Overtime Laws by State (2026)

Built & reviewed by Nandu Kannan · Overtime rules cited to primary statutes

Overtime in the United States is two layers of law. The federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) sets the nationwide floor — 1.5× your regular rate after 40 hours in a workweek — and each state can add more on top. Most don't. A handful do, and the differences are worth real money: the same 12-hour shift that pays straight time in Texas pays four hours of overtime and nothing else in California, even with no other hours that week.

This guide summarizes the overtime rule in all 50 states plus Washington, D.C., as of 2026. For the math, use the free overtime calculator (it has the state rules built in) or jump to your state's page from the table below.

The federal baseline: FLSA weekly overtime

Under 29 U.S.C. §207, covered non-exempt employees must receive at least one and one-half times their regular rate of pay for hours worked over 40 in a workweek. Three things people commonly get wrong:

• It's weekly, not daily. Federally, a 14-hour Monday earns zero overtime if your week totals 40 hours or less. Only four states change this (see below).
• The workweek is fixed. A workweek is any recurring period of 168 hours — seven consecutive 24-hour periods — set by the employer. Hours can't be averaged across two weeks to dodge overtime (29 CFR §778.104).
• "Regular rate" isn't just base pay. Nondiscretionary bonuses, shift differentials and commissions must be folded into the rate before the 1.5× is applied. Our guide on how overtime pay works walks through the math.

Quick rule of thumb: overtime pay = hours over 40 × regular rate × 1.5. A $20/hour worker's overtime hour is worth $30 — check any rate instantly with the time and a half calculator.

The four daily-overtime states

California, Alaska, Colorado, and Nevada pay overtime for long days, not just long weeks. In brief (full treatment in our daily overtime states deep dive):

• California — the strongest rules in the country (Labor Code §510): 1.5× after 8 hours/day, 2× (double time) after 12 hours/day, 1.5× after 40 hours/week, plus a 7th-consecutive-day premium (first 8 hours at 1.5×, beyond 8 at 2×).
• Alaska — 1.5× after 8 hours/day and after 40 hours/week (Alaska Stat. §23.10.060; applies to employers with 4+ employees).
• Colorado — 1.5× after 12 hours/day, after 12 consecutive hours, or after 40 hours/week — whichever pays more (COMPS Order #38).
• Nevada — 1.5× after 8 hours/day, but only for employees earning less than 1.5× the Nevada minimum wage; everyone else gets the weekly rule only (NRS §608.018).

States with special thresholds and quirks

Four more states deviate from the plain federal pattern without adding daily overtime:

• Kansas — state law sets overtime at 1.5× after 46 hours/week. Because almost all employers are covered by the federal FLSA, most Kansas workers still get overtime after 40; the 46-hour rule matters only for the rare FLSA-exempt employer.
• Minnesota — same structure with a 48-hour state threshold; FLSA-covered employees get overtime after 40.
• Kentucky — follows the 40-hour weekly rule and adds a 7th-consecutive-day premium: work all seven days of a workweek and the seventh day is paid at 1.5×.
• Oregon — 40-hour weekly rule generally, but manufacturing establishments, mills and canneries have daily overtime after 10 hours/day under state law.

Overtime rules in all 50 states + D.C. (2026)

The table below is generated from the same vetted rule data that powers our state overtime calculators. Click any state for its calculator and a worked pay example at that state's minimum wage (see also minimum wage by state).

51 jurisdictions; 4 with daily overtime (Alaska, California, Colorado, Nevada). "No daily OT" states follow the federal weekly rule, sometimes restated in a state statute.

Exempt vs non-exempt: who actually gets overtime

Every rule above applies only to non-exempt employees. The FLSA exempts certain executive, administrative, and professional ("white collar") employees who are paid on a salary basis at or above a minimum salary level and whose actual job duties meet a duties test. Both parts are required — a job title or a salary alone exempts no one. Outside sales and certain computer employees have their own tests, and some states (notably California) set stricter, higher-paying exemption standards than the federal ones.

Misclassification — treating a non-exempt worker as exempt and paying no overtime — is one of the most common wage violations in the country. If you're salaried and routinely working more than 40 hours, it's worth checking: our guide on overtime for salaried employees covers the salary threshold and duties tests, and the salary to hourly calculator shows what your time is worth per hour.

Estimate your overtime pay

Enter your daily hours and rate into the overtime calculator — it applies federal, California, Alaska, Colorado, or Nevada rules automatically. Tracking hours first? Start with the timesheet calculator or the time card calculator, then check your take-home pay after taxes.

Frequently asked questions

General information based on the federal FLSA (29 U.S.C. §207) and state labor statutes as summarized above, current as of June 2026. Laws change and exemptions are fact-specific — confirm with the U.S. Department of Labor (dol.gov) or your state labor office. Not legal or payroll advice.