employment california
Can pay be witheld for hours cleaning up after closing time?
<p>The bar in California, where I work, closes at midnight.  We start cleaning  (bar, kitchen, bathrooms, dishes) before we close, but only if it's not too busy. Once midnight hits, it takes 30 minutes to clear everyone out before we can start reconciling our banks/drawers (finding the mistakes on credit cards, etc.). Some nights cleaning and reconciliation don't finish before 3:00 am.</p>

<p>Fewer than 25 people work at this bar.</p>

<p>Is my boss legally allowed to stop paying us at midnight?</p>

<p>(Side note: we're paid $11 per hour, not the legally required $13.25 per hour.)</p>

<p>Unless you are a salaried worker, all hours worked must be paid, and that could include paying overtime if the actual hours that you work is over 40 hrs. a week. You may <a href="https://www.dol.gov/whd/howtofilecomplaint.htm" rel="noreferrer">file a complaint</a> with the US Dept. of Labor, and the boss may not fire you for complaining. Your state DoL may have even stiffer rules and penalties.</p>

<p>As I suspect you knew when you asked, she can't pay you less than the statutory minimum wage. She's also likely to lose on time you spend cleaning up after close. At least in <a href="https://hrwatchdog.calchamber.com/2019/02/wage-theft-doesnt-pay/" rel="noreferrer">California</a> (you should always mention a jurisdiction), these are work hours.</p>

<p>Your state Labor Board, whatever it is called, would be a good first stop.</p>

<p>In the US, if you're an hourly employee, ALL work time must be paid.  This includes time, if any, that you work without explicit authorization (of course, you can be fired if you work unauthorized hours, but you must still be paid for them).  In addition, you are not allowed to "volunteer" to work unpaid time.  This last provision is to prevent employers from pressuring employees to "volunteer" additional hours for free.  Your timecard should accurately reflect your hours and you can not be asked to work off the clock.  If you work more than 40 hours per week or (in California) 8 hours per day, you are entitled to overtime.  There are some exceptions/exemptions to this, so you should research your specific situation on the California labor &amp; workforce development web site.  </p>

<p>You can also initiate a claim online for minimum wage/over-time violations going back three years.  California would probably be a better starting point than the US Department of Labor.  Even if you don't have the documentation to support your claim for backwages, you could probably get them to schedule a wage and hour audit of the employer.</p>
