Overtime Rules in My State

Overtime pay is a basic legal right for most hourly employees. Federal law mandates overtime pay for all non-exempt workers for any time they work in excess of 40 hours per week. Many states have overtime pay laws with additional conditions and requirements that most employers must follow.

Many workers are victims of wage theft. Employees fail to take action because they think they can’t win or there isn’t enough money to bother. Many wage and hour law violations provide for double damages and attorney fees to pay for your legal costs. Contact a local wage and hour lawyer for legal advice on making sure you get paid for your work.

Federal and State Overtime Rules

Federal law provides minimum overtime protections for workers. The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) applies to most employers with annual sales of $500,000 or more. Some types of workers are exempt, including seasonal workers, farm laborers, and workers in the fishing industry.

Under federal law, non-exempt employees must receive overtime pay for hours worked in excess of 40 per workweek. Overtime compensation must be at least 1.5 times the employee’s regular rate of pay.

States can provide additional overtime protections for workers beyond federal overtime laws. Similarly, the federal minimum wage is only $7.25 per hour. However, most state minimum wage rates are much higher.

State overtime laws may also require overtime for working over a certain number of hours in a week or consecutive days of work.

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How Overtime Works

Overtime, based on the workweek, includes any seven consecutive 24-hour periods. The workweek does not necessarily have to begin on a Sunday or Monday.

While an employer may use different workweeks to arrange employee schedules, it is not permitted to “average” together hours of work over a period of more than seven days to avoid paying overtime compensation. This is important since many employers operate on a two-week pay period. Regardless of the pay period, overtime is calculated on a seven-day, 40-hour workweek.

If an employee works overtime, the employer must pay the employee 1.5 times the employee’s regular hourly rate. For example, an employee normally earns $12 per hour and works 50 hours in a workweek. The employer must pay at least $18 for each of the 10 hours worked beyond 40 hours. The employer is free to give a higher rate of pay, but it cannot pay less than time and a half.

Some states also require overtime for daily or consecutive hours. For example, workers in Colorado get overtime pay for working more than 12 hours per day. California workers get daily overtime pay for work over eight hours in a single day and double time for work over 12 hours in a single day.

In some states, daily overtime is available only for certain work or industries, such as manufacturing or public works projects.

State with Overtime Requirements for Consecutive Hours Per Day

The following table lists states with overtime requirements for consecutive hours or hours per day.

Rhode Island is the only state to require time-and-a-half pay for Sundays and certain holidays. Under the FLSA, employers do not have to pay overtime for work on Saturdays, Sundays, or holidays.

Waiving Overtime

An employer cannot legally ask you to waive your right to overtime pay. Nor can you agree to such a waiver. Most state laws do not restrict an employer’s ability to mandate overtime hours.

An employer is free to require you to work overtime so long as you receive your hourly overtime pay. However, there may be exceptions for some types of workers, depending on state law.

Overtime Pay Exemptions

Some job categories are exempt from overtime pay requirements. Most notably, this list includes many seasonal and agricultural workers. Certain white-collar employees who are normally paid as full-time salaried employees are considered exempt employees.

Some employers improperly try to classify salaried workers as exempt to avoid paying overtime. If your employer misclassified you to avoid overtime pay, you can file a wage and hour claim against the employer to recover back pay or unpaid overtime.

Under both state and federal labor laws, you may be eligible for double damages. You can also recover reasonable attorney fees to cover your legal costs. Contact an experienced wage and hour law attorney if you are unsure about your state’s overtime regulations.