Worker Rights Library
California Labor Code Sections, Explained for Workers
The sections that decide your pay, hours, breaks, leave and protection from retaliation, plus the workers’ comp sections that decide an injury claim.
Every section we explain
100 sections, in plain English
Each section has its own page: what it says, who it covers, what you can recover and the deadlines. Search by number or topic, or browse by subject.
Employment law
Pay, hours, leave, retaliation and discrimination.
Pay and paydays
When you must be paid, what your pay stub shows, and penalties for late or missing pay
- §§201–202Final paycheck timingFinal pay is due immediately if you are fired, within 72 hours if you quit without notice.
- §203Waiting time penaltiesUp to 30 days of wages as a penalty when final pay is willfully late.
- §204Paydays and pay periodsPaid at least twice a month on set paydays, with deadlines for each pay period.
- §210Late paycheck penaltiesPenalties of $100, then $200 plus 25% of wages withheld, for late paychecks.
- §221Wage kickbacksAn employer can’t take back wages it has paid you.
- §224Paycheck deductionsThe only situations in which an employer may deduct from your pay.
- §226Pay stub requirementsWhat your pay stub must show and the penalties for missing or wrong information.
- §227.3Vacation payoutVested vacation and PTO must be paid out when you leave; no use-it-or-lose-it.
- §351Tips belong to workersTips belong to the workers they were left for, not the employer.
- §432.3Salary history and pay scalesEmployers can’t ask about your past pay and must share pay scales.
- §1182.12Statewide minimum wageThe statewide minimum wage and how it rises each year with inflation.
- §1194Unpaid minimum wage and overtimeSuing for unpaid minimum wage and overtime, with liquidated damages and fees.
- §2802Expense reimbursementYour employer must reimburse necessary work expenses, including mileage and phones.
- §2810.5Wage theft noticeThe written notice at hire: pay rate, payday, employer details and sick leave.
Overtime, hours and breaks
Daily and weekly overtime, exemptions, meal and rest periods
- §226.7Meal and rest break premiumsOne hour of premium pay for each day a meal, rest or recovery break is denied.
- §510Overtime payDaily, weekly and seventh-day overtime and double time.
- §511Alternative workweeksHow a secret-ballot vote can allow 10-hour days without daily overtime.
- §512Meal periodsWhen meal periods are required, waivers and exceptions.
- §515Overtime exemptionsThe salary and duties tests an employer must meet to deny overtime.
- §515.5Computer professional exemptionWhen software and IT workers can be exempt from overtime, and the pay floor.
- §558Penalties for hours violationsCivil penalties per employee per pay period for overtime and meal violations.
- §1030Lactation breaksBreak time and a private space to express breast milk at work.
- §§2100–2112Warehouse quotasQuotas must be in writing and can’t cut into breaks or bathroom use.
Leave
Sick leave, family care, crime-victim and jury leave
Job terms, records and layoffs
Your records, talking about pay, off-duty conduct and layoff notice
- §90.2Notice of I-9 inspectionsYour employer must tell you when immigration agents inspect its I-9 records.
- §96(k)Lawful off-duty conductProtection from being fired for lawful conduct off duty and off site.
- §§232–232.5Discussing pay and conditionsYour right to discuss your pay and working conditions.
- §926Stay-or-pay contractsLimits on contracts that make you repay training costs when you leave.
- §1174Payroll recordsThe payroll records employers must keep and how to get them.
- §1198.5Personnel fileYour right to see and copy your personnel file within 30 days.
- §1401Cal-WARN layoff notice60 days' notice before a mass layoff, relocation or closure.
- §§1550–1559Know Your Rights ActThe yearly workplace rights notice and the emergency contact you can name.
- §2922At-will employmentMost jobs are at will, but a firing for an illegal reason is still unlawful.
- §6401.9Workplace violence preventionMost employers must have a written workplace violence prevention plan.
Retaliation and whistleblowing
Protection for complaining, reporting and refusing to break the law
- §98.6Retaliation for wage complaintsProtection for wage complaints and other labor rights, with a 90-day presumption.
- §98.7Retaliation complaintsFiling a retaliation complaint with the Labor Commissioner, and the deadline.
- §1019Immigration-related retaliationThreats about immigration status in response to workplace complaints are illegal.
- §1102.5Whistleblower retaliationProtection for reporting a suspected violation of law, with a penalty up to $10,000.
- H&S Code §1278.5Health care whistleblowersProtection for health care workers who report unsafe patient care.
- §6310Safety complaint retaliationProtection for reporting safety hazards and refusing unsafe work.
- §6311Refusing unsafe workWhen you can refuse work that would break safety rules and put you at real risk.
Discrimination and equal pay
FEHA and the California Equal Pay Act
Misclassification and enforcement
Employee status, penalties and PAGA
- §98Wage claims and Berman hearingsHow a wage claim with the Labor Commissioner works, through the hearing.
- §226.8Willful misclassificationPenalties of $5,000 to $25,000 for willfully misclassifying workers.
- §558.1Personal liability of ownersOwners, officers and managers can be personally liable for some wage violations.
- §2699PAGASuing for Labor Code penalties on behalf of yourself and coworkers after the 2024 reform.
- §2699.3PAGA noticeThe notice to the state that must come before a PAGA claim.
- §2775The ABC testThe three-part ABC test for whether you are an employee.
- §2810.3Client employer liabilityA company that uses staffing-agency workers shares liability for their wages.
Workers’ compensation
Coverage, claim deadlines, medical care, disability pay and disputes.
Workers’ comp sections overviewCoverage
Is your injury part of the system?
- §3202Liberal constructionWorkers’ comp laws are read liberally, in favor of extending benefits to injured workers.
- §3208.1Specific and cumulative injuriesDefines injuries from a single event and injuries that build up over time.
- §3208.3Psychiatric injuriesStricter rules for psychiatric claims, including the predominant-cause test and the six-month rule.
- §3600Conditions for compensationWhen an injury is covered: it must arise out of and in the course of the job.
- §3602The exclusive remedy ruleWorkers’ comp is usually your only remedy against your employer, with narrow exceptions.
- §3700Employer’s duty to insureEvery employer except the state must carry workers’ comp insurance or self-insure.
- §§3706, 3715Uninsured employersIf your employer had no coverage, you can sue it in civil court and claim from the state fund.
Claims and deadlines
The first steps and the clocks that run
- §5401The DWC-1 claim formYour employer must give you a claim form within one working day of learning of the injury.
- §5402The 90-day ruleIf the claim isn’t denied within 90 days, the injury is presumed covered.
- §5405One-year deadline to fileGenerally one year from the injury, the last disability payment or the last employer-provided treatment.
- §5412Date of injury for cumulative traumaFor cumulative trauma, the injury date is when disability and knowledge of the work link meet.
- §5410New and further disabilitySeek more benefits within five years of the injury if your condition gets worse.
- §3600(a)(10)Claims after a firing or layoffThe limits on workers’ comp claims filed after a firing or layoff, and the exceptions.
- §540030-day injury noticeTell your employer about an injury within 30 days.
Medical treatment
Getting care and getting it approved
- §4600Right to medical treatmentYour employer must provide treatment reasonably required to cure or relieve the injury.
- §4610Utilization reviewThe insurer’s process for approving, changing or denying a doctor’s treatment request.
- §4616Medical provider networksRules for the insurer networks of doctors you generally must treat with.
- §4603.2Medical billing deadlinesHow long insurers have to pay or object to a doctor’s bill.
- §4610.5Independent medical review GuideAppeal a utilization review denial to an independent reviewer.
- §4604.5Medical treatment guidelines (MTUS) GuideThe treatment guidelines doctors and insurers follow.
Medical-legal disputes
QMEs, objections and contested findings
- §4060Evaluations for denied claimsMedical-legal evaluations when the employer disputes that the injury is covered at all.
- §4061Permanent disability disputesDisputes over permanent disability and future medical care, starting with the insurer’s notice.
- §4062Objecting to medical findingsObject to a treating doctor’s findings: generally 20 days with a lawyer, 30 without.
- §4062.1Panel QME without a lawyerUnrepresented workers get a panel of three QMEs and choose one.
- §4062.2Panel QME with a lawyerEach side strikes one name from the panel, or the parties agree on an AME.
- §139.2Qualified medical evaluatorsWho QMEs are and how a QME panel is chosen.
Disability and death benefits
What gets paid, how long and how much
- §4650Timing of TD paymentsFirst payment within 14 days, then every two weeks; late payments go up 10%.
- §4656The 104-week TD limitTemporary disability is generally limited to 104 weeks within five years of the injury.
- §4658Permanent disability paymentsTurns a disability rating into a number of weeks of payments.
- §4660.1How PD is rated (2013+)How permanent disability is rated for injuries on or after January 1, 2013.
- §4663ApportionmentPermanent disability is divided between the work injury and other causes.
- §4659Life pension and 100% disabilityA life pension for ratings of 70% or more, and lifetime payments at 100%.
- §139.48Return-to-Work SupplementA one-time $5,000 payment for eligible workers who received an SJDB voucher.
- §§4700–4703Death benefitsBurial expenses of up to $10,000 and a death benefit for dependents.
- §4653Temporary disability rateTemporary disability pays two-thirds of your average weekly earnings, within state limits.
- §4660PD ratings before 2013How permanent disability is rated for injuries before 2013.
- §4453Average weekly earningsHow your average weekly earnings are figured, which sets your benefit rate.
- §4658.7Supplemental job displacement voucher GuideA retraining voucher when you can’t return to your old job.
Police and firefighters
Rules for public safety employees
Settling your claim
Compromise and release or a stipulated award
Penalties, protections and appeals
When the insurer or employer gets it wrong
- §5814Penalty for unreasonable delayUnreasonably delayed or denied benefits can be increased by up to 25%, capped at $10,000.
- §132aRetaliation for filing a claimYour employer can’t punish you for filing a claim; remedies include a one-half increase.
- §§5900–5911Petitions for reconsiderationHow to appeal a workers’ comp judge’s decision, generally within 20 days.
- §3852Third-party lawsuitsYou can sue someone other than your employer who caused the injury.
- §4553Serious and willful misconduct GuideA one-half increase when the employer’s serious and willful misconduct caused the injury.
No section matches that search. Try a number such as 203, or a word such as “overtime”.
Free, confidential consultation
Talk to a lawyer who only works for employees.
Free virtual consultations, exclusively for workers. Tell us what happened at work. Se habla español.