Payroll and the wage-and-hour rules: minimum wage, overtime, meals and rest, paydays, pay stubs, sick leave, final pay, and the notice you owe at hire
In one paragraph
Payroll in California is a set of exact numbers and deadlines, and a helper who knows them better than you do can turn a good year into a wage claim. This lesson puts the current rules in one place, each with its section: the $16.90 state minimum (higher in many cities), overtime after eight in a day and 40 in a week with double time after twelve, the 30-minute meal before the end of the fifth hour and the paid 10-minute rest per four hours under the construction wage order, the twice-a-month payday windows, the nine items every pay stub must carry, paid sick leave that starts accruing on day one, the same-day final check for someone you let go and the 72-hour check for someone who quits, the written notice you hand every new hire, and the 2026 employer-side tax rates to load into your price book. It closes with what each mistake costs, which is the reason to run payroll through a service from the first hire.
The rule
California's minimum wage is $16.90 per hour from January 1, 2026, with higher local rates in many cities (DIR); overtime is one and one-half times the regular rate after eight hours in a day, 40 in a week and for the first eight hours on the seventh consecutive day, and double after 12 hours in a day (Labor Code 510(a)); a 30-minute meal period is due before the end of the fifth hour (512(a)) and a paid 10-minute rest for every four hours or major fraction under Wage Order 16; wages are due twice a month within the windows of 204(a); each wage statement carries the nine items of 226(a) and copies are kept three years; paid sick leave accrues at one hour per 30 worked or 40 hours front-loaded, usable from the 90th day (246); a discharged employee is paid immediately and one who quits within 72 hours, or the wages run on as a penalty for up to 30 days (201, 202, 203); and every hire receives the written 2810.5 notice.
Why it matters
The wage-and-hour rules are strict, the penalties stack per pay period per employee, and a former helper's claim is heard by the Labor Commissioner without a lawyer and without the friendliness of a customer dispute. A contractor who pays 'a day rate' with no stub, no overtime and no sick leave is not saving money; he is accruing a liability at $50 to $250 per pay period per person plus the wages, interest and attorney's fees, and Phase 5's disclosure rules mean the judgment can follow the license. Getting the numbers right from the first check is cheaper than any part of getting them wrong.