I actually haven't lived in California since 2009 though--I currently live in Illinois but will be moving to New Jersey in a few months. I think the usual convention is that if you're a salaried employee, you don't get paid over time, you just get a certain salary per year and that's it. But if you're a contractor, then you get paid per hour regardless of how many hours you work. That's how it works in the software industry, not sure about other industries.
Re: one poor person's point of view
I actually haven't lived in California since 2009 though--I currently live in Illinois but will be moving to New Jersey in a few months. I think the usual convention is that if you're a salaried employee, you don't get paid over time, you just get a certain salary per year and that's it. But if you're a contractor, then you get paid per hour regardless of how many hours you work. That's how it works in the software industry, not sure about other industries.