Overtime laws by state

Federal law pays time and a half after 40 hours in a workweek, everywhere, in every state. Only six states add anything on top, and four of those are the only ones with daily overtime at all. The rest of this table says "federal rule" because that is the honest answer.

StateWeeklyDaily overtimeWhat's different
Alabama40NoneFederal rule
Alaska40Over 8 hoursEmployers with fewer than 4 employees are exempt
Arizona40NoneFederal rule
Arkansas40NoneFederal rule
California401.5x over 8, 2x over 12Plus 1.5x for the first 8 hours of a seventh consecutive day and 2x beyond
Colorado40Over 12 hoursAlso over any 12 consecutive hours; whichever of the three pays most
Connecticut40NoneFederal rule
Delaware40NoneFederal rule
District of Columbia40NoneFederal rule
Florida40NoneFederal rule
Georgia40NoneFederal rule
Hawaii40NoneFederal rule
Idaho40NoneFederal rule
Illinois40NoneFederal rule
Indiana40NoneFederal rule
Iowa40NoneFederal rule
Kansas46NoneOnly for employers not covered by federal law. Most are, and pay at 40
Kentucky40NoneFederal rule
Louisiana40NoneFederal rule
Maine40NoneFederal rule
Maryland40NoneFederal rule
Massachusetts40NoneFederal rule
Michigan40NoneFederal rule
Minnesota48NoneOnly for employers not covered by federal law. Most are, and pay at 40
Mississippi40NoneFederal rule
Missouri40NoneFederal rule
Montana40NoneFederal rule
Nebraska40NoneFederal rule
Nevada40Over 8 hours in 24Only if you earn under 1.5x the state minimum wage
New Hampshire40NoneFederal rule
New Jersey40NoneFederal rule
New Mexico40NoneFederal rule
New York40 (44 for live-in residential employees)None44-hour threshold for residential employees under the Miscellaneous Industries wage order
North Carolina40NoneFederal rule
North Dakota40NoneFederal rule
Ohio40NoneFederal rule
Oklahoma40NoneFederal rule
Oregon40NoneFederal rule
Pennsylvania40NoneFederal rule
Rhode Island40NoneFederal rule
South Carolina40NoneFederal rule
South Dakota40NoneFederal rule
Tennessee40NoneFederal rule
Texas40NoneFederal rule
Utah40NoneFederal rule
Vermont40NoneFederal rule
Virginia40NoneFederal rule
Washington40NoneFederal rule
West Virginia40NoneFederal rule
Wisconsin40NoneFederal rule
Wyoming40NoneFederal rule

The six that differ

Where a state and federal law disagree, you get whichever pays more. That is why the 46 and 48-hour thresholds below almost never apply: they only cover employers outside federal law, and most employers are inside it.

Alaska

Overtime after 40 hours in a week. Daily: over 8 hours. Employers with fewer than 4 employees are exempt. Source: labor.alaska.gov. Worked through five real weeks on the Alaska overtime rules page.

California

Overtime after 40 hours in a week. Daily: 1.5x over 8, 2x over 12. Plus 1.5x for the first 8 hours of a seventh consecutive day and 2x beyond. Source: www.dir.ca.gov. Worked through five real weeks on the California overtime rules page.

Colorado

Overtime after 40 hours in a week. Daily: over 12 hours. Also over any 12 consecutive hours; whichever of the three pays most. Source: cdle.colorado.gov. Worked through five real weeks on the Colorado overtime rules page.

Kansas

Overtime after 46 hours in a week. No daily overtime. Only for employers not covered by federal law. Most are, and pay at 40. Source: www.dol.ks.gov.

Minnesota

Overtime after 48 hours in a week. No daily overtime. Only for employers not covered by federal law. Most are, and pay at 40. Source: www.dli.mn.gov.

Nevada

Overtime after 40 hours in a week. Daily: over 8 hours in 24. Only if you earn under 1.5x the state minimum wage. Source: labor.nv.gov. Worked through five real weeks on the Nevada overtime rules page.

New York

Overtime after 40 (44 for live-in residential employees) hours in a week. No daily overtime. 44-hour threshold for residential employees under the Miscellaneous Industries wage order. Source: dol.ny.gov. Worked through five real weeks on the New York overtime rules page.

The other 44

Overtime after 40 hours in a workweek at 1.5 times your regular rate, and nothing extra for long days. Ten hours on Monday earns no premium if the week stays under 40. Work it through with the overtime calculator, which applies the daily rules when you pick one of the four states that has them. Overtime rules in Texas works the federal rule through five real weeks, and where to file when it is not paid. Overtime rules in Florida does the same at the new state minimum wage. Overtime rules in New York covers the higher salary line for exempt staff. Overtime rules in Pennsylvania covers overtime for salaried staff who are not exempt. Overtime rules in Illinois covers comp time and the lower 90-day and youth rates.

What this table does not cover

The threshold is not the whole law. Several states add rules for specific industries, for a seventh consecutive day, or for particular occupations, and the list of who is exempt differs from state to state. Every rule above was checked against that state's own government source in September 2026, but if your pay depends on the answer, open your state's labor department page and check the detail. This page tells you where the line is, not whether you are one of the exceptions to it.

A rule that catches people out

Overtime is counted per workweek and never averaged across a pay period. Fifty hours one week and thirty the next is ten hours of overtime, not none, even though the two weeks total eighty. A biweekly paycheck does not change that. If your employer averages two weeks together to avoid paying it, that is not allowed under federal law. Overtime on a biweekly paycheck works five two-week splits through.

Using this on your own site

Quote the table, link it, take the figures. If a calculator would serve your readers better than a table, the time and a half one is free to embed with one snippet and no signup.