On a paystub, does holiday pay count as “hours worked” in California?

Hi Elizabeth,

Thank you for your question. Since you mentioned hours, I’m assuming your question relates to non-exempt hourly employees. It also sounds like you’re asking specifically about how holiday pay should appear on an employee’s wage statement.

In general, California requires wage statements to include ten categories of information on every hourly employees wage statement:

1. The gross wages earned;
2. The total hours worked by the employee (except for exempt employees);
3. The number of piece-rate units earned and any applicable piece rate if the employee is paid on a piece-rate basis;
4. All deductions, provided that all deductions made on written orders of the employee may be aggregated and shown as one item;
5. The net wages earned;
6. The inclusive dates of the period for which the employee is paid;
7. The name of the employee and only the last four digits of his or her social security number or an employee identification number other than a social security number;
8. The name and address of the legal entity that is the employer and, if the employer is a farm labor contractor, the name and address of the legal entity that secured the services of the employer;
9. All applicable hourly rates in effect during the pay period and the corresponding number of hours worked at each hourly rate by the employee; and
10. If the employer is a temporary services employer, the rate of pay and the total hours worked for each temporary services assignment.

(Lab. Code, § 226, subd. (a).) Your question touches on items #2 and #9. The answer will depend on whether the employee worked on the holiday.

If the employee did not work on the holiday, but they are being paid anyway, that amount should not be included as “hours worked” because the employee didn’t actually work during those hours. The holiday pay must, however, be included in the employee’s gross wages and net wages.

For the purposes of clarity, it would be advisable for employers to separately itemize any non-worked holiday hours for which the employee is being paid. The law does not, however, require employers to do that.

If the employee did work on the holiday and was paid at a premium rate for doing so (like, say, time-and-a-half or double-time), those hours must be included in the employee’s “hours worked.” Additionally, the employer must separately list those hours in the “hourly rates” section of the wage statement, because those hours are being paid at a different rate than normal.

Of course, there is no California law that requires employers to pay employees extra for holidays. But, if that is part of the employee’s compensation, the employer should follow the rules outline above.

I hope this information helps. Please remember that this information does not constitute legal advice and should not be relied on. Nor does it create an attorney-client relationship.

I wish you the best of luck in your situation!