California Overtime Law: 4/10-Hour Days, Election & Penalties

California’s 4/10 work schedule overtime rules let employees work four 10-hour days each week without earning daily overtime, but only if the employer went through a formal alternative workweek election under Labor Code Section 511. Skip any step of that process and the standard eight-hour daily overtime rule under Section 510 still applies, which means hours nine and ten of every “10-hour” day are legally overtime.¹

How the 4/10 Exception Works

California’s default overtime law goes further than federal law. Under Labor Code Section 510, a non-exempt employee earns 1.5 times their regular pay after eight hours in a day and double time after 12 hours, on top of the standard 40-hour weekly overtime rule.²

That creates a problem for anyone who wants a compressed schedule. Working 10 hours Monday through Thursday adds up to 40 hours a week, but the last two hours of each day would normally trigger overtime under the daily rule. Section 511 solves it by letting employers and employees adopt an alternative workweek. Once properly adopted, the daily overtime threshold moves up to match the scheduled hours, so a 10-hour day on a 4/10 schedule pays straight time.¹

The exception only holds if every step of the adoption process was done correctly. An employer who simply announces a 4/10 schedule hasn’t actually adopted an alternative workweek, and hours nine and ten each day remain overtime hours. That is where most compliance problems begin.

Overtime and Double Time Past 10 Hours

Even on a valid 4/10 schedule, overtime and double time still apply once you work beyond the scheduled hours:

Hours 1 through 10 are paid at your regular rate.
Hours 11 and 12 are paid at 1.5 times your regular rate.
Any hour past 12 is paid at double your regular rate.

An employee earning $25 an hour who works 13 hours on a scheduled 4/10 day would receive $250 for the first 10 hours, $75 for hours 11 and 12 (at $37.50 each), and $50 for the 13th hour (at $50), for a total of $375.¹

The 40-hour weekly cap still applies on its own track. Any hour worked past 40 in a week is overtime regardless of how the daily numbers came out.¹

Working a Fifth Day

An alternative workweek agreement sets specific scheduled workdays. Working outside those days has its own rules.

If you are called in on a day off, the first eight hours on that extra day pay 1.5 times your regular rate, and anything past eight hours pays double time.²

Overtime protections apply from the very first hour of any unscheduled day, so a 4/10 employee who regularly works a fifth day is often more expensive than a standard-schedule employee doing the same work.

What a Valid 4/10 Election Requires

California does not let employers install a 4/10 schedule by announcement. Section 511 lays out a formal election process, and missing any step can void the whole arrangement.

Written Disclosure and the 14-Day Waiting Period

Before any vote, the employer must give affected employees a written disclosure explaining how the proposed schedule will affect wages, hours, and benefits. The employer must also hold at least one meeting with proper notice at least 14 days before the vote. If at least five percent of affected employees primarily speak a language other than English, the disclosure has to be provided in that language too. Anyone who misses the meeting has to receive the written disclosure by mail.³

Skipping the disclosure or the 14-day window doesn’t just weaken the election. It voids the result.

The Secret Ballot Election

After the disclosure period, the employer holds a secret ballot election. At least two-thirds of the affected employees in a readily identifiable work unit must vote in favor for the schedule to pass. A simple majority is not enough.¹

The ballot can offer a single schedule or a menu of options, which may include a traditional eight-hour day for employees who prefer it. That flexibility helps reach two-thirds when part of the workforce doesn’t want a compressed week.

Reporting the Results

Within 30 days of the final results, the employer must report the outcome to the Division of Labor Standards Enforcement. The report has to include the business name and address, the nature of the business, the election date, the full vote tally, the size of the affected work unit, and the adopted schedule.⁴

Failing to file this report does not automatically invalidate the schedule, but it leaves a paperwork gap that becomes a real problem if an employee later challenges the arrangement.

Meal and Rest Breaks on 10-Hour Days

Longer days mean more break obligations, and this is where 4/10 employers often stumble.

California requires a 30-minute meal period for any shift over five hours. A second 30-minute meal period is required when a shift exceeds 10 hours. The second meal period can be waived by mutual agreement, but only if the shift will not exceed 12 hours and the first meal period was not waived.⁵

Many employers assume a “10-hour” day means one meal break is enough. In practice, most 4/10 employees should either receive two meal periods or sign a valid written waiver for the second one.

Rest breaks are separate. Employees earn a paid 10-minute rest break for every four hours worked, or major fraction of four hours, with anything over two hours counting as a major fraction. A 10-hour shift therefore requires three rest breaks.⁶

Repealing a 4/10 Schedule

Employees who no longer want the schedule aren’t stuck with it. If at least one-third of the affected work unit signs a petition asking for a repeal, the employer must hold a new secret ballot. If two-thirds vote to repeal, the employer must end the alternative schedule within 60 days.¹

Employers cannot prevent or delay a repeal election once the one-third petition threshold is met.

Who These Rules Cover

California’s overtime and alternative workweek rules apply only to non-exempt employees. Exempt employees, generally those in executive, administrative, or professional roles who also meet specific duties tests, are not entitled to overtime and are not covered by alternative workweek elections.

To qualify as exempt in California, an employee must earn a salary of at least twice the state minimum wage for full-time employment. As of January 1, 2026, with the minimum wage at $16.90 per hour, that threshold is $70,304 per year.⁷

Anyone earning less than that in salary is almost certainly non-exempt under California law and entitled to overtime protections on a 4/10 schedule, even with a managerial title.

What Employers Face for Getting It Wrong

An employee who is paid less overtime than the law requires can file a civil action to recover the unpaid wages, plus attorney’s fees and costs.⁸

The fee-shifting provision matters more than most employers realize. Even a modest unpaid overtime claim becomes attractive to a plaintiffs’ attorney, because the employer pays the legal bill if the employee wins.

Beyond that, the state can impose civil penalties under Labor Code Section 558. Initial violations run $50 per underpaid employee for each pay period, plus the underpaid wages themselves. Subsequent violations rise to $100 per employee per pay period.⁹

For an employer with dozens of affected workers and months of miscalculated pay, these per-employee, per-period penalties add up quickly.

Where Disputes Usually Start

Most 4/10 disputes fall into a handful of patterns. The most common one involves employers who never held a valid election. Sometimes the vote was skipped entirely, sometimes verbal agreement was treated as enough, and sometimes a vote was held but never cleared two-thirds. In each case, the standard eight-hour daily overtime rule applies retroactively, and affected employees may be owed back pay for two hours of overtime on every 10-hour day they worked.¹

Election irregularities are another frequent problem. Employees challenge whether the 14-day disclosure was met, whether the ballot was truly secret, or whether the employer pressured workers to vote yes. If a required step was skipped, the election can be voided outright.³

Miscalculated pay on extra days is a third pattern. Employers sometimes pay regular rates when a 4/10 employee works a fifth day, not realizing overtime applies from the first hour on any unscheduled day.²

If you think you have been shorted on overtime, request your time records from your employer; California law requires employers to keep accurate records and make them available. Once you have the records, either filing a wage claim with the Division of Labor Standards Enforcement or consulting an employment attorney is a workable next step.

1
California Legislative Information. California Labor Code Section 511
2
California Department of Industrial Relations. Exceptions to the General Overtime Law
3
California Department of Industrial Relations. IWC Wage Order 11170 – Miscellaneous Employees
4
California Department of Industrial Relations. Alternative Workweek Elections
5
California Department of Industrial Relations. Meal Periods
6
California Department of Industrial Relations. Rest Periods and Lactation Accommodation
7
California Department of Industrial Relations. California Minimum Wage Set to Increase to $16.90 Per Hour
8
California Legislative Information. California Labor Code Section 1194
9
California Legislative Information. California Labor Code Section 558