Employees in California must be paid at least minimum wage for every work hour. As of January 1, 2019 California employers with more than 25 employees must pay $11 an hour and smaller companies with 26 or more employees must pay at least $12 an hour.[1] Companies with 25 or fewer employees must pay at least $11 per hour. The minimum wage will increase incrementally every year until it reaches $15 an hour in 2022 (for larger employers) and 2023 (for smaller employers).
Under California law, employers cannot average pay in a pay period or workweek to determine if minimum wage requirements are met (i.e., it is not permissible to divide total wages paid for a period by the hours worked to see if the average exceeds the minimum wage). Instead, the law requires that employees are paid at least minimum wage for each and every work hour. The right to be paid at least minimum wage cannot be waived; that is, an employee cannot agree to work for less than minimum wage.[2]
Leonard Carder has represented thousands of workers who have not been paid minimum wage, including retail store employees, flooring installers and other construction workers, and truck and shuttle drivers. See [[Past Successes]]for examples. Along with minimum wage payments going back up to four years, employees can also recover liquidated damages (resulting in doubling the minimum wages owed), attorneys’ fees and costs, and penalties.
Piece-Rate and Commission Employees
Minimum wage laws apply whether the worker is paid by the hour, salary, piece-rate or commission. Thus, for example, employees paid on commission or piece rate must earn at least minimum wage, even if their sales or production would cause them to earn less. Importantly, if an employee performs work that is not tied to the earning of a commission or piece rate, such as attending a general meeting or other “non-productive” work, her employer is required to pay separate and additional minimum wage for that time
Piece-rate employees must also be paid separately – at least the minimum wage – for all of their rest periods because these breaks are considered time worked. Meal periods do not usually need to be paid separately.
Higher Local Minimum Wages
Many cities and counties have minimum wage rates (often called a “living wage” rate) that are higher than the California minimum wage, including San Francisco and Oakland.
Prevailing Wages
Work performed on public contracts (that is, where private companies provide services to state, county or local government) must often be paid at a “prevailing wage” rate that is typically well-above the California minimum wage rate.