One duty of a business owner is to ensure that non-exempt employees receive the proper pay for everything from overtime to breaks and training. If you fail to pay non-exempt employees correctly, you risk fines and possible lawsuits.

California has some of the most protective employee laws in the U.S., so it’s incredibly important that you understand them correctly. Our office breaks down when you must pay for your employees’ breaks and training sessions, and when you don’t have to pay.

Exempt vs. Non-Exempt Employees

The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) has a long history in protecting workers. Established in 1938, one thing the FLSA did was to classify workers as exempt or non-exempt. Non-exempt workers are protected by federal, state, and local laws regarding everything from overtime wages to minimum wage requirements.

Only non-exempt employees enjoy these protections. Exempt employees do not receive overtime pay and are usually professionals working in administrative, computer, executive, or outside sales roles. 

Exempt employees are often salaried workers, but it’s not the only way to determine if a worker is exempt or not. There are checklists that help you determine if an employee is exempt.

Administrative exemptions:

• The salary is higher than $684 per week.
• Work duties include office or non-manual work related to business operations.
• Employees must use discretion and guide decisions on significant matters.

Computer employee exemptions:

• The salary is no less than $684 per week or $27.63 per hour.
• Work must fall into one of these categories: computer programmer, computer systems analyst, or software engineer.
• Primary duties include systems analysis techniques and procedures, system or software design, development, and system or software testing.

Creative professional exemptions:

• The salary is $684 or higher per week.
• Primary job duties entail work that requires imagination, invention, and originality.

Highly compensated employees:

• Earn more than $107,432 per year.
• Work duties fall within administrative, executive, or professional fields.

Outside sales exemptions:

• The primary job duty is to make sales or obtain contracts or orders.
• The majority of the work is done outside the place of business.

Professional exemptions:

• The salary is $684 or higher per week.
• Work duties require advanced knowledge, discretion, and judgment calls.
• Advanced knowledge is in the field of education or science.
• Work required specialized instruction.

If you’re certain your employee is non-exempt, it’s time to start determining what aspects of training and breaks are included on a paycheck.

Understanding Employee Breaks: California Law

Federal law, through the FLSA, requires short breaks of no more than 20 minutes to be paid time. Employers are not required to pay for meal breaks, unless that break requires you to still be near your machine or at your desk on stand-by if others are too busy to answer the phone.

California’s laws are stricter. Employers must follow these meal break rules for all non-exempt employees.

• Shifts over five hours must be offered an unpaid meal break of 30 minutes or longer.
• Meal breaks must occur before the end of the fifth hour. If a worker starts at 7 a.m., the meal break must occur before noon.
• Meal breaks must be completely free of all work duties. If that’s not possible, the meal break must be paid.
• On-duty meal breaks are limited to work where it’s impossible to give the employee a break away from a station, desk, or post.
• Waivers are allowed if a worker’s shift is less than six hours and they agree to waive a meal break.
• Shifts exceeding 10 hours must have two unpaid meal breaks totaling an hour or longer.
• For 10+ hour shifts, the second meal break must happen before the 10th hour of work. For example, a shift of 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. requires meal breaks to happen before noon and before 5 p.m.
• Employees are allowed to waive the second meal period if they do not work more than 12 hours.

Employers are required to cover rest breaks in California. The rules are as follows:

• Employers must pay for a 10-minute break every four hours worked. 
• If a worker works 6 hours, breaks are calculated to cover the fraction of those additional hours. You get 10 minutes for the four hours and 5 minutes for two hours.
• Rest breaks should be timed to be as close to the midpoint of the four-hour block as possible.
• During a rest break, workers cannot be on duty or required to cover phones or other work responsibilities.

If an employer fails to meet their obligations when it comes to providing meal and rest breaks, they must pay the employee an extra hour of pay at their regular hourly rate for each break that isn’t provided. If a worker is denied two breaks and a meal break, that’s three hours of pay.

Understanding Training Time: Do You Always Have to Pay?

In both California and the U.S., any time you require an employee to attend training, you must pay for it. There are a few exceptions that must all be met for an employer not to have to pay.

• Training happens outside of normal working hours.
• The training is voluntary, and the employee isn’t required to attend and won’t be negatively affected if they skip the training session.
• The training program isn’t related to the employee’s job or job duties.
• The employee isn’t performing “productive work” during the training. Productive work is designed as work that goes on during the training session that benefits the employer, such as a training session on forklift operation where the training involves loading a trailer for the employer.

Tips for Ensuring Your Business Follows the Laws

How do you ensure you follow all of the laws as a business owner? Our California employment attorneys have a few tips.

• Employee Handbook – Make sure you have a clear, easy-to-understand employee handbook that lays out what is and isn’t paid for when it comes to rest breaks, meal breaks, and training. Ensure employees have a copy and get them to sign that they’ve read and understand the policies. If they have questions, make your HR professional available to answer questions.
• Timekeeping Systems – Use a system that makes it easy to track the start and end times for all meal breaks and rest periods. Don’t allow employees to stay on the clock when a break is due unless it’s absolutely necessary.
• Monitor Compliance – Make sure your workers take their required breaks as close to the right time as possible. If they are continually skipping them, find out why they are and come up with a solution.
• Employee Training – Any required training programs should be held during normal working hours when possible. If they have to be held after work or on weekends, make sure managers, HR, and supervisors know the rules and stay in compliance.

It’s Best to Hire an Attorney Specializing in California Labor Laws

Navigating California and federal labor laws is challenging and has numerous complexities that make it hard to know what is and isn’t your responsibility. Your HR team may not have the legal expertise needed to guarantee you’re following wage laws correctly. That’s why an expert in employment law is worth your time.

If you need help navigating the differences between non-exempt and exempt employees, we can help. If you aren’t sure when you should and shouldn’t pay for breaks and training, schedule a consultation with Shegerian Conniff.