CSLB Law & Business ExamEmployment RequirementsEasy
A contractor willfully fails to pay a terminated employee's final wages. The employee earned $25 per hour and worked 8-hour days. The employer finally pays the wages 10 days after termination. Under Labor Code Section 203, what waiting time penalty does the employer owe?
- A$250, a flat statutory penalty
- B$2,000, based on 10 days at the daily wage rate
- C$6,000, the maximum 30-day penalty regardless of delay
- D$200, one day's wages only
Show answer & explanationAnswer & explanation
Correct answer: B. $2,000, based on 10 days at the daily wage rate
The waiting time penalty equals the employee's daily rate of pay (8 hours x $25 = $200) multiplied by each day wages remain unpaid, up to a maximum of 30 days. Here, 10 days of delay yields $200 x 10 = $2,000.
Why the other options are wrong
- A. There is no flat statutory penalty amount.
- C. The 30-day cap applies only if the delay reaches or exceeds 30 days.
- D. This only reflects one day, not the full delay period.
Waiting Time Penalty (Labor Code 203)
An employer who willfully fails to timely pay final wages owes a penalty equal to the employee's daily wage rate for each day wages remain unpaid, up to 30 days.
- Penalty = daily wage rate x days late
- Maximum penalty is 30 days of wages
- Applies to willful failure to pay final wages on time
Memory trick: Late final pay = a full day's wage ticking for every day, capped at 30.