AB 611

Current law, subject to certain exceptions, requires an employer to pay an

employee 1.5 times the employee's regular rate of pay for all hours worked in excess

of 40 hours per week (overtime compensation). Current law, however, permits the

state or a local governmental unit to provide an employee, in lieu of overtime

compensation, paid time off at a rate of not less than 1.5 hours for each hour of

employment for which overtime compensation is otherwise required (compensatory

time off), if such an arrangement is authorized by a collective bargaining agreement

or other agreement arrived at before the work is performed.

This bill permits an employer other than the state or a local governmental unit

(private employer) to provide compensatory time off in lieu of overtime

compensation, if such an arrangement is authorized by a collective bargaining

agreement or other agreement arrived at before the work is performed, is entered

into by the employee knowingly and voluntarily and not as a condition of

employment, and is affirmed by a written record maintained by the employer. The

bill permits an employee to accrue not more than 160 hours of compensatory time and

provides that if an employee who has accrued 160 hours of compensatory time works

additional hours during periods for which overtime compensation is payable, the

employer must provide the employee overtime compensation for those additional

hours worked. The bill requires an employer to permit an employee who requests

the use of compensatory time that the employee has accrued to use that

compensatory time within a reasonable period after the employee makes the request

if the use of that compensatory time does not unduly disrupt the employer's

operations.

In addition, the bill requires or permits an employer to pay monetary

compensation instead of provide compensatory time off as follows:

1. By January 31 of each year or by the 31st day after any other 12-month

period designated by the employer, the employer must provide monetary

compensation to an employee for any compensatory time accrued by the employee

and not used during the preceding year or other 12-month period.

2. An employer may at any time provide monetary compensation to an

employee for any unused compensatory time accrued by the employee in excess of 80

hours.

3. An employee may at any time request in writing that the employer provide

the employee with monetary compensation for any unused compensatory time

accrued by the employee.

4. On termination of employment, the employer must provide monetary

compensation to the employee for any unused compensatory time accrued by the

employee.

Finally, the bill permits an employer that has adopted a policy of offering

compensatory time to discontinue that policy upon giving its employees 30 days'