.

If the EDD does award your benefits, you will be issued a debit card that is serviced through the Bank of America.  Each benefit period, the benefits will be loaded onto the card.  You will be able to verify the balance on your card either by calling the phone number on the back of the card, or by checking your online account with the EDD.  The EDD does not use paper checks to pay benefits.

After you have applied, and the Department has awarded your benefits, you will have to continue to certify each week that you are either still not working, or that you have begun to work.  You can either certify online, by phone or by filling out a claim form and mailing it in the EDD.  Make sure that you report any earned income that you have made from work each week.  Do not wait until you have been paid.  Report it immediately.

If you receive a decision denying your benefits, you can appeal the decision.  The denial letter comes with an appeal form and you can fill that out, explaining why you disagree with the decision.  Then mail the appeal from to the return address that appears on the letter or denial.

Call our office at 619-521-1372 for an appointment to come in and we can help you with online applications, filling out claim forms, answering other questions you may have, or with representation at the hearing if you decide you need to appeal a decision.