4/10 Schedules and Alternative Workweeks: Valid Only If the Election Was Done Right

Employers love four-ten schedules because they skip daily overtime — but the exemption only exists if a formal secret-ballot election was properly conducted and registered. Many were not.

What California Law Says

An alternative workweek avoiding daily overtime requires a written proposal, a two-thirds secret ballot vote of the affected work unit, results reported to the state within 30 days, and adherence to the adopted schedule. Defects revive daily overtime after the eighth hour.

How to Fight Back, Step by Step

1. Ask in writing for the election records and the state filing.
2. Check the state’s public alternative workweek registry for your employer.
3. Compare your actual schedule to the adopted one — deviations owe overtime.
4. Recalculate daily overtime if the election is missing or defective.
5. Demand and file with the reconstruction attached.

Common Questions

I was hired after the vote. Am I bound by it?

You can be covered by a valid pre-existing election for your work unit — but only a valid one, and you are entitled to see the paperwork.

My employer just announced 4/10s in a memo. Enough?

No. Without the statutory election procedure, hours nine and ten of each shift are daily overtime, every day, going back years.