How Employers Use Piece Rate Pay to Steal Wages

Piece rate pay — compensation based on units produced rather than hours worked — creates specific opportunities for wage theft. California law has enacted special protections for piece rate workers that many employers still don’t follow.

The Separate Compensation Requirement

Since 2016, California law requires employers to compensate piece rate workers separately for rest periods and other non-productive time. An employer who pays a picker $0.50 per bin but pays nothing for the time spent walking, waiting, or on rest breaks is violating the law. The separate compensation for rest periods must be at least the applicable minimum wage.

Pre-2016 piece rate workers may also have claims. California courts applied an earlier version of the separate compensation requirement that predates the 2016 statute. Piece rate workers who were denied rest period compensation before 2016 may have claims under that earlier standard as well, depending on the statute of limitations applicable to their situation.

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 — without paying an attorney to get started. Request your free evaluation here.