California overtime is calculated on a daily and weekly basis — not a biweekly basis. Employers who pay biweekly and calculate overtime only at the end of the pay period are frequently miscalculating, and the errors favor the employer.
Daily Overtime Is Mandatory
In California, any hours worked beyond 8 in a single workday must be compensated at 1.5 times the regular rate, and hours beyond 12 at double time. This is separate from and in addition to the weekly overtime threshold of 40 hours. An employer who only calculates weekly overtime is missing the daily component entirely.
A single workday that exceeds 8 hours triggers overtime regardless of the total weekly hours. A worker who works 10 hours Monday, 6 hours Tuesday through Friday, and totals 34 hours for the week is still owed 2 hours of overtime for Monday. Many employers don’t calculate this, and many workers don’t know to ask.
The California Wage Theft Recovery System gives workers the exact tools and templates to document violations, calculate what they’re owed, and file the right claims at the right agencies — without paying an attorney to get started. Request your free evaluation here.
California Wage Theft Recovery System 
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