My question involves independent contractors in the state of: CA

Can a company require that compensation be paid based on a weekly flat rate rather than hourly for an independent contractor?

For example, in a prior contract with a company the agreed upon compensation was hourly at a rate of $50/hour. Typically this entailed a 40 hour work week but occasionally, night or weekend work was required that resulted in hours worked in excess of 40/week. Most people involved in the project (both employees and contractors) worked about 15-20 hours extra per month.

Now I'm being considered for a new project and was told that all new contractors will be paid a flat weekly rate based on 40 hours. So the new rate using the above example is $2000/week -no more, no less. Seems somewhat reasonable given a typical 40 hour work week but the nature of the job is that more than 40 hours will be required. It is clear that the company just wants to avoid paying for the additional hours.

This doesn't seem right to me. Can a company require this arrangement for compensation? The non-exempt employees get OT for those hours -although the contractors get a much higher rate. Any input would be appreciated.