Classified School Employee Rights in California: Pay, Summers, Layoffs

If you are a classified school employee in California, such as a paraeducator, instructional aide, custodian, cafeteria worker, bus driver or school office assistant, you are generally owed overtime after 8 hours in a day or 40 in a week, at least the state minimum wage, paid sick leave, and layoff, seniority and reemployment rights under the Education Code. Once you pass probation, you can be disciplined only for cause, with notice and a hearing.

The classified service covers school district positions that do not require a teaching credential (Education Code 45103). It does not include substitutes and short-term employees paid for less than 75 percent of a school year (195 working days), or certain apprentices and student workers. Credentialed teachers should read our public school teacher guide. Charter school staff should read our private and charter school guide, and city and county workers our public employee rights guide. Behavior technicians employed by private agencies are covered in our behavior technician guide.

1. Which pay rules apply to classified staff?

Most of California’s wage orders do not apply to school districts. Section 1(B) of the orders says that for employees directly employed by the state or any political subdivision, only sections 1, 2, 4, 10 and 20 apply (Wage Order 4 is an example), and section 4 is the minimum wage. Office and clerical jobs appear in the occupation list of Wage Order 4; our wage orders guide covers other occupations. Either way, the state minimum wage is $16.90 an hour in 2026 and $17.40 from January 1, 2027.

Overtime comes from two places:

• The Education Code. The classified workday is 8 hours and the workweek is 40 (Education Code 45127). Time beyond 8 hours in a day or 40 hours in a calendar week is overtime, paid in cash or comp time at no less than time and a half (Education Code 45128). If your board set a shorter regular schedule of 7 to 8 hours a day and 35 to 40 a week, overtime starts past that schedule. Paid holidays, sick leave and vacation count as time worked when overtime is computed.
• The federal FLSA. Most classified jobs are non-exempt, so hours over 40 in a workweek must be paid at time and a half. A public employer may give comp time instead, at 1.5 hours per overtime hour, only under your contract or an agreement made before the work. Comp time is capped at 240 hours for most employees (480 for public safety, emergency response or seasonal work), must be allowed within a reasonable time unless that would unduly disrupt operations, and is paid out when you leave (29 U.S.C. 207(o)).

Two limits apply. The Education Code carves out positions scheduled for fewer than 7 hours a day and 35 hours a week, so part-time staff should check how their contract handles extra hours; the FLSA still covers any week over 40. A board may also exempt specific classes, such as security patrol or recreation, from daily overtime, but never food service or transportation classes, and weekly overtime still applies (Education Code 45127(b)).

💡 Example: Marisol, a hypothetical special education aide, earns $22 an hour on a regular 8-hour, 40-hour schedule. One day she stays 1.5 hours late for an after-school program, and her week totals 41.5 hours. Those 1.5 hours are overtime at $33 an hour (1.5 × $22), or $49.50. Her pay for the week should be 40 × $22 = $880 plus $49.50, or $929.50. If she takes comp time instead, she should get 2.25 hours (1.5 × 1.5). (Hypothetical.)

The wage-order meal and rest break sections generally do not apply to school districts, so your breaks usually come from your contract and district rules. Under federal rules, a short rest break of 5 to about 20 minutes counts as paid work time, and a meal period is unpaid only if you are completely relieved from duty. A “lunch” spent watching students is work time.

Key fact

2. Summers, unemployment and the Summer Assistance Program

Many classified jobs follow the school calendar, so summer often means no paycheck. Under Unemployment Insurance Code 1253.3(c), you generally cannot collect unemployment based on school wages for the break between terms if you worked the first term and have reasonable assurance of work in the next one. EDD describes reasonable assurance as an agreement to return with the same pay and work conditions. The statute treats an offer of work as reasonable assurance when it does not depend on enrollment, funding or program changes.

• Written notice. Your district must tell you in writing, at least 30 days before the term ends, whether you have reasonable assurance (Unemployment Insurance Code 1253.3(i)).
• Retroactive benefits. If you were denied benefits for the break and then were not offered work for the new term, you can receive back benefits if you filed for those weeks and ask EDD no later than 30 days after the new term begins.
• Other jobs. If you also worked for a non-school employer, EDD says you may qualify based on those wages alone.

The Classified School Employee Summer Assistance Program lets you set aside up to 10 percent of each monthly check during the school year and receive up to a dollar-for-dollar state match in summer, if your employer opts in (Education Code 45500). Eligible employers are school districts, county offices of education and, since January 1, 2026 (AB 378), joint powers authorities made up only of districts and county offices. The statute requires at least one year with your employer, a regular assignment of 11 months or fewer, and annual pay of no more than $62,400. Employee elections for the 2026–27 school year were due March 1, 2026, and the California Department of Education lists $90,000,000 available for that year, prorated if requests exceed it.

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3. Layoffs, seniority and reemployment

Classified layoffs for lack of work or lack of funds follow the same spring calendar as teacher layoffs (Education Code 45117):

• By March 15, you must get written notice with the reasons and your displacement and reemployment rights.
• You may request a hearing in writing by the deadline in the notice, which must be at least 7 days after service. Missing it waives the hearing.
• The final layoff notice must come before May 15. A permanent employee who did not get the required notices or hearing is deemed reemployed for the next year.
• Permanent employees whose positions are cut because a specially funded program expired must get at least 60 days’ written notice before the layoff date.
• You cannot be laid off while a short-term employee is kept to do work you are qualified to do.

A separate summer window for budget layoffs (five days after the state Budget Act through August 15) applies when the district’s per-pupil state funding did not rise by at least 2 percent, and only in years the matching teacher rule is operative (Education Code 45117(d)).

Who goes first. Within a class, the employee with the least service in that class and higher classes is laid off first, and reemployment is by seniority (Education Code 45308). In districts under 250,000 average daily attendance, service is counted in hours in paid status, not counting overtime-only hours; larger districts, and districts that agree to it with the union, use hire date. These rules apply in merit and non-merit districts alike (Education Code 45114).

Reemployment. A laid-off employee is eligible for reemployment for 39 months and has preference over new applicants. If you accept a demotion or fewer hours to avoid layoff, you keep reemployment rights and may return to your former class or hours as vacancies open (Education Code 45298).

4. Probation, discipline and out-of-class work

Some districts use a merit system run by a personnel commission (Education Code 45240 and following); others follow governing board rules. In both, the probationary period generally may not exceed six months or 130 days of paid service, whichever is longer (Education Code 45113, 45301). A merit-system commission may set up to one year for executive, administrative or police classes.

After probation, you may be disciplined only for cause. In non-merit districts, you are entitled to written notice of specific charges and a hearing, with at least 5 days after service to request it, and discipline cannot rest on conduct more than two years before the notice unless it was concealed (Education Code 45113). In merit-system districts, you may appeal to the personnel commission and appear with counsel (Education Code 45306).

Working outside your classification. You cannot be required to do duties not assigned to your position unless they reasonably relate to it. Work outside your class for more than five working days within a 15-calendar-day period requires a raise for the whole period (Education Code 45110). Instructional aides covering a classroom or clerks running an office for weeks should check this rule.

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5. Pay problems we see in this job

Practice	Is it legal?	Law
Overtime paid at straight time, or comp time hour for hour	No	Ed. Code 45128; 29 U.S.C. 207(o)
Unpaid “lunch” spent supervising students	No; it is work time	29 C.F.R. 785.19
Bus pre-trip inspections or room setup before you clock in	No, if it is required work	FLSA hours worked
Weeks of out-of-class duties with no pay increase	No, beyond 5 working days in 15	Ed. Code 45110
Comp time requests denied again and again	Generally no, unless use would unduly disrupt operations	29 U.S.C. 207(o)(5)
Hourly pay under $16.90 in 2026	No	Wage order sec. 4; Labor Code 1182.12

By the numbers39 months

6. Sick leave, injuries and workers’ compensation

• Sick leave. Full-time classified employees get 12 days of paid sick leave a year, prorated for part-time or part-year work. Unused days carry over. New employees can use up to six days until the first of the month after six months of service (Education Code 45191).
• Extended sick leave. After your regular sick leave, comp time, vacation and other paid leave run out, for an absence due to illness or accident of five months or less, the district may deduct no more than what it pays your substitute (districts with a substitute salary schedule follow a different rule). Districts may instead adopt a rule giving at least 100 working days of sick leave a year, with days beyond the basic 12 paid at no less than 50 percent (Education Code 45196).
• Parental leave. Up to 12 workweeks for a birth, adoption or foster placement, paid at no less than 50 percent of salary after sick leave runs out, running with CFRA leave (Education Code 45196.1).
• Work injuries. Districts must give at least 60 working days of industrial accident or illness leave per fiscal year for the same accident, with your pay plus workers’ comp limited to your normal daily wage. If all your leave is used up and you still cannot return, you go on a reemployment list for 39 months (Education Code 45192).

Paraeducators and aides in special education can be hurt lifting, restraining or redirecting students. Report any injury in writing within 30 days (Labor Code 5400), and file the claim form your district must give you (Labor Code §5401); the general claim deadline is one year (Labor Code §5405). Education Code 44014 requires you to report a pupil’s attack or threat to law enforcement, and no one may punish you for reporting. Labor Code 6401.9 has required employers, with listed exceptions, to keep a workplace violence prevention plan since July 1, 2024, and school districts are not on that exception list. See workers’ comp for workplace assaults.

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7. Retaliation, discrimination and union rights

Protected activity	Protection	Law
Joining or acting through your union, filing grievances	No reprisal or interference; PERB charge within 6 months	Gov. Code 3543, 3543.5, 3541.5
Reporting fraud, waste, illegal orders or a serious safety threat	No reprisal	Ed. Code 44112–44114; Labor Code 1102.5
Safety complaints	No discharge or discrimination	Labor Code 6310
Filing a workers’ comp claim	No discrimination	Labor Code 132a
Reporting a student assault	No sanctions	Ed. Code 44014(d)
Opposing discrimination or harassment; asking for accommodation, CFRA or pregnancy leave	No retaliation	Gov. Code 12940; CFRA

To sue for damages under the Education Code whistleblower law, you must first file your written retaliation complaint, with a sworn statement, with local law enforcement within 12 months of the last reprisal (Education Code 44114). Learn more about retaliation claims.

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8. What you can recover, and the deadlines

Unpaid FLSA overtime can be recovered with an equal amount in liquidated damages and attorney’s fees (29 U.S.C. 216(b)). Other claims can bring back pay, reinstatement and damages. Many damages claims against a district require a written government claim first, within six months or one year depending on the claim (Government Code 911.2), but public employees’ claims for salaries and wages are excepted (Government Code 905(c)).

Claim	Deadline	Law
FLSA overtime	2 years; 3 if willful	29 U.S.C. 255(a)
Layoff hearing request	Date in your notice (at least 7 days)	Ed. Code 45117(b)
Discipline hearing request	Date in your notice (at least 5 days)	Ed. Code 45113(c)
PERB unfair practice charge	6 months	Gov. Code 3541.5(a)
Retroactive unemployment	30 days after the new term begins	Unemp. Ins. Code 1253.3(c)
Civil Rights Department complaint	3 years	Gov. Code 12960(e)
Workers’ comp notice / claim	30 days / generally 1 year	Labor Code 5400, 5405

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9. What to do now

1. Track your hours, including time before the bell, lunches spent on duty and after-school work.
2. Save pay stubs, schedules, comp time balances and every notice from the district.
3. Read your spring notices right away. Hearing deadlines can be as short as 5 to 7 days.
4. Request your personnel file (Education Code 44031; Labor Code 1198.5).
5. Put complaints in writing, and ask your union about grievance deadlines.
6. Get legal advice before you resign or sign anything after a layoff, discipline or injury.

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Frequently asked questions

Do paraeducators get paid in the summer?

Usually not, unless you work a 12-month or summer assignment. You usually cannot collect unemployment if you have reasonable assurance of returning, but you may join the Summer Assistance Program if your district offers it.

Do classified school employees get overtime?

Yes, in most jobs. The Education Code requires at least time and a half past 8 hours a day or 40 a week, and the FLSA requires it past 40 hours a week.

Can my district make me do another job’s duties?

Only duties reasonably related to your position, unless you get a raise for work outside your class lasting more than five working days in 15.

How long are recall rights after a classified layoff?

39 months, with preference over new applicants (Education Code 45298).

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Laws this guide relies on

Law	What it does	Link
Ed. Code 45127, 45128	Workday, workweek and overtime	Statute (45128)
Ed. Code 45114, 45117, 45298, 45308	Layoff notice, seniority, 39-month reemployment	Statute (45117)
Ed. Code 45110, 45113, 45301, 45306	Out-of-class work, probation, discipline	Statute (45113)
Ed. Code 45191, 45192, 45196, 45196.1	Sick, industrial and parental leave	Statute (45191)
Ed. Code 45500	Summer Assistance Program	Statute
Unemp. Ins. Code 1253.3	Unemployment between terms	Statute
29 U.S.C. 207(o)	Public-sector comp time	Statute
Labor Code 1102.5	Whistleblower retaliation	Our guide

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Sources

• Education Code 45103 (classified service)
• Education Code 45110 (out-of-class work)
• Education Code 45298 (reemployment)
• IWC Wage Order 4, section 1(B) (public employees)
• DIR News Release 2026-66 (2027 minimum wage)
• EDD: School employees and unemployment
• CDE: Classified School Employee Summer Assistance Program
• 29 C.F.R. 785.18–785.19 (breaks and meal periods)
• PERB: The unfair practice charge process

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