Static educational checklist — not a calculator. No punch inputs, no 4/10 or 9/80 engines, no live daily/weekly overtime math. Spot common California alternative workweek schedule (AWW) red flags under Labor Code § 511 and related Industrial Welfare Commission (IWC) wage-order election rules (including healthcare 12-hour variants under Orders 4 and 5). Distinct from California make-up time (LC 513), default LC 510 daily 8/12 / seventh-day overtime, FLSA public-sector compensatory time, fluctuating workweek, Belo/§ 7(f), predictive scheduling / fair workweek ordinances, and OT stub arithmetic pages.
California baseline — what an alternative workweek is (and is not)
Labor Code § 511 lets a covered work unit adopt, by a two-thirds secret-ballot election of affected employees in that unit, a regularly scheduled alternative workweek (commonly a 4/10 — four 10-hour days — or a 9/80 with a fixed mid-week split, and in healthcare under certain IWC orders a regularly scheduled 12-hour shift menu). After a valid adoption, overtime under the alternative schedule generally starts after the regularly scheduled hours in the day (and still after 40 in the workweek), rather than after eight hours under default Labor Code § 510 — with important statutory and order-specific limits (including how excess hours are paid at 1.5× / double time). AWW is not make-up time, not private-sector “comp time,” not an FLSA fluctuating-workweek salary plan, and not a manager’s informal “we just run 4×10s.” This page does not compute AWW overtime — it only flags compliance red flags.
Checklist — California alternative workweek red flags
No two-thirds secret-ballot election (or only a “show of hands” / email poll). Flag handbooks that declare a 4/10 or 9/80 without a documented secret ballot meeting the § 511 / IWC election procedures, ballots that were not secret, or “elections” held by supervisors collecting signatures at desks. Missing election records are the classic invalidation path.
Work unit / affected-employee group defined to stack the vote (or left undefined). Flag units gerrymandered around known “yes” voters, mixing of unrelated job classifications to dilute opposition, or payroll that applies an AWW schedule to employees who were never in the voting unit. The election binds a properly defined work unit — not the whole company by osmosis.
Informal “4×10 / 9/80 culture” treated as a valid AWW without adoption paperwork. Flag long-standing schedules that look like alternative workweeks but were never elected, never filed / retained as required, or never disclosed to new hires as an adopted schedule. Longevity does not cure a missing election.
Overtime after regularly scheduled hours ignored (or still paid only after 8 / only after 40). Flag stubs on a valid 4/10 that pay straight time for the 11th hour of a scheduled day, 9/80 weeks that miss the correct day-boundary / OT trigger, or healthcare 12-hour menus that never apply the order’s excess-hour premiums. Conversely, flag employers who keep default LC 510 daily-8 math and claim AWW protection — you cannot have both inconsistently.
Make-up time (LC 513) or ad-hoc long days rebranded as “AWW flexibility.” Flag same-week make-up requests treated as if they changed the regularly scheduled AWW day length, or one-off 10-hour days justified by pointing at a 4/10 election that does not cover that employee / day. Make-up time and alternative workweek are separate statutory tracks.
Private-sector “comp time,” FWW, or Belo labels slapped on California AWW hours. Flag banked hour-for-hour time-off schemes, fluctuating-workweek half-time plans, or Belo guaranteed-wage contracts marketed as the California alternative workweek. Public-sector FLSA § 7(o) compensatory time and federal FWW/Belo doctrines are different animals.
Healthcare 12-hour / IWC Order 4–5 menu myths applied to non-healthcare units (or vice versa). Flag non-healthcare employers copying a 12-hour regularly scheduled menu from Orders 4/5 healthcare exceptions, or healthcare units assuming any 12-hour pattern is automatically authorized without the order’s election and schedule-menu rules. Industry and order coverage matter.
Repeal, reduction-of-force, or new-hire invalidation / disclosure gaps. Flag work units that voted years ago, then materially changed composition without checking repeal / re-election triggers; new employees never told they are on an adopted AWW; or failed attempts to repeal that leave payroll and the posted schedule in conflict. An election is not immortal paperwork.
Predictive-scheduling / fair-workweek or reporting-time premiums confused with AWW OT rules. Flag multi-state chains that treat a California AWW as satisfying NYC / Seattle / Chicago / OR fair-workweek notice duties, or that skip CA reporting-time / split-shift analysis because “we’re on a 4/10.” Different statutes; different triggers.
Election ballots, meeting notices, adopted-schedule postings, and stub coding gaps. Flag missing retained ballots / tallies, no written results shared with the unit, schedules that do not match the adopted menu, and wage statements that never show which hours were paid under AWW daily thresholds vs default LC 510. Record gaps turn every long day into a he-said / she-said overtime dispute.