California · Labor Code § 226.2(a) · AB 1513
Piece-rate is not rest. Rest is a separate wage.
Labor Code § 226.2(a) (AB 1513) requires rest and recovery periods to be paid separate from piece-rate at the higher of (i) average hourly — total compensation for the workweek excluding rest pay and overtime premiums, divided by hours worked excluding rest — or (ii) the applicable minimum wage. Statewide that floor is $16.90 as of 1 January 2026. Other nonproductive time is paid separately at no less than minimum wage. This is not the 226.7 missed-break hour already on the meal-break page.
The DIR FAQ numbers, not an invented extra hour
DIR Piece-Rate Compensation FAQs (August 2021), example 1: $500 piece-rate in a 40-hour week with two 10-minute rests a day (100 minutes = 1.67 hours in their rounding). Average = $500 ÷ 38.33 hours. That average sat above the then-$10 minimum wage. In 2026 the statewide floor is $16.90, so that same $13.04 average is paid at $16.90. Example 4 is exact hours: $800 piece, 47 hours, 2.0 hours rest → $800 ÷ 45 = $17.78; rest pay $35.56; overtime is extra half-time on that regular rate, because the piece already paid the straight time.
Load $800 piece in 40 hours with 80 minutes of required rest: rest hours = 80/60; average = 800 ÷ (40 − rest hours); rest pay = rest hours × max(average, 16.90). No 226.7 extra hour is added.
If rest minutes are left blank, the ticket assumes IWC 10 minutes per four hours or major fraction, per day, and says so. Other nonproductive time (time under the employer’s control not directly related to the piece activity) is a separate ≥ MW line unless the safe-harbor box is on: hourly MW for all hours plus piece-rate, which DIR treats as compliance for paragraph (4) only.
In scope
- § 226.2(a) rest at max(average, CA MW $16.90)
- Other nonproductive time ≥ MW; (a)(7) safe harbor toggle
- DIR FAQ example 4 half-time overtime when hours exceed 40
- IWC 10 min / 4h rest assumption if minutes are blank, labeled
Out of scope
- LC 226.7 missed-break hour (use /california-meal-break/)
- Wage-statement itemization and semimonthly true-up
- Commission plans (226.2 is piece-rate; Vaquero is not this page)
FAQ
How is the average hourly rate for piece-rate rest calculated?
Labor Code § 226.2(a)(3)(i), as quoted in the DIR AB 1513 FAQs (August 2021): divide the total compensation for the workweek, exclusive of compensation for rest and recovery periods and any premium compensation for overtime, by the total hours worked during the workweek, exclusive of rest and recovery periods. Rest is then paid at the higher of that average or the applicable minimum wage (statewide $16.90 as of 1 January 2026).
Is this the same as the California missed-break hour?
No. Labor Code 226.7 is the one extra hour at the regular rate when a required meal or rest is not provided — that calculator is /california-meal-break/. This page is the separately itemized paid-rest wage that piece-rate employees must receive even when the rest was authorized and taken.
What if I leave rest minutes blank?
The ticket assumes IWC rest: a net 10 minutes per four hours or major fraction thereof, counted per workday, and labels that assumption. DIR FAQs: the compensable rest is the amount authorized and permitted (Brinker), not the minutes actually taken. Enter a number to override.
What is the other-nonproductive-time safe harbor?
§ 226.2(a)(7): an employer who, in addition to piece-rate, pays an hourly rate of at least the applicable minimum wage for all hours worked is deemed in compliance with the other-nonproductive-time pay requirement. Rest still must be brought up to the average if the average exceeds minimum wage (DIR FAQ example 2).
