California law requires an employer to pay employees overtime for all hours worked in excess of 40 hours in a workweek and eight hours in a workday. It does not matter where you were born or what your legal status is.The new law addresses the "employment status" of workers when the hiring entity claims the worker is an independent contractor and not an employee. 1. California employment law prohibits all employers from discriminating and retaliating against workers in various protected classes. A: The at-will employment law of California allows an employer to fire an employee with or without cause and with or without notice for any lawful reason. "Employee" means every person in the service of an employer under any appointment or contract of hire or apprenticeship, express or implied, oral or written. The worker must be customarily engaged in an independent established trade, occupation, or business of the same nature as the work performed.