Overtime wages exist to compensate professionals who sacrifice their personal time to work more than full-time hours. Frequently, conversations about overtime wages focus primarily on hourly workers.
Employees who have variable work schedules typically have a right to receive at least 150% of their usual hourly wage if they work more than 40 hours in a specific workweek, seven days in a row or particularly lengthy shifts. Many people jump to the conclusion that workers paid on a salary basis are universally exempt from overtime pay regulations.
Companies frequently demand that salaried workers come in on the weekends or stay late to finish projects without any additional compensation. While that can be legal in some cases, it may violate the wage rights of salaried workers in other scenarios.
When do employees have the right to request overtime wages despite having a salary pay arrangement with their employers?
Low salaries may not be exempt
Employers could easily abuse regulations that allow them to classify workers on the basis of their pay arrangements. They might pay workers what amounts to minimum wage as a salary and then demand that they work extra hours without additional compensation. Such scenarios could drop the hourly pay that workers receive well below minimum wage.
California requires that worker wages meet a minimum threshold for employers to bypass overtime wage regulations. As of 2025, the minimum salary required for a company to justify a denial to pay overtime wages is $68,640. That represents twice the state minimum wage if a worker performs 40 hours of paid work per week throughout the year. It is also substantially higher than the minimum salary required for overtime exemption at the federal level.
If companies schedule workers with non-exempt salaries for overtime shifts, they typically need to pay those workers overtime wages as required by law. The failure to do so could open the company up to litigation from the workers who did not receive the wages that they deserve.
Employees may need help reviewing their salaries and current state statutes to ensure that they receive appropriate compensation based on the nature of their employment and the hours that they have already worked. Having legal support while negotiating with an employer and quantifying unpaid wages can help workers demand accountability through wage and hour lawsuits.