Labor Code §511 – Alternative Workweek Schedules

California Labor Code section 511 lets an employer use a regularly scheduled alternative workweek of no more than 10 hours a day within a 40-hour week without paying daily overtime, but only if at least two-thirds of the affected employees approve it in a secret ballot election. Without a valid vote, the normal daily overtime rules in Labor Code 510 apply.

Section 511 is the main exception to California’s eight-hour day. It controls how a 4×10 or similar schedule is adopted, what overtime is still owed under it, and how workers can end it. This page explains the statute and the election rules in the wage orders. For practical help with long shifts and your own schedule, see our guide to 12-hour shifts and overtime in California, and for the baseline rule, our Labor Code §510 explainer.

What Labor Code 511 says

Section 511 was last amended effective June 27, 2012. Its subdivisions, in plain English:

Subdivision	What it says (paraphrased, with short quotes)
(a)	On the employer’s proposal, employees may adopt a regularly scheduled alternative workweek of “no longer than 10 hours per day within a 40-hour workweek” without daily overtime. It must be approved “by at least two-thirds of affected employees in a readily identifiable work unit” in a “secret ballot election.” The employer can offer one schedule or “a menu of work schedule options,” and employees may move between options weekly with the employer’s consent.
(b)	Overtime still applies: time and a half for hours past the scheduled day (up to 12) or past 40 in the week; double time past 12 hours in a day, and past 8 hours on a day beyond the regularly scheduled number of workdays.
(c)	An employer can’t cut your regular hourly rate because an alternative workweek is adopted, repealed or nullified.
(d)	The employer must make a reasonable effort to find a schedule of eight hours or less for employees who voted but can’t work the new schedule, may do the same for later hires, and must explore religious accommodation under Government Code 12940(j).
(e)	The employer must report the election results to the Division of Labor Standards Enforcement within 30 days after they become final. (Section 3(C)(6) of the wage orders names DIR’s Office of Policy, Research and Legislation.)
(f)–(h)	Transition rules for schedules that existed before 2000, including certain health care schedules and individual arrangements in place on July 1, 1999.
(i)	A “work unit” includes “a division, a department, a job classification, a shift,” a separate physical location, or a recognized subdivision of one. A single employee can be a work unit if the criteria are met.

Labor Code 500(c) defines an alternative workweek schedule as any regularly scheduled workweek “requiring an employee to work more than eight hours in a 24-hour period.” Labor Code 510(a)(1) then excuses daily overtime for a schedule “adopted pursuant to” section 511; subdivision (a)(2) separately covers schedules set by a qualifying union contract under section 514.

By the numbersTwo-thirds

Who section 511 covers

• Nonexempt employees covered by an IWC wage order. Exempt executive, administrative and professional employees aren’t subject to the wage orders’ hours sections in the first place.
• Union-represented workers may fall under Labor Code 514 instead. Sections 510 and 511 don’t apply to an employee covered by a valid collective bargaining agreement that sets wages, hours and working conditions, pays premium rates for all overtime, and pays a regular rate “not less than 30 percent more than the state minimum wage.” Measured against the state minimum wage, that is at least $21.97 an hour in 2026 ($16.90 × 1.3) and $22.62 from January 1, 2027 ($17.40 × 1.3).
• Health care workers under Wage Orders 4 and 5 can have alternative workweeks with workdays of more than 10 and up to 12 hours within a 40-hour week. Our nurse labor laws guide covers those shifts.
• Government employees directly employed by the state or a city, county or other political subdivision are outside most wage order provisions, including the hours sections: under section 1(B) of the orders, only sections 1, 2, 4, 10 and 20 apply to them.

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How the election has to work

Section 511 sets the two-thirds secret-ballot rule; section 3(C) of the wage orders fills in the procedure. Under Wage Order 4, for example:

• The employer must propose the schedule in a written agreement that sets the regularly recurring number of workdays and hours (§3(C)(1)).
• The employer must give written disclosure of the schedule’s effects on wages, hours and benefits and hold meetings “duly noticed, held at least 14 days prior to voting.” If at least 5 percent of affected employees primarily speak a language other than English, the disclosure must also be in that language, and employees who miss the meetings must be mailed the disclosure. Failure to comply “shall make the election null and void” (§3(C)(3)).
• The vote is by secret ballot, during regular working hours at the work site, before the work is performed, and needs at least a two-thirds vote of the affected employees in the work unit (§3(C)(2)). The employer pays for the election, and after a complaint and investigation the Labor Commissioner can require a neutral third party to run it (§3(C)(4)).
• Employees can’t be required to work the new schedule for at least 30 days after the final results are announced (§3(C)(7)).
• The employer can’t intimidate or coerce employees, and can’t fire or discipline anyone for speaking out about the election (§3(C)(8)).

The construction order (Wage Order 16) and some others contain their own versions of these rules, so check the order for your industry in our wage orders guide.

Overtime that is still owed under a valid schedule

A valid alternative workweek removes overtime only for the scheduled hours. Under section 511(b) and section 3(B) of the wage orders:

• Hours past your scheduled workday, up to 12, are paid at 1.5 times your regular rate.
• Hours past 40 in the workweek are paid at 1.5 times.
• Hours past 12 in a day are paid at double time.
• On a day beyond your regularly scheduled number of workdays, hours past 8 are paid at double time.
• Each scheduled shift must be at least four hours.
• If your employer makes you work fewer hours than scheduled on a given day, overtime for that day is paid as if there were no alternative schedule: 1.5 times after 8 hours and double after 12.

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Exceptions and old schedules

Subdivisions (f) through (h) deal with schedules that existed before January 1, 2000. Some older schedules could be repealed by the affected employees, certain health care schedules adopted before 1998 stayed valid only until July 1, 2000, and individual employees who were working up to 10 hours a day on July 1, 1999 could keep doing so at the employer’s approval of a written request. Most workers today are on schedules adopted under the current section 511 process.

Key fact

Penalties and remedies

• Unpaid overtime. If an alternative workweek wasn’t validly adopted, the exception in section 510(a)(1) doesn’t apply, and daily overtime is generally owed after 8 hours; the wage orders also say an election held without the required disclosure is “null and void.” You can recover it through a wage claim or a lawsuit under Labor Code 1194.
• No pay cut. The Labor Commissioner, in a January 21, 2002 opinion letter, said section 511(c) blocks an employer from cutting the hourly rate to offset overtime even when the schedule didn’t comply with section 511.
• Civil penalties. Labor Code 558 imposes $50 per underpaid employee per pay period for an initial violation and $100 per underpaid employee per pay period for each subsequent violation, plus the underpaid wages, which go to the employee.
• PAGA. Section 511 is one of the sections listed in Labor Code 2699.5.
• Retaliation. The wage orders bar discipline for speaking out about an election, and Labor Code 98.6 protects you for complaining about pay. See our §98.6 explainer.

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Deadlines

Step	Timeline	Source
Disclosure meetings before the vote	At least 14 days before voting	Wage orders, §3(C)(3)
Waiting period before the new schedule	At least 30 days after final results	Wage orders, §3(C)(7)
Employer reports results to the state	Within 30 days after results are final	Labor Code 511(e); wage orders, §3(C)(6)
Repeal election after a one-third petition	Held within 30 days of the petition; two-thirds vote to reverse	Wage orders, §3(C)(5)
Gap between elections for the same group	At least 12 months	Wage orders, §3(C)(5)
Employer’s time to comply after a repeal	60 days (extensions possible for undue hardship)	Wage orders, §3(C)(5)
Wage claim for unpaid overtime	Three years	Labor Commissioner

DIR publishes a searchable Alternative Workweek Elections database of results employers have filed, searchable by company name, city, county and election date.

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Related sections

Section	How it connects
Labor Code 500	Defines workday, workweek and alternative workweek schedule
Labor Code 510	Daily and weekly overtime; the alternative workweek exception
Labor Code 514	Exemption for qualifying union contracts
Labor Code 558	Civil penalties for hours violations
Labor Code 1194	Lawsuit for unpaid overtime
Wage orders §3(B)–(C)	Overtime under the schedule and the election procedure

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How it plays out

💡 Example: Ana, a hypothetical office clerk paid $30 an hour, is moved to four 10-hour days a week. Her employer never held a secret ballot election. Under a valid alternative workweek, her week would pay 40 × $30 = $1,200. Without one, each 10-hour day includes 2 hours of daily overtime: 4 × 8 = 32 regular hours (32 × $30 = $960) plus 4 × 2 = 8 overtime hours at $45 (8 × $45 = $360), for $1,320. That’s $120 a week. Over 26 weeks, 26 × $120 = $3,120 in unpaid overtime, before any penalties.

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What to do if your schedule wasn’t properly adopted

1. Ask for a copy of the written proposal and disclosure, and write down whether there was a meeting and a secret ballot, and when.
2. Search the DIR election database for your employer’s filing.
3. Keep your own record of daily hours, especially days past your scheduled shift and extra days.
4. Follow the practical steps in our 12-hour shifts guide, and get advice before the three-year window closes on older weeks.

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Frequently asked questions

Can my employer put us on four 10-hour days without a vote?

Not without paying daily overtime. The daily overtime exception in section 510(a)(1) applies only to a schedule adopted under section 511, which requires a two-thirds secret ballot vote of the affected work unit. (A qualifying union contract under section 514 is a separate exception.)

What is a “readily identifiable work unit”?

Section 511(i) says it includes a division, department, job classification, shift, separate physical location or recognized subdivision of one, and can even be a single employee if the criteria are met.

Can my employer lower my hourly rate when it starts or ends an alternative workweek?

No. Section 511(c) bars reducing your regular rate because a schedule is adopted, repealed or nullified.

How do employees get rid of an alternative workweek?

Under the wage orders, a petition signed by one-third of the affected employees triggers a new secret ballot election within 30 days, and a two-thirds vote reverses the schedule. The employer then has 60 days to comply.

What if I can’t work the new schedule?

If you voted in the election, section 511(d) requires your employer to make a reasonable effort to find you a work schedule of eight hours or less a day.

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Sources

• Labor Code 511 (California Legislative Information)
• Labor Code 500 and Labor Code 510
• Labor Code 514 and Labor Code 558
• Labor Code 2699.5
• IWC Wage Order 4, sections 1 and 3
• Labor Commissioner opinion letter, January 21, 2002
• DIR Alternative Workweek Elections database
• Labor Commissioner: How to file a wage claim
• DIR news release 2026-66: 2027 minimum wage

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