Overtime

Newport Beach Overtime Attorneys

Effectively Guiding Clients through Complex Cases

The Carter Law Firm represents employees throughout California who have been improperly denied overtime wages. If you believe that you have been wronged by your employer in this manner, our Newport Beach overtime lawyers are here to help you get the money that you’ve worked so hard for. We have over 70 years of collective experience and have already helped hundreds of thousands of people recover the compensation they deserve.

Overtime Laws in Newport Beach

Employees are generally entitled to one and one-half times their regular rate of pay for working over eight hours a day or more than 40 hours per week.. Employees are entitled to receive double pay for working over 12 hours in a single day or for working a seventh consecutive day.

Only salaried employees qualifying under "white-collar" overtime exemptions are exempt from receiving the overtime premium. Executive, administrative, professional, and outside sales employees are exempt from overtime requirements in California, provided they meet certain tests regarding job duties and responsibilities and are compensated "on a salary basis" at not less than stated amounts.

Employee Vs. Independent Contractor

Employers sometimes attempt to evade overtime laws by calling certain workers "independent contractors" as opposed to employees. The choice of terminology, however, is irrelevant.

An "independent contractor" is actually an employee and may be entitled to overtime if one or more of the following factors are present:

  • Exclusivity: the worker works exclusively for the employer
  • Importance: the worker's services are an important part of the employer's business
  • Control: the employer controls the worker's hours and place and manner of work
  • Equipment: the employer pays for the worker's equipment, tools, and facilities needed to work

Factors Considered to Determine if a Worker Is an Employee

Under California law, there is a rebuttable presumption that any worker is an employee, and specific proof must be provided of independent contractor status. The most significant factor to be considered is whether the person to whom service is rendered (the employer or principal) has the right to control both the work done and the manner in and means by which it is performed.

Additional factors that may be considered include:

  • Whether the person performing services is engaged in an occupation or business distinct from that of the principal
  • Whether or not the work is a part of the regular business of the principal or alleged employer
  • Whether the principal or the worker supplies the instrumentalities, tools, and the place for the person doing the work
  • The worker's investment in the equipment or materials required by the task
  • The worker's own employment of helpers
  • Whether the service rendered requires a special skill
  • The kind of occupation, with reference to whether, in the locality, the work is usually done under the direction of the principal or by a specialist without supervision
  • The worker's opportunity for profit or loss depending on his or her managerial skill
  • The length of time for which the services are to be performed
  • The degree of permanence of the working relationship
  • The method of payment, whether by time or by the job

If you disagree with your employer's categorization of you as an independent contractor or exempt employee, contact us to discuss the possibility of recovering unpaid overtime wages to which you have been entitled.

Computer & High-Tech Professionals

A specific exemption from overtime requirements exists for certain computer professionals and others working in a technological field, without regard to whether they are paid on an hourly or salaried basis. However, if the worker does not meet the requirements of this exemption, the employee is not exempt from overtime even if paid on a salary basis. (

A computer software field employee is exempt from overtime pay if all of the following requirements are met:

  • The employee is primarily engaged in work that is intellectual or creative and that requires the exercise of discretion and independent judgment
  • The employee is primarily engaged (spends more than half of his or her time) in duties that consist of one or more of the following:
    • The application of systems analysis techniques and procedures, including consulting with users to determine hardware, software, or system specifications
    • The design, development, documentation, analysis, creation, testing, or modification of computer systems or programs, including prototypes, based on and related to user or system design specifications
    • The documentation, testing, creation, or modification of computer programs related to the design of software or hardware for computer operating systems
  • The employee is highly skilled and proficient in the theoretical and practical application of highly specialized information to computer systems analysis, programming, and software engineering (job title not determinative)
  • The employee's hourly rate of pay is not less than $41.00 per hour for every hour worked

Non-exempt employees who have not been paid overtime that they were owed may recover wages going back three years (and in some cases four years) from the date a complaint is filed.

Results That Speak for Themselves

  • Cisco $20 Million
  • Confidential Defendant $17.4 Million
  • Bank of America $16.7 Million
  • Abercrombie & Fitch $9.6 Million
  • Toys 'R' Us $7.5 Million
  • Verizon Wireless $6.9 Million
  • Big Lots $6.5 Million
  • Sprint $4.9 Million
  • Paramount $2.4 Million
  • Bed Bath & Beyond $2 Million
/

What You Can You Recover?

While the primary recovery sought in overtime cases is the payment of the overtime wages themselves, California law also allows for the recovery of various forms of penalties as well as costs and attorneys' fees. These provisions are of significant benefit to workers considering bringing wage and hour claims, as the legal work involved in prosecuting such cases through trial and/or any necessary appeals can be substantial.

If you are an employee who has been told by your employer that you are exempt from overtime, contact the Carter Law Firm today for an independent analysis of your situation. Our Newport Beach overtime attorneys are ready to fight for the money you are entitled to.

Call (949) 239-0419 today for a free consultation.

Schedule a Free Consultation

  • Please enter your first name.
  • Please enter your last name.
  • Please enter your phone number.
    This isn't a valid phone number.
  • Please enter your email address.
    This isn't a valid email address.
  • Please make a selection.
  • Please enter a message.