California employment law, defined

The terms employers meet most often, written plainly. 25 entries and growing. Definitions are general information, not legal advice.

Arbitration agreement

An arbitration agreement commits the employer and employee to resolve disputes before a private arbitrator instead of in court.

At-will employment

At-will employment means either the employer or the employee may end the relationship at any time, for any lawful reason or no reason, without advance notice.

Constructive discharge is a resignation treated in law as a termination, because the employer knowingly permitted working conditions so intolerable that a reasonable person would have felt compelled to resign.

Employee classification

Employee classification is the set of decisions about how a worker is treated for wage and hour purposes: exempt or non-exempt, and employee or independent contractor.

Exempt employee

An exempt employee is one who is not entitled to overtime pay because their role satisfies both a duties test and a salary threshold, and it is the duties actually performed, not the job title, that decides it.

Final paycheck

A final paycheck is the last payment owed to a departing employee, and California sets specific deadlines for it that depend on whether the employee quit or was discharged.

Hostile work environment

A hostile work environment is harassment based on a protected characteristic that is severe or pervasive enough to alter the conditions of employment.

Independent contractor

An independent contractor is a worker engaged to deliver a result rather than to be directed in how the work is done, and in California the classification is decided by the working relationship in practice, not by the agreement that names it.

Interactive process

The interactive process is the good-faith dialogue an employer must engage in with an employee who may need a disability accommodation, aimed at identifying an effective one.

Meal and rest breaks

Meal and rest breaks are the unpaid meal periods and paid rest periods a California employer must provide to non-exempt employees, scheduled by reference to hours worked.

Non-exempt employee

A non-exempt employee is entitled to overtime pay and to meal and rest periods, and their working time must be recorded.

Occupational fraud

Occupational fraud is the use of one’s occupation for personal enrichment through the deliberate misuse or misapplication of the employing organization’s resources or assets.

Overtime

Overtime is the premium pay owed to non-exempt employees for hours beyond the daily or weekly thresholds, calculated on the regular rate of pay rather than the base hourly wage.

PAGA

PAGA is the California Private Attorneys General Act, which allows an employee to bring an action for Labor Code penalties on behalf of the state and other aggrieved employees.

Progressive discipline

Progressive discipline is a graduated sequence of corrective steps (typically warning, written warning, final warning, termination) applied before discharge for performance or conduct.

Protected activity

Protected activity is conduct an employee cannot lawfully be punished for, such as making a good-faith complaint about discrimination, reporting a suspected legal violation, or requesting an accommodation or leave.

Reasonable accommodation

A reasonable accommodation is a change to a job or workplace that enables a qualified employee with a disability to perform the essential functions of their role, unless it would impose undue hardship on the employer.

Regular rate of pay

The regular rate of pay is the figure overtime is calculated from, and it is not simply the hourly wage: it includes most non-discretionary bonuses, commissions and shift differentials.

Reporting time pay

Reporting time pay is compensation owed when an employee reports for a scheduled shift but is given less than half of it, or no work at all.

Retaliation

Retaliation is an adverse action taken against an employee because they engaged in protected activity, and it is actionable independently of whether the original complaint had merit.

Severance agreement

A severance agreement is a contract in which an employer provides consideration beyond what is already owed, in exchange for the employee's release of claims.

Termination

Termination is the employer-initiated end of the employment relationship, and in California it carries immediate obligations around final pay, benefits notice and records.

Wage statement

A wage statement is the itemized paystub a California employer must provide each pay period, and the Labor Code prescribes exactly what it has to show.

Workplace investigation

A workplace investigation is a structured inquiry into a complaint, gathering evidence and reaching findings on what occurred, so the employer can decide what to do with a defensible record.

Wrongful termination

Wrongful termination is a discharge that violates a statute, a contract, or a fundamental public policy, not simply one the employee considers unfair.