Legal Question in Employment Law in California
I am employed as a home-based medical transcriptionist. I work 3rd shift(9:30pm - 3am)for a large transcription company. This company pays per line of transcribed text. Somebody has to be available to transcribe any work regardless of the time of night, but as a rule the flow of work is sporadic and sparse. Even though we are paid by the line, we still have to "punch in" and "out". When the day shift runs out of work they "punch out" until more work comes in. Because it is only me at night I have to stay "on the clock" sometimes being completely idle for hours. On an average or slow night what I earn is far below minimum wage. Is this legal? Or do they need to pay me an hourly wage due to the nature of the work flow during the shift I work?
2 Answers from Attorneys
I assume that you are in California, and that you are indeed an employee.
In that case, yes, you are entitled to the minimum wage for the hours you are required to be "on the clock." Your employer does not need to guarantee you more than the hourly wage and can continue to pay you by the line, but that "by the line" amount must exceed the minimum wage.
You should receive at least $8.00 per hour in CA - the minimum wage.
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