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Thursday, July 10, 2025

The minimum hours for part time employees in California - Shouse Law Group

How many hours is "part-time"? Key information every part-time employee needs to know

California does not have a state employment law that defines part-time work as being less than a certain number of hours. Instead, it is generally up to the employer to define what “part-time” means.

The Labor Market Information Division of the California Employment Development Department has a non-legally binding definition of part-time work as fewer than 35 hours a week.1

According to California Labor Code 510(c), part-time workers presumably work less than 40 hours per week since it defines full-time work as at least 40 hours a week.

Meanwhile, for the purposes of the Affordable Care Act (ACA or Obamacare), part-time workers put in fewer than 30 hours a week.

Do I have any legal protections working part-time in California?

Yes. Non-exempt part-time workers in California enjoy nearly all of the legal protections that non-exempt full-time workers do regarding wages and benefits.

Wages

In terms of wages, California part-time workers are entitled to:

  • Minimum wage of $16.50 per hour, and some cities and counties mandate an even higher minimum wage. The federal minimum wage is only $7.25 per hour.
  • Overtime pay, which includes time-and-a-half pay for working more than eight hours a day, more than 40 hours in a week, or on the seventh day of a workweek. You can even get double-time pay for more than 12 hours in a workday, or more than eight hours on the seventh consecutive day in a...


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