Solar Installer Rights in California: Piece Pay, Heat, Prevailing Wage

Solar installers in California who work on the job site are generally covered by Wage Order 16, so you are owed at least the minimum wage, overtime after 8 hours in a day or 40 in a week, and paid rest breaks. If you are paid per panel, per watt or per job, your employer must also pay you separately for rest breaks and for nonproductive time such as driving and waiting, and most large commercial net-metered projects and public projects must pay the prevailing wage.

This guide is for solar and battery installers, helpers, crew leads and sales reps, hired directly or through a subcontractor or staffing agency.

Who this guide is not for: the rules every construction trade shares, including travel time and unpaid subcontractor wages, are in our construction worker guide. Electricians should read the electrician guide, which covers certification, and roofing crews should see the roofer guide.

1. Which wage rules apply to solar installers?

Wage Order 16 covers on-site construction occupations, such as building, alteration, improvement and repair work. Installing a solar or battery system on a roof, carport or ground mount is construction work, so install crews generally fall under this order. Sales, warehouse and office staff who don’t work on site usually fall under a different order, often Wage Order 4 (see the wage orders guide).

• Minimum wage: $16.90 an hour in 2026 and $17.40 from January 1, 2027, or a higher local rate (minimum wage by city).
• Overtime: time and a half after 8 hours in a workday or 40 in a workweek, and for the first 8 hours on a seventh consecutive workday; double time after 12 hours in a day and after 8 on the seventh day (Labor Code 510).
• Breaks: a paid 10-minute rest break for every 4 hours worked (or major fraction of 4) and an unpaid 30-minute meal break after 5 hours. A missed break earns one extra hour of pay (Labor Code 226.7).
• Travel: once you must report to the warehouse or yard, the drive to the install and between jobs is paid time (Wage Order 16 §5(A)), and so is required out-of-town travel.
• Crew leads: a salaried lead is exempt only if paid at least $70,304 a year in 2026 ($72,384 in 2027) and doing exempt managerial work more than half the time (see the duties test).

Paid per panel, per watt or per job

Per-panel, per-kilowatt and per-job pay are piece-rate pay. Under Labor Code 226.2:

• Rest and recovery periods are paid separately, at the higher of the minimum wage or your average hourly rate for the week (your weekly pay, minus rest-period pay and overtime premiums, divided by your hours minus rest periods).
• Other nonproductive time, meaning time under the employer’s control that is not directly related to the piece-rate work, must be paid at least the minimum wage. Depending on what the piece rate covers, that can include loading the truck, driving between jobs, waiting for an inspector or utility, and required safety meetings.
• Your pay stub must list hours, rate and pay for rest periods and nonproductive time.
• Overtime still applies. Your regular rate is your total weekly pay, including rest-break pay, divided by all hours worked; each overtime hour earns an extra half of that rate.

💡 Example: Ana, a hypothetical installer, is paid $10 a panel, and her pay plan sets $20 an hour for drive and wait time. One week she works four 11-hour days (44 hours, not counting meal breaks), which include three 10-minute rest breaks a day (2 hours) and 5 hours of driving and waiting. She installs 95 panels, or $950. Her drive and wait time is $100.00. Her average hourly rate is ($950 + $100) ÷ 42 hours = $25.00, so her rest breaks are owed at 2 × $25.00 = $50.00. Her regular rate is $1,100 ÷ 44 hours = $25.00, and her 12 hours over 8 a day earn an extra 12 × $12.50 = $150.00. She is owed $1,250.00. Paid only the $950 panel total, she is short $300.00.

Key fact

2. Prevailing wage on public and large net-metered projects

Public works

“Installation” work done under contract and paid for in whole or in part with public funds is a public work (Labor Code 1720), so solar projects for schools, cities and other public agencies generally must pay the prevailing wage (Labor Code 1771). See what to do when prevailing wage is not paid.

Net-metered and net-billed systems (AB 2143)

Public Utilities Code 769.2, added by AB 2143 in 2022, requires prevailing wages for construction workers on a solar or other renewable system, and any battery storage with it, that takes net billing or net energy metering service from a large investor-owned utility. The CPUC applies it to projects with an interconnection application filed after December 31, 2023, and an upgrade that adds capacity or storage after that date counts as a new project. It does not apply to:

• residential systems of 15 kilowatts or less, or systems on a single-family home;
• systems serving only modular homes or multiunit housing of two or fewer stories;
• projects that are already public works.

That covers many commercial rooftop, carport and ground-mount jobs. Registered apprentices get the apprentice prevailing rate, and apprenticeship rules apply to projects of $30,000 or more. Contractors must keep certified payroll and send copies to the California Public Utilities Commission twice a year, and a willful wage violation can cost the facility its net metering or net billing service.

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3. Heat, attics and falls

• Outdoor heat (8 CCR 3395): free water close to the work (1 quart per worker per hour if not plumbed in or reliably refilled); shade whenever it is above 80°F; a cool-down rest in the shade whenever you need one, at least 5 minutes. Recovery periods are paid, and a denied one earns an extra hour of pay (Labor Code 226.7). At 95°F, construction crews get high-heat procedures such as close observation and pre-shift meetings.
• Attics and enclosed spaces (8 CCR 3396): the indoor heat rule generally applies at 82°F, and cooling controls are required at 87°F, or at 82°F when you wear heat-restrictive clothing or work near high radiant heat.
• Falls: approved fall arrest or restraint is generally required when you are exposed to a fall of more than 7½ feet from a roof edge or other unprotected side, or are on a roof steeper than 7:12, and are not otherwise protected (8 CCR 1670). Harnesses must be inspected before each use, and the employer must provide for prompt rescue.
• Skylights and openings: must have railings or covers that hold the greater of 400 pounds or twice the load (8 CCR 1632).
• Wildfire smoke: at an air quality index of 151 for fine particles, N95-type respirators must be offered; above 500, they are required (8 CCR 5141.1).

Required safety gear is the employer’s cost (Labor Code 2802). You can report hazards without retaliation (Labor Code 6310) and refuse work that violates a safety order and creates a real and apparent hazard (Labor Code 6311). See heat illness and employer liability.

4. Sales reps, setters and commission pay

Solar sales jobs often fall under Wage Order 4, which lists salespersons among its occupations (Wage Order 7, for retailers, has the same commission rule).

• Outside sales exemption. The wage orders’ minimum wage and overtime rules do not apply to an outside salesperson: someone 18 or older who “customarily and regularly works more than half the working time away from the employer’s place of business” selling or obtaining contracts. A door-to-door rep who spends most of the time in the field selling may qualify. A rep who spends most of the day in the office or on the phone generally does not. Appointment setters who only book meetings are a closer question.
• Commission exemption. An inside rep can be exempt from overtime only if earnings exceed 1.5 times the minimum wage ($25.35 an hour in 2026; $26.10 from January 1, 2027) and more than half of pay is commissions (Wage Order 4 §3(D)). The minimum wage still applies, and commission-only pay is generally lawful only if it covers at least the minimum wage for all hours worked, including required training and meetings.
• Written commission plan. If your pay includes commissions, the plan must be in writing, explain how commissions are computed and paid, and be signed, with a signed copy given to you (Labor Code 2751). What happens when a customer cancels depends on that plan, so keep every version. See unpaid commissions and bonuses.

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5. Crews, subcontractors and 1099 installers

California presumes you are an employee unless the company proves the ABC test (Labor Code 2775). Solar installation generally requires a contractor’s license, and under Labor Code 2750.5 a worker doing licensed work must hold a valid license to be treated as an independent contractor. See the ABC test. Crews supplied by a staffing agency may also have a claim against the company using them (Labor Code 2810.3). Unpaid subcontractor wages are covered in the construction guide.

Key fact

6. Pay problems we see in solar jobs

Practice	Is it legal?	Law
Per-panel pay with no separate pay for rest breaks	No	Labor Code 226.2(a)(1), (a)(3)
No pay for driving between installs or waiting for inspections, piece pay only	No; at least minimum wage is owed	Wage Order 16 §5(A); Labor Code 226.2(a)(4)
Regular wages on a commercial net-metered system (application after 2023)	Generally no; prevailing wage applies	Pub. Util. Code 769.2
Unpaid “training week” for new installers or reps	No; required training is work time	Wage Orders 4 and 16 (“hours worked”)
No overtime for an inside rep who earns mostly hourly pay	No	Wage Order 4 §3
Commissions with no written plan	No	Labor Code 2751
Charging you for a harness, tools or a lost-equipment fee	Generally no	Wage Order 16 §8; Labor Code 2802, 221
Pay stub that shows only panels or jobs	No	Labor Code 226, 226.2(a)(2)

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7. Injuries and workers’ comp

Workers’ comp covers falls, shocks, burns, heat illness and lifting injuries, whether or not you are a U.S. citizen (Labor Code 3351). Report the injury in writing within 30 days (Labor Code 5400), file a DWC-1 claim form, and file the claim generally within 1 year (Labor Code 5405). For 2026 injuries, temporary disability pays $264.61 to $1,764.11 a week. If a property owner, another contractor or an equipment maker caused the injury, you may also be able to sue that party (Labor Code 3852); if your employer had no workers’ comp, you can sue it directly (Labor Code 3706). See falls and head trauma claims.

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8. Retaliation, discrimination and leave

Protected activity	Protection	Law
Reporting missing fall protection or heat hazards	No discharge or discrimination	Labor Code 6310
Refusing work that violates a safety order and creates a real and apparent hazard	No layoff or discharge; pay for time without work	Labor Code 6311
Asking about prevailing wage or filing a wage claim	No firing, discipline or threats	Labor Code 98.6
Reporting a legal violation to an agency or supervisor	Whistleblower protection	Labor Code 1102.5
Filing a workers’ comp claim	No discrimination	Labor Code 132a
Using paid sick leave (40 hours or 5 days a year)	No denial or retaliation	Labor Code 246, 246.5
Facing immigration threats for speaking up	Unlawful	Labor Code 1019, 1171.5
Reporting harassment or discrimination	No retaliation	Gov. Code 12940 (FEHA)

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9. What you can recover and deadlines

You may be able to recover unpaid wages, overtime and prevailing wage differences with interest, rest-break and nonproductive time, unpaid commissions, break premiums, expenses, pay stub and waiting-time penalties, and PAGA civil penalties. Deadlines:

• 3 years for most wage claims, up to 4 when the Unfair Competition Law also applies.
• 1 year for a retaliation complaint with the Labor Commissioner (Labor Code 98.7).
• 3 years to file a discrimination or harassment complaint with the Civil Rights Department.
• 30 days to report an injury and generally 1 year to file a workers’ comp claim.

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10. What to do now

1. Log every day: report time, drive and wait time, panels or jobs completed, and missed breaks.
2. Note each job’s address, customer type and system size; they show whether prevailing wage applied.
3. Keep your commission plan, pay stubs and any texts about cancellations or chargebacks.
4. Request your records: your personnel file and payroll records.
5. Check your numbers with our wage and hour calculator and talk to our wage and hour team before you sign a release.

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11. Frequently asked questions

I’m paid per panel. Do I get paid for breaks and drive time?

Yes. Labor Code 226.2 requires separate pay for rest breaks and at least the minimum wage for nonproductive time such as driving between installs.

Do commercial solar jobs pay prevailing wage?

Often. Net-metered or net-billed projects with interconnection applications after 2023 generally must, unless an exception applies, such as a residential system of 15 kW or less or one on a single-family home. Public agency projects generally must too.

I sell solar door to door. Am I owed overtime?

Not if you truly spend more than half your working time away from the office selling. Reps who mostly work in the office or by phone generally are, unless the commission exemption applies.

I’m paid as a 1099 installer. Am I really an employee?

Often, yes. California presumes employee status unless the company passes the ABC test, and installation generally requires a contractor’s license, so an unlicensed worker generally cannot be an independent contractor.

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12. Laws this guide relies on

Law	What it does
Wage Order 16; Wage Order 4	Pay rules for install crews and sales staff
Labor Code 226.2	Separate pay for rest periods and nonproductive time for piece-rate workers
Labor Code 1720, 1771; Pub. Util. Code 769.2	Prevailing wage on public works and net-metered renewable projects
Labor Code 2751	Written commission plans
8 CCR 3395, 3396, 1670, 1632, 5141.1	Heat, falls, roof openings, smoke
Labor Code 2775, 2750.5, 2810.3	Employee status and staffing agency liability
Labor Code 5400, 5405, 3852, 3706	Injury notice, claim deadline, third-party and uninsured-employer suits

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Sources

• IWC Wage Order 16 (Construction), DIR and IWC Wage Order 4 (Professional, Technical, Clerical), DIR
• DIR News Release 2026-66: 2027 minimum wage and exempt salary
• Labor Code 226.2 (piece-rate pay) and DIR piece-rate FAQs
• DIR AB 2143 FAQs (prevailing wage on net-metered projects)
• CPUC: Prevailing Wage for Qualified Renewable Energy Facilities
• Labor Code 1720, 2751 and 2750.5
• DLSE Opinion Letter 2002.02.21 (out-of-town travel time)
• 8 CCR 3395, Heat Illness Prevention, 8 CCR 3396, Indoor Heat and 8 CCR 5141.1, Wildfire Smoke
• 8 CCR 1670, Personal Fall Protection and 8 CCR 1632, Roof Openings
• DIR News Release 2025-116: 2026 temporary disability rates

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