California Employment Law and Compliance
California employers operate under a stacked regime: federal law sets a floor and the Labor Code, IWC Wage Orders, and FEHA generally raise it. When a question offers a federal rule and a California rule, ask which is more protective - for California employers, the state rule governs.
Wage-and-hour is the most heavily tested cluster. The ABC test (AB 5) presumes employee status unless the hirer proves all three prongs. Wage Orders impose daily overtime (1.5x after 8 hours, 2x after 12, and 1.5x for the first 8 on the seventh consecutive workday), a 30-minute meal period before the end of the fifth hour with a one-hour premium per violation, and a 10-minute rest break per four hours. Exemption requires the duties test plus a salary of at least twice the state minimum wage - always above the federal $684/week figure.
Final pay: involuntary termination, same day; voluntary quit with 72 or more hours' notice, last day; quit without notice, within 72 hours. Labor Code 226 itemized wage statements and Labor Code 2802 expense reimbursement are reliable question targets.
FEHA covers employers with 5 or more employees, protects more conditions than the ADA, and requires a timely, documented interactive process. Employers with 50 or more employees must train supervisors two hours and nonsupervisory staff one hour every two years. The Fair Chance Act pushes criminal-history review to after a conditional offer.
Trap: fact patterns that blend PDL, CFRA, and FMLA, or that imply an exempt employee may be docked for a partial-day absence.
Rule of thumb: when a stem gives you a number, check it twice - the daily overtime threshold, the 72-hour final pay clock, and the 5-employee FEHA threshold are classic distractor settings.