Employers are not allowed to ignore paydays in California. Workers must get paid one by one on a day they know is coming.

The state labor code says it is a crime for an employer to fail to pay on time.

Regular Paydays

Pay periods keep the pay equal to the work put in on the job. Most workers must get paid at least twice a month on regular paydays the employer schedules. The employer must post the regular paydays on a notice where workers can see it when they come and go at work or at the office workers get paid at.

Wages earned from the 1st to the 15th in a month are paid by the 26th. Wages earned from the 16th to the last day in the month are paid by the 10th during the next month.

Other Schedules

A group of workers and the employer can get together and chose a regular schedule with at least 2 pay days in a month's time. The option is open to workers that do not have earnings periods from the 1st to the 15th and the 16th to the month end. The schedule can be weekly, biweekly, or semi monthly (two times a month).

Employers set regular paydays. Workers must get paid within 7 calendar days after the end of the calendar period the wages were earned in.

Overtime Pay

Overtime pay is paid on the next regularly scheduled payday. The one after the pay period the after hours work was done.

Executive, Administrative, and Professional Workers

Bosses and those professional workers that work closely with the boss and control their own work have the opportunity to work on a different pay schedule. Employers pay at least once a month on a payday no later than the 26th. All salaried days in the month, including the days at the end of the month that have not been worked, are paid out on the payday in the same month.

Workers with Lodging and Board

Once a month paydays are enough for workers that stay at the employer's place with lodging and board. These workers include workers in agriculture, horticulture, and viticulture and stock and poultry raising. Household domestic servants also can get paid once a month. No two paydays can be more than 31 days apart. All earned wages earned before the payday are paid on that payday.

Discharged Employees

Workers are paid all wages immediately after a discharge. The pay that is due includes vacation pay, sick pay, holiday pay, annual leave, and pay for time off that was given by the employer in compensation for overtime hours put in by the worker.

Employees that Quit

Workers that do not have a written employment contract for a stated period of time are given their final wages on a different schedule. An employer has 72 hours to pay a worker that quits all their wages. The worker can give 72 hours notice they are going to quit and ask for the pay on the day they quit. Then, the employer has to pay on that day.

Coming in to work before the 72 hours are up and asking for the money can stop the employer from paying late.

The employee can ask the employer to send the payment by mail. The date the payment is mailed is the payment date.

Holiday Paydays

Paydays scheduled for a holiday can be moved to the next business day. Employers do not have to call off work on a holiday. Workers that work on a holiday get paid on that day.

Holidays in California include Sundays and 13 other days.

• New Year's Day on January 1
• Martin Luther King, Jr. Day on the Third Monday in January
• Abraham Lincoln's Birthday on February 12
• President's Day on the Third Monday in February
• Cesar Chavez Day on March 31
• Memorial Day on the Last Monday in May
• Independence Day on July 4
• Labor Day on the First Monday in September
• Columbus Day/Indigenous People's Day on the Second Monday in October
• Veteran's Day on November 11
• Thanksgiving Day
• Day after Thanksgiving
• Christmas Day on December 25

The Governor of California can chose other days for a public fast, thanksgiving, or holiday.

Time Sheets

Workers that failed to turn in a time sheet still get paid. Employers are not allowed to use a missing time sheet as an excuse to not pay a worker for the work they already put in.

Payment

Employers can pay their workers by check, draft, or voucher. Or, they can pay by cash or personal check.

When an employer does not pay on time, the employee can ask the Department of Labor Standards Enforcement to order the employer to pay their regular wages or fringe benefits for up to 30 days as a penalty for failing to pay. The employer has failed to pay when they do not have an account or do not have enough funds to draw on the account. The employee can keep the payment paper and present it within 30 days to the Department of Labor Standards Enforcement to ask for the order.

Pay Stubs and Wage Statements

Workers are entitled to get a record that shows their pay each time they get paid. Payroll checks typically come with an attached pay stub or wage statement. When an employer uses cash or a personal check, a separate statement is used.

The statement must show the worker's gross earnings, total hours, pay period begin and end dates, deductions, and net earnings. Hourly rates and hours worked at each rate are listed on the statement. Piece rate earnings are listed by piece rate and the number of pieces produced at each piece rate.

Payday is Coming Soon

A minute on the clock is never far from a payday. An employer that knows how to manage workers keeps pay periods moving along on the calendar. One period paid. Another payday coming up.

Sources:

California Labor Code Sections 200 and after (May 2011).

California Department of Labor Standards Enforcement, Payday Notice (current in 2011).

California Department of Labor Standards Enforcement, Paydays, Pay Periods, and the Final Wages, online (May 24, 2011).