Same-Week Makeup Time in California

California is one of a minority of states that requires higher pay for daily overtime, after eight hours of labor.  This could discourage companies from permitting employees to make up time taken for important engagements by adding hours onto another day’s work. However, following certain guidelines will permit a worker to work past the eight hour threshold to make up time without requiring the business to pay the higher overtime compensation rate:

• The makeup time cannot be for more than 11 hours on any workday or for more than 40 hours in a workweek;

• The makeup time must be in the same workweek as the day in which the employee took the time off;

• Normally an employee must provide the employer with a signed, written request for each occasion that he or she desires to make up time.  However, if an employee knows that he or she will be requesting makeup time over several weeks on a recurring basis, the employee can ask to make up the missed work time for up to four weeks in advance;

• A business is free to inform employees of the makeup time option, but cannot  encourage or otherwise solicit workers to do so; and

• The employer may not make the makeup time a condition of the employee’s request for time off.

It is of course vital that the parties keep accurate time records that clearly designate extra hours that are makeup time paid at the employee’s normal rate and those that are paid at the overtime rate.

For assistance implementing a workable makeup time system in California, contact a attorney specializing in that state’s labor law.