• Both employees and employers need to comply with California laws on work interruption.Allan Baxter/Photodisc/Getty Images
  
  The state of California imposes distinctively strict labor laws. Labor laws include regulations on interruption of work. Interruption of work provisions include reporting time pay, alternative work schedules, overtime laws, makeup time, overtime exempt employees and meal periods among others. Exceptions and special requirements to employees and employers depend on the terms of work contract. Employers may need to pay required compensation while employees may be subject for a penalty depending on how work is interrupted.
  
  

Reporting Time Pay

• Reporting time pay refers to the compensation given to employees who were deprived of their actual working hours without prior notice or announcement from the employer. If employees had to spend less time than the agreed upon or official hours of work, the employer is still required to pay half the hours of the day. For example, if the employee only spent one hour working as opposed to the eight hours required, the employer must pay for four hours of work. In some cases, employers are allowed to pay a minimum of two hours work. Compensation is computed according to the employee's regular pay rate. Employers are exempted from reporting time pay if work gets disrupted because of threats in the workplace and malfunctioning of the public utilities, such as water, electricity gas and other natural disasters.
  
  

Alternative Work Schedules

• If employers are going to push for alternative work schedules or changes to the current work schedule, California requires that employers obtain consent from at least two-thirds of their workforce population. Consent should be obtained through a secret ballot election. If two-thirds of the population agrees to the changes in work schedule, the employer may change work hours up to 10 hours a day, but the hours should not exceed 40 hours a week. If employees cannot comply with the changes in the schedule, employers need to work out a schedule that can accommodate the needs of both parties. All employee requests should be entertained.
  
  

Makeup Time

• Employers are not required to compensate any overtime pay if additional hours are spent are for makeup purposes. Specifically, employees who failed to go to work and decide to render lost hours within the same week will not receive additional compensation provided that the work hour does not exceed 11 hours per day. Permission to render lost hours depends entirely on the discretion of the employer.