Starting Your Cal Jobs Search

So you finally got sick of grey skies 7 months a year and decided to move to California, or Cal, as some of us locals call it.  Good for you! I did the same thing 4 years ago. It’s great out here in California.  From many places, the beach and the mountains are both an hour away, the weather is great year-round (except for the June gloom, when its overcast every day except for 11 AM to 2 PM)- and it’s just generally a very nice place to live, in my experience. However, there are some specific things about the California job market that you’ll need to know if you want to transition successfully and get your new Cal jobs career off on the right foot.

Leading off is one of everyone’s favorite topic- payroll taxes! In California, employers are only allowed to deduct the taxes required by law. They cannot charge you for having your picture taken or for uniforms; they cannot deduct your gratuities, business expenses, or the costs of any required medical examinations. “Breakage” is also a cost that the employer must absorb and may not be deducted from your paycheck.

Now, let’s talk holidays. This may surprise you, but there is no provision in the law that says an employer has to pay extra for you to work on a Saturday, a Sunday, or a Federal holiday, so bear that in mind when you interview- ask your potential employers what their paid Holiday policy is (or isn’t).

Minimum wage in California is higher than you may be accustomed to in your current location- $8 an hour! There are some special provisions for sheepherders, but they probably won’t apply since 99.9% of people that read this that aren’t sheepherders, so we’ll gloss over those. California law says that in cases where state and federal law conflict regarding minimum wage, the case is decided in favor of the employee- meaning that $8 an hour is the true minimum wage for any job in California. This includes tipped employees- if you are used to making $2.31 an hour to wait tables, Cal jobs in restaurants may be a big step up.

California also has some pretty specific rules about pay. Employees have to be paid by the 26th of the month for all days worked between the 1st and 16th of that month, and by the 10th day of the next month for hours worked from the 16th through month end. Also, all wages due to the employee must be paid to the employee on their last day of work, provided that the employee gives 72 hours of notice.

California is an “at-will employment” state, as well; this means that employees are free to quit their jobs without cause and that employers are free to terminate their employees without cause. However, laws regarding discrimination still apply- you can’t be let go on a discriminatory criteria as defined by the California Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA). These include: employment discrimination based on race or color; religion; national origin or ancestry, physical disability; mental disability or medical condition; marital status; sex or sexual orientation; age, with respect to persons over the age of 40; and pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions.
Keep these things in mind when starting your Cal jobs search and you will be able to anticipate how it may be different than what you’re used to.