Pay and hours

Guides about what you're paid and the hours you work as an employee in California. Each guide answers one question and cites the law it comes from.

• California overtime pay laws: when do I get overtime?California's overtime rules: time and a half after 8 hours a day or 40 a week, double time after 12, the seventh-day rule, and who is exempt.
• Meal and rest break laws in CaliforniaWhen California law requires a 30-minute meal break and 10-minute rest breaks, when a meal break can be waived, and the extra hour of pay for a missed break.
• When is my final paycheck due in California?California's deadlines for your last paycheck if you are fired, laid off or quit, what it must include, and the penalty when it is late.
• California minimum wage by city in 2026The minimum wage in Berkeley, Los Angeles, Oakland, San Diego, San Francisco and San Jose, each beside California's rate, with a check of your pay.