HVAC and Plumbing Tech Rights in California: Travel, On-Call, Tools

HVAC and plumbing technicians in California who install, service and repair systems on site for a licensed contractor are generally covered by Wage Order 16, which means overtime after 8 hours in a day, paid drive time after you report to the shop or your first required stop, employer-provided tools unless you earn at least twice the minimum wage, and separate pay for rest breaks and waiting time if you are paid by the job.

This guide explains HVAC technician rights in California for service and install techs, refrigeration techs, service plumbers, drain techs and helpers, focusing on rules specific to service work.

Who this guide is not for: plumbers and pipefitters on new construction should start with the construction worker guide, which covers the rules shared by every building trade. In-house maintenance staff at apartments, hotels or other buildings should see the maintenance technician guide, and electrical work for a C-10 contractor is covered in the electrician guide.

1. Which wage rules apply to HVAC and plumbing techs?

Wage Order 16 covers on-site construction occupations, which it defines to include maintenance and repair work. The Labor Commissioner’s classification guide lists “Plumbing, installation” and “Plumbing, maintenance” under Order 16, along with “Maintenance, repair, improvement of building (contractor’s license required).” Installers whose work needs no contractor’s license, and office and dispatch staff, generally fall under Wage Order 4. If you work in-house for a business whose main purpose is something else, that business’s industry order usually applies. 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). Every hour worked must be paid at least this rate (Wage Order 16 §4).
• 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 day; 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 a 30-minute meal break after 5 hours.
• Sales and service: Order 16 does not apply to outside salespersons, but its definition of outside salesperson excludes employees who make service calls to install, repair or service a product (Wage Order 16 §2(N)). A tech who sells while on service calls keeps full overtime rights.
• Service managers: a salaried manager is exempt only if paid at least $70,304 a year in 2026 ($72,384 in 2027) and primarily doing exempt duties. See the duties test.

The state electrician certification law applies only to electricians working for C-10 contractors (Labor Code 108.2(b)(1)). Refrigerant work requires federal EPA Section 608 certification, though apprentices may work under close supervision of a certified tech (40 CFR 82.161).

By the numbers$33.80

2. Take-home trucks, drive time and your first call

Wage Order 16 §5(A) makes all employer-mandated travel after the first place your employer requires you to be paid time, at your regular or overtime rate. If you must stop at the shop for parts before your first call, the drive from there is paid, and so is driving between calls.

Commuting in a company truck. A California appeals court held in 2018 that commuting in a company vehicle was not paid time where the take-home program was optional, because the rule that employer-required transportation is paid “applies only where use of the employer-provided transportation is compulsory”; carrying tools that adds no time or effort was not work either. Federal courts applying California law ask whether, as a practical matter, you are required to commute in the truck and whether its restrictions put you under the employer’s control. If the truck is a condition of the job, have it reviewed.

Work at home counts. Hours worked include all time you are “suffered or permitted to work” (Wage Order 16 §2(J)). Calling customers, loading parts or finishing tickets at home is work time.

Your own vehicle. If you use your own vehicle for calls or parts runs, your employer must reimburse the cost (Labor Code 2802). Many use the IRS rate: 72.5 cents a mile for January to June 2026 and 76 cents from July 1, 2026. See mileage reimbursement.

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3. Flat-rate, commission and spiff pay

Many service companies pay techs a set amount per task from a price book. The Labor Commissioner treats pay based on “an ascertainable figure paid for completing a particular task,” such as a mechanic’s “book rate,” as piece-rate pay, and “it is the nature of the compensation that is determinative, not the label.” Under Labor Code 226.2, piece-rate workers must be paid separately for:

• Rest and recovery periods, at the higher of your average hourly rate for the week or the minimum wage.
• Other nonproductive time, meaning time under the employer’s control that isn’t directly related to the task you’re paid for, such as waiting for parts, shop meetings and training, at no less than the minimum wage.

Your pay stub must list both separately, with hours, rates and totals (Labor Code 226.2(a)(2)). Percentage-of-ticket pay may instead be commission pay, which section 226.2 does not cover, though rest breaks still must be paid separately.

💡 Example: Rosa, a hypothetical service plumber, earns $900 in flat-rate job pay in a 38-hour week (four 8-hour days and one 6-hour day). Those hours include nine 10-minute rest breaks (1.5 hours) and 4 hours waiting at the supply house and in a shop meeting. The 4 nonproductive hours must be paid at least 4 × $16.90 = $67.60. Her average hourly rate is ($900 + $67.60) ÷ 36.5 hours = $26.51, so her rest breaks are owed 1.5 × $26.51 = $39.76. Her pay for the week should be at least $1,007.36, not $900.

Callbacks. If a redo earns no new flat-rate pay, that time is still hours worked and generally must be paid at least the minimum wage.

Commissions and spiffs. If any of your pay is commission, your employer must give you a signed written commission agreement that explains how commissions are figured and paid (Labor Code 2751). The Labor Commissioner counts commissions and nondiscretionary bonuses, such as production bonuses, in the regular rate used to figure overtime. The California Supreme Court has held that a flat-sum bonus is divided only by non-overtime hours when figuring the overtime rate. A plan that takes back commissions already earned may violate Labor Code 221; whether a chargeback is lawful depends on when your written plan says the commission is earned. See unpaid commissions and bonuses.

4. On-call nights and emergency calls

Whether on-call time is paid depends on how much control your employer has over it. In a 2015 decision, the California Supreme Court looked at factors such as limits on where you can go, how quickly you must respond, how often you are called, whether you can trade on-call shifts and whether you can use the time for your own purposes. Waiting at home with few restrictions is usually not paid; waiting under tight limits may be.

• Troubleshooting by phone and driving between night calls is work time, and night calls count toward daily and weekly overtime.
• Order 16 has no minimum pay for a second reporting in the same day, so check whether your company policy or union contract promises a callout minimum. See reporting-time pay.
• Order 16 bars discipline for refusing to work more than 72 hours in a workweek, except in an emergency as the order defines it (Wage Order 16 §3(E)).

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5. Tools, phones, uniforms and training costs

If your employer requires a uniform, it must provide and maintain it. If it requires tools or equipment, it must provide them, unless you earn at least twice the minimum wage ($33.80 an hour in 2026; $34.80 from January 1, 2027). Even then, it can require you to supply only the hand tools and equipment “customarily required by the trade or craft” (Wage Order 16 §8). Whether larger equipment such as recovery machines, vacuum pumps, drain machines or inspection cameras qualifies is not settled.

Labor Code 2802 requires reimbursement of necessary work expenses, including a reasonable share of your personal cell phone bill if you must use it for dispatch, photos or customer calls. See expense reimbursement. Paycheck deductions for a “tool program,” truck damage or missing parts are limited by Labor Code 224.

Training repayment. For contracts entered into on or after January 1, 2027, Labor Code 926 generally voids terms that make you repay training costs or pay a fee if you leave, with narrow exceptions such as state-approved apprenticeships. Agreements signed in 2026 are outside section 926, but Labor Code 2802 may still apply.

Key fact

6. Pay problems we see in HVAC and plumbing service

Practice	Is it legal?	Law
Not paying the drive from the shop to the first call	No	Wage Order 16 §5(A)
Flat-rate pay with nothing for rest breaks or waiting time	No	Labor Code 226.2
Unpaid time on a callback or redo	Generally no	Wage Order 16 §4
Leaving spiffs or commissions out of the overtime rate	Generally no	Labor Code 510
Commission pay with no written plan	No	Labor Code 2751
Calling a service tech an “outside salesperson” to skip overtime	No	Wage Order 16 §2(N)
No reimbursement for your own phone or truck	No	Labor Code 2802
Pay stubs that don’t show nonproductive time	No	Labor Code 226.2(a)(2); Labor Code 226

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7. Heat, safety and workers’ comp

Roofs. Cal/OSHA’s outdoor heat rule requires free water (enough for one quart per hour per worker), shade when it is over 80°F, cool-down rest whenever you need it, and, in construction and other listed industries, high-heat procedures at 95°F (8 CCR 3395).

Attics and crawlspaces. The indoor heat rule covers indoor work areas at 82°F or more. “Indoor” means a space under a ceiling or covering that restricts airflow and is enclosed along its entire perimeter; other spaces fall under the outdoor rule. Short exposures under 15 minutes an hour are excluded only below 95°F. Cooling or other controls are required at 87°F, or at 82°F when you wear heat-restrictive clothing or work near high radiant heat (8 CCR 3396).

When you work on electrical parts of a unit, the de-energizing rule requires notifying everyone involved, locking and tagging the disconnect open and dissipating stored energy (8 CCR 2320.4). You may refuse work that would violate a safety order and create a real and apparent hazard, and you cannot be laid off or fired for it (Labor Code 6311). See heat illness rights.

Workers’ comp covers heat illness, back injuries, falls, burns and crashes while driving for work. Report an injury in writing within 30 days (Labor Code 5400) and generally file within 1 year (Labor Code 5405). For 2026 injuries, temporary disability pays $264.61 to $1,764.11 a week. If another driver or a defective product caused the injury, see Labor Code 3852.

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8. Retaliation, discrimination and leave

Protected activity	Protection	Law
Reporting attic heat, lockout or ladder hazards	No discharge or discrimination	Labor Code 6310
Complaining about flat-rate pay 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
Speaking up when the response is an immigration threat	Unfair immigration-related practice	Labor Code 1019
Reporting harassment or discrimination	No retaliation	FEHA

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9. What you can recover and deadlines

You may be able to recover unpaid wages and overtime with interest, unpaid nonproductive and rest time, expenses, break premiums, pay stub and waiting-time penalties, and PAGA civil penalties. Owners, officers and managing agents who cause certain wage violations can be held personally liable (Labor Code 558.1). 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 your day from your first required stop or first work task, including drive time, waiting time and night calls.
2. Save dispatch records, tickets, pay stubs and your commission plan.
3. Keep receipts for tools, phone bills and mileage.
4. Report heat or safety problems in writing and keep a copy; Cal/OSHA takes complaints too.
5. Request your records: your personnel file and payroll records.
6. Check your numbers with our wage and hour calculator and talk to our unpaid overtime team before you sign a release.

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11. Frequently asked questions

Do I get paid for driving the company truck home?

Usually not if the take-home program is truly optional. It can be paid time if you are, in practice, required to commute in the truck and the restrictions put you under your employer’s control. Drives from the shop and between calls are paid.

I’m paid flat rate. Do I get paid for waiting on parts?

Yes. Under Labor Code 226.2, nonproductive time under your employer’s control must be paid separately, at least at the minimum wage, and rest breaks at your average hourly rate.

Do spiffs count toward my overtime rate?

Generally yes. Commissions and nondiscretionary bonuses tied to sales or production must be included in the regular rate used to figure overtime.

Does my employer have to pay for my phone?

If you must use your personal phone for work, Labor Code 2802 requires your employer to reimburse a reasonable share of the bill.

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12. Laws this guide relies on

Law	What it does
Wage Order 16	Coverage, overtime, travel, outside-sales definition and tools
Labor Code 226.2	Piece-rate pay for rest and nonproductive time
Labor Code 2751, 510	Written commission plans; commissions and bonuses in the regular rate
Labor Code 2802, 224, 926	Expenses, deductions and training repayment
8 CCR 3395, 3396, 2320.4	Outdoor and indoor heat; de-energizing equipment
Labor Code 6310, 6311, 5400, 5405	Safety retaliation, refusing hazardous work, injury deadlines

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Sources

• IWC Wage Order 16 (Construction, Drilling, Logging and Mining), DIR
• DLSE, Which IWC Order? Classifications
• DIR News Release 2026-66: 2027 minimum wage and exempt salary
• DIR, Piece-rate compensation FAQs
• Labor Code 226.2 (piece rate) and 2751 (commission contracts)
• Labor Commissioner, Overtime FAQs (regular rate, commissions and bonuses)
• Alvarado v. Dart Container Corp. (Cal. 2018)
• Hernandez v. Pacific Bell Telephone Co. (Cal. Ct. App. 2018)
• Mendiola v. CPS Security Solutions (Cal. 2015)
• 40 CFR 82.161 (refrigerant technician certification)
• 8 CCR 3395, 8 CCR 3396 and 8 CCR 2320.4, Cal/OSHA
• DIR News Release 2025-116: 2026 temporary disability rates

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