How many hours you can legally work in a day depends on your job, whether you are an adult employee, and whether your employer follows California wage and hour laws. Working long shifts is legal in the state, but employers must follow strict rules about overtime pay, meal breaks, rest breaks, and working conditions.
If you believe your employer has failed to pay overtime, denied breaks, altered time records, or required off-the-clock work, our Los Angeles wage and hour violations lawyer will review your situation and explain your rights under California law.
How Can a Los Angeles Wage and Hour Violations Lawyer Help?
Many employees do not realize that the number of hours worked is only part of the issue. Wage and hour violations often involve unpaid overtime, missed meal periods, missed rest breaks, inaccurate paychecks, or work performed without compensation.
In these cases, our attorneys handling wage and hour violations:
- Review work schedules and time records.
- Determine whether overtime should have been paid.
- Examine whether meal and rest break laws were violated.
- Calculate unpaid wages.
- Review pay stubs for errors.
- Investigate off-the-clock work requirements.
- Determine whether other employees experienced the same problem.
- Explain whether a class action or Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA) claim may be appropriate.
This matters because workers often lose significant wages over time without realizing it. A practice that affects one employee may also affect dozens or hundreds of workers throughout a company.
For a free legal consultation, call 213-232-3128
Is There a Maximum Number of Hours an Adult Can Legally Work in a Day?
California law generally does not set a maximum number of hours that most adult employees can legally work in a day. An employer may schedule an employee for a shift that lasts more than eight hours or even more than 12 hours.
However, under California Labor Code § 510, additional pay requirements apply as the hours increase. For example:
- Overtime pay is generally required after eight hours in a workday.
- Double-time pay may be required after 12 hours in a workday.
- Meal and rest break requirements continue to apply.
- Employers cannot avoid overtime requirements simply by scheduling longer shifts.
The length of the shift is only part of the picture. Employers must also follow California’s rules regarding overtime pay, meal periods, and rest breaks.
What Does California Law Say About Overtime?
California provides stronger overtime protections than many other states. In most situations, non-exempt employees must receive:
- 1.5 times their regular rate of pay for work over eight hours in a workday.
- 1.5 times their regular rate of pay for work over 40 hours in a workweek.
- Double the regular rate of pay for work over 12 hours in a workday.
- Double the regular rate of pay for work over eight hours on the seventh consecutive workday in a workweek.
Sometimes, overtime problems involve the employer calculating overtime pay incorrectly or failing to count all hours worked. Some may treat a worker as exempt from overtime when they should not be.
In other situations, meal periods are deducted from a worker’s time even though the break never actually happened. When any of these actions happen, employees may lose wages they earned under California law.
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Can an Employer Require You to Work More Than Eight Hours?
In many cases, they can. California law does not automatically prohibit employers from scheduling shifts longer than eight hours. However, employers generally must comply with overtime laws and break requirements.
Working more than eight hours is not automatically unlawful. However, California employers must still follow overtime and break rules when scheduling longer shifts.
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What Meal Breaks are Required During Long Shifts?
California requires employers to provide meal periods under certain circumstances. Generally:
- Employees who work more than five hours must receive an unpaid meal break of at least 30 minutes.
- Employees who work more than 10 hours generally must receive a second unpaid meal break.
Problems often arise when employees are expected to work through their meal periods. A meal break may not comply with California law if an employee is pressured to skip it, interrupted while taking it, required to stay on duty, or continues performing work during the break.
Are Employees Entitled to Rest Breaks?
Under California Labor Code § 226.7, employers are generally required to provide paid rest breaks based on the number of hours worked. In many workplaces, employees earn a paid 10-minute rest break for every four hours worked or a major portion of the four hours worked.
Employers may violate the law when they:
- Discourage employees from taking breaks.
- Fail to schedule breaks.
- Require employees to remain actively working.
- Penalize workers who take breaks.
When required breaks are not provided, employees may be entitled to additional pay.
What Happens if an Employee Works More Than 12 Hours?
Working more than 12 hours is not automatically illegal for many adult workers. However, California’s pay requirements become more significant. Most non-exempt employees must receive double-time pay for hours worked beyond 12 in a workday.
For example:
- The first eight hours may be paid at the regular rate.
- Hours nine through 12 may be paid at 1.5 times the regular rate.
- Hours beyond 12 may be paid at the double regular rate.
Failure to pay the correct rate may result in wage claims and other legal consequences.
Are There Different Rules for Exempt Employees?
It is possible that there are different rules for employees who are exempt. Certain employees classified as exempt are not covered by many overtime requirements. These could be executive employees, administrative employees, or professional employees.
Some employers call workers “managers” or give them another title and treat them as exempt from overtime. However, a job title by itself does not decide whether a worker is exempt. What the employee actually does at work is often more important.
What Should You Do if You Think Your Employer Violated California’s Wage Laws?
If you believe your employer violated wage and hour laws in California, it may help to gather the following to establish your claim:
- Pay stubs
- Work schedules
- Time records
- Employee handbooks
- Text messages about scheduling
- Emails regarding work hours
- Notes showing missed breaks
The more information you have, the easier it may be to determine whether wage violations occurred. Employees should avoid changing records in any way. They should also keep copies of documents whenever possible.
How Long Do You Have to File a Wage Claim in California?
How much time you have to file depends on the type of claim you are filing. Different wage and hour claims may have different deadlines.
Some wage claims may be subject to a three-year statute of limitations. Other claims involving written agreements may allow more time. Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA) claims have separate procedural requirements.
Because deadlines can vary, employees should seek legal advice as soon as possible after discovering a potential violation.
Talk With Our California Employment Lawyers About Long Workdays and Unpaid Wages
If you have concerns about how many hours straight you can legally work in a day, the more important question may be whether your employer followed California wage and hour laws while requiring those hours.
Moon Law Group focuses only on employment law and handles hundreds of wage and hour cases every year. Our team includes more than 40 lawyers with decades of combined legal experience representing workers throughout California. We handle these cases on contingency, so there is no upfront fee, and we get paid only if you recover damages.
Many cases begin with a single employee who notices something is not right with their pay, breaks, or work schedule. Whether the issue involves unpaid overtime, missed meal periods, missed rest breaks, off-the-clock work, or other wage violations, we will explain your legal options and how we can help. Contact Moon Law Group today for a free case review.
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