California overtime rules apply to California-based nonexempt employees even when they work temporarily in another state, according to CalChamber employment law expert Sharon Novak. That means an employer sending a worker to a trade show in a state without daily overtime still owes California premiums — and must pay for travel time both ways.

The obligation doesn't stop at overtime. Novak's guidance, published on CalChamber's HRWatchdog, covers daily overtime, wage statement rules and other wage-and-hour protections. Short-term out-of-state assignments don't weaken an employee's California connection enough to override the state's interest in protecting its residents from unlawful wage practices, she wrote.

What do the courts say?

Multiple decisions back the position, and the paper trail runs deep:

• Tidewater Marine Western, Inc. v. Bradshaw, 14 Cal. 4th 557 (1996) — the California Supreme Court held that employees working temporarily on an oil-drilling platform outside state boundaries still get California overtime.
• Ward v. United Airlines, 9 Cal. 5th 732 (2020) — the court asked whether Labor Code Section 226, the pay stub statute, covered pilots and flight attendants. It ruled coverage turns on where employees work most of the time: workers are covered if they perform the majority of their work in California or are based in California for work purposes.
• Oman v. Delta Air Lines, 9 Cal. 5th 762 (2020) — similar result for airline employees.
• Bernstein v. Virgin America, 3 F.4th 1127 (9th Cir. 2021) — the Ninth Circuit reached the same conclusion.

For HR teams, the practical test is simple: base and duration. If the employee normally works in California and the out-of-state stint is temporary, California law controls.

What does the employer owe for travel time?

Travel time counts as compensable. Employees sent to work in another state must be paid for travel to and from that state, Novak wrote. That includes all time spent waiting at the airport and traveling from the airport to the hotel and worksite.

Payroll teams should build those hours into trip budgets and timekeeping before the assignment starts, not reconcile them after a complaint.

When do California rules stop applying?

Coverage cuts both ways, and the trigger is permanent relocation. California-based employers that bring out-of-state employees into California owe them California wage-and-hour protections while they work there. In Sullivan v. Oracle, 51 Cal.4th 1191 (2011), the California Supreme Court held that state overtime laws apply to nonresidents performing work in California for a California-based employer, finding the state has a legitimate interest in protecting employees working within its borders.

The flip side: California overtime likely won't apply once an employee is permanently reassigned or moves to another state. When the worker lives and works in the new state for good, the California connection breaks and the new state's laws govern.

The dividing line employers need to document is temporary versus permanent. Assignment letters, expected durations and work-location records will determine which regime applies — and the Ward majority-work test gives plaintiffs' lawyers a clear benchmark to argue from in any dispute.