Overtime rules in Texas
On a $20 hourly rate, five 10-hour days in Texas pay $1,100: 40 hours at straight time and 10 at $30.00. Texas has no overtime law of its own, so the federal 40-hour rule is the whole answer, and a long day on its own earns nothing extra.
| A week at $20 an hour | Overtime hours | Texas | Same week in California |
|---|---|---|---|
| Four 10-hour days, 40 hours | 0 | $800 | $880 |
| Three 13-hour days, 39 hours | 0 | $780 | $960 |
| Five 9-hour days, 45 hours | 5 | $950 | $950 |
| Five 10-hour days, 50 hours | 10 | $1,100 | $1,100 |
| Six 10-hour days, 60 hours | 20 | $1,400 | $1,400 |
Only the week counts
Neither Texas nor federal law pays daily overtime. Four 10-hour days are 40 hours at straight time, which is $80 less than the same week pays in California. Overtime starts with the 41st hour in the workweek, a fixed run of seven consecutive days that your employer sets and can start on any day. Each workweek stands alone: hours cannot be averaged across two weeks, so 50 hours followed by 30 is still 10 hours of overtime, whatever the biweekly check says.
Where to take unpaid overtime
This is where Texas differs in practice. The Texas Workforce Commission handles wage claims under the Texas Payday Law, but it limits overtime claims to ones your employer has already admitted or the U.S. Department of Labor has already decided. For a disputed overtime claim the usual route is the Labor Department's Wage and Hour Division. The deadlines differ too: a TWC wage claim must be filed within 180 days, while federal back pay generally reaches back two years, or three if the violation was willful.
Working out your own pay
The calculator above applies the federal rule to the hours you actually worked. If your week mixed two rates, a night differential or a production bonus, your overtime is owed on the blended rate, which the blended rate calculator works out. The no-tax-on-overtime calculator turns the $10.00 premium on each overtime hour into what you can deduct, and overtime laws by state shows the six states that add anything to the rule Texas follows.