Guide · verified
Which states have daily overtime?
Four states pay overtime by the day for ordinary jobs — California (over 8 h, double over 12), Alaska (over 8 h), Colorado (over 12 h) and Nevada (over 8 h if paid under 1.5× minimum wage). Oregon adds a 10-hour rule for manufacturing, and California and Kentucky have seventh-day premiums.
Same week, six rulebooks
| Rules | 1.5× h | 2× h | Week’s pay | Federally deductible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Federal (FLSA) / most states | 2 | 0 | $860.00 | $20.00 |
| California | 12 | 0 | $960.00 | $20.00 |
| Alaska (4+ employees) | 12 | 0 | $960.00 | $20.00 |
| Colorado | 2 | 0 | $860.00 | $20.00 |
| Nevada, paid $17 (under $18) | 12 | 0 | $816.00 | $17.00 |
| Oregon manufacturing | 6 | 0 | $900.00 | $20.00 |
Under the FLSA only the 2 hours past 40 earn a premium. California counts 4 daily overtime hours on each long shift; that moves enough hours out of the regular count that the week never crosses 40 regular hours. Colorado’s threshold is 12, so these shifts trigger nothing daily and only the weekly 2 hours apply. In every column only the FLSA half-time premium on hours over 40 — $20.00 at $20 — is deductible federally.
The rules in detail
California
Labor Code § 510: 1.5× after 8 hours in a workday and 40 in a workweek; 2× after 12 hours in a day; on the seventh consecutive day of the workweek, 1.5× for the first 8 hours and 2× after that. Alternative workweek schedules can change the daily threshold.
Alaska
AS 23.10.060: 1.5× after 8 hours a day or 40 a week, with daily overtime hours left out of the weekly count. Employers with fewer than four employees are exempt, and an approved flexible plan can move the daily trigger to 10 hours.
Colorado
COMPS Order #40, Rule 4.1: 1.5× after 40 hours a week, 12 hours in a workday or 12 consecutive hours, whichever pays more. Because the rule takes the greater result rather than adding them, it produces the same totals as counting daily hours first and weekly hours after.
Nevada
NRS 608.018: workers paid less than 1.5× the $12.00 state minimum — under $18.00 an hour — earn 1.5× after 8 hours in a workday as well as after 40 a week. At $18.00 or more, or on an agreed four-day, 10-hour schedule, only the weekly rule applies.
Oregon
ORS 652.020: in mills, factories and manufacturing establishments, 1.5× for hours over 10 in a day as well as over 40 in a week, paid on whichever basis gives more. Sawmills and logging camps have an 8-hour limit.
Seventh-day premiums
Work six hours on all seven days of a workweek — 42 hours at $20. The FLSA pays a premium on 2 hours ($860.00 for the week). Kentucky (KRS 337.050) pays time and a half for all 6 hours on the seventh day ($900.00), and California pays 1.5× for the first 8 hours of the seventh day ($900.00). Kentucky’s rule does not apply in a week where you are not permitted to work more than 40 hours.
Neither seventh-day premium counts toward the federal deduction: the qualified amount stays $20.00 in all three cases.