Overtime Pay in Alabama (AL)

Alabama follows federal overtime payment requirements. This means that employees in the state must receive one and one-half times their regular wage rate for all hours worked over 40 in a workweek.

More Information

For more information please contact the Alabama Department of Labor.

Alaska Overtime Requirements

Alaska overtime requirements apply to employers with four or more employees. 

In general, employees are entitled to overtime pay for work in excess of eight hours per day or 40 hours per week. The overtime rate in Alaska is 1½ times the employee's regular rates of pay.

Exemptions

Alaska's Wage and Hour Act provides overtime exemptions for a number of individuals. For an exemption to apply, the employee must satisfy all conditions and requirements of that exemption (salary and actual job duties may apply). The Alaska Department of LaborStandards and Safety lists the following overtime exemptions for the state:   

1. Handicapped persons - Departmental application/approval is required
2. Student learners - Departmental application/approval is required
3. Any individual employed in agriculture
4. Any individual employed in the taking of aquatic life
5. Any individual employed in the hand picking of shrimp
6. Any individual employed in domestic service (including babysitters) in or about a private home
7. Any individual employed by the United States, state or local government (i.e., political subdivision)
8. Any individual engaged in the activities of a nonprofit religious, charitable, cemetery, or educational organization or other nonprofit organization where the services are on a voluntary basis
9. Any individual engaged in the delivery of newspapers to the consumer
10. Any individual employed solely as a watchman or caretaker on premises, property or plants not in operation for four months or more
11. Any individual employed in a bona fide executive, administrative or professional (EAP) capacity as defined by the federal Fair Labor Standards Act or the regulations adopted by those sections, or as an outside salesman or any salesman working on a straight commission basis (the Wage and Hour Act requires that the salary for individuals claiming executive, professional or administrative exemption be at least twice the state's minimum wage rate). To qualify for the exemption, EAP employees must be compensated on a salary or fee basis at a rate of not less than two times the state minimum wage for the first 40 hours of employment each week, exclusive of board or lodging that is furnished by the individual's employer.
12. Any individual employed in the search for placer or hard rock minerals
13. Any individual under 18 years old employed on a part-time basis for not more than 30 hours in any week
14. Employment by a nonprofit educational or child care facility to serve as a parent of children while the children are in residence at the facility if the employment requires residence at the facility and is compensated on a cash basis, exclusive of room and board, at an annual rate of not less than: 
    • $10,000 for an unmarried person; or
    • $15,000 for a married couple   
15. Any independent cab driver who establishes the driving area and hours, who contracts on a flat rate basis for the use of the cab, cab permit or dispatch service, and who is compensated solely by the customers served
16. Any person who holds a license under AS 08.54 and who is employed by a registered guide or master guide licensed under AS 08.54, for the first 60 work days in which the person is employed by the registered guide or master guide during a calendar year
17. Any individual employed as a computer systems analyst, computer programmer, software engineer, or other similarly skilled worker 
18. Any individual who provides emergency medical services on a voluntary basis; serves with a full-time fire department on a voluntary basis; or provides ski patrol services on a voluntary basis
19. A student participating in a University of Alaska practicum described under AS 14.40.065 
20. Any individual who is employed by a motor vehicle dealer and whose primary duty is to receive, analyze, or reference requests for service, repair, or analysis of motor vehicles; arrange financing for the sale of motor vehicles and related products and services that are added or included as part of the sale; or solicit, sell, lease, or exchange motor vehicles 
21. Any employee employed in handling, packing, storing, pasteurizing, drying, preparing in their raw or natural state or canning of agricultural or horticultural commodities for market or in making cheese or butter or other dairy products
22. Any employee of an employer engaged in small mining operations where not more than 12 people are employed, as long as an individual is employed not in excess of 12 hours a day or 56 hours a week during a period or periods of not more than 14 workweeks in the aggregate in any calendar year during the mining season
23. Any employee employed in connection with the publication of any weekly, semi-weekly or daily newspaper with a circulation of less than 1,000
24. Any switchboard operator employed in a public telephone exchange which has fewer than 750 stations
25. Any employee engaged in handling telegraphic, telephone or radio messages for the public under an agency or contract arrangements with a telegraph or communications company where the message or communications revenue of such agency does not exceed $500 a month
26. Any employee employed as a seaman
27. Any employee employed in planting or tending trees, cruising or surveying or bucking or felling timber, or in preparing or transporting logs or other forestry products to the mill, processing plant, railroad or other transportation terminal if the total number of employees in such forestry or lumber operation does not exceed 12
28. Any employee employed as an outside buyer of poultry, eggs, cream or milk in their raw or natural state
29. Any casual employees as defined by regulations of the Commissioner of Labor
30. Any employee of a hospital whose employment includes the provision of medical service
31. Any employee who works under a flexible-hour work plan that is included as part of a collective bargaining agreement; or any employee who has a written and signed flexible work hour plan agreement with an employer and the written agreement has been approved by and filed with the Department
32. Any employee employed as a line haul truck driver for a trip that exceeds 100 road miles one way if the compensation system under which the truck driver is paid includes overtime pay for work in excess of 40 hours a week or for more than eight hours a day and the compensation system requires a rate of pay comparable to the rate of pay required by this section
33. Any employee employed as a community health aide by a local or regional health organization
34. Any employee employed as a flat-rate mechanic primarily engaged in the servicing of automobiles, light trucks, and motor homes if: the mechanic has signed a written agreement with the employer that specifies the mechanic's flat hourly rate of pay, is compensated for all hours worked in any capacity for that employer up to and including eight hours a day and 40 hours a week at an hourly rate that is not less than the greater of 75% of the flat hourly rate of pay agreed upon by the employer and employee, or twice the state minimum wage, and is compensated for all hours worked in any capacity for that employer in excess of eight hours a day or 40 straight-time hours a week at 1 ½ times the rate previously described 
35. Any employee who is employed under a voluntary written agreement addressing the trading of work shifts among employees if the employee is employed by an air carrier subject to subchapter II of the Railway Labor Act (including employment as a customer service representative), and the trading agreement is: not a flexible work-hour plan, is filed with the employee’s employer, and the trading agreement states that the employee is not entitled to receive overtime for any hours worked by the employee when the employee voluntarily works those hours under a shift trading practice under which the employee has the opportunity, in the same or other work weeks, to reduce hours worked by voluntarily offering a shift for trade or reassignment
36. Any flight crew member (pilot, co-pilot, flight engineer, and flight attendants) employed by an air carrier subject to the Railway Labor Act. 

 

More Information 

For more information, including details on the requirements for each exemption, please contact the Alaska Department of Labor Division of Labor Standards and Safety. 

The Arizona Labor Department (ALD), part of the Industrial Commission of Arizona (ICA), enforces compliance with overtime payment requirements throughout the state.

Overtime

Arizona law does not provide regulations for overtime wage payments. Therefore, employees who wish to enforce overtime wage payment requirements must do so through the federal protections afforded to them by the FLSA.

The FLSA generally requires employers to pay their employees one and one-half times their regular wage rate for all hours worked in excess of 40 during a workweek. When determining an employee’s regular wage rate, employers must consider the employee’s entire compensation, and not only their contractual rate of pay.

Overtime Pay in Arkansas (AR)

The Minimum Wage Act of the State of Arkansas (MWA) complements federal law and, in some cases, prescribes more stringent or additional requirements that employers must follow. Whenever state and federal laws conflict, the law that is more favorable to the employee applies.

The Arkansas Department of Labor and Licensing (ADLL) enforces and investigates minimum wage violation claims throughout the state.

Overtime Pay

State law requires employers to compensate their employees for overtime hours of work at one and one-half their regular rate of pay for hours worked over 40 during a workweek.

Overtime Exemptions

Overtime payment requirements do not apply to:

• Agricultural employees;
• Employees exempt from overtime pay under the FLSA;
• Firefighters and law enforcement personnel employed by a public agency (must comply with applicable federal overtime pay requirements);
• Public employees who receive compensatory time off in lieu of overtime pay;

Alternative Overtime Computation Options

The ADLL may authorize additional overtime exemptions or parameters, or calculating overtime pay on a basis other than the regular rate of pay for:

• Irregular hours of work;
• Piece-rate compensation;
• Employees who are paid on a commission basis in a retail or service establishment;
• Hospitals or enterprises engaged in the care of the sick, the aged or individuals with mental illness;
• Independently-owned-and-controlled local entreprises engaged in the wholesale or bulk distribution of petroleum products; and
• Compensation controlled by a collective bargaining agreement.

California Overtime Pay Requirements

Federal overtime wage payment requirements are governed by the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). California law also regulates certain provisions of overtime wage payment. Under both federal and state laws, employees must receive overtime wage rates for any overtime work performed.

The Division of Labor Standards Enforcement (DLSE), part of the California Department of Industrial Relations (DIR), enforces overtime standards throughout the state.

Overtime Pay

In California, the overtime wage rate depends on when the overtime work takes place, as described below. Because overtime calculations depend on the number of hours worked per day or per week, employers cannot average the hours an employee works during one day or one week with the hours the employee works on any other workday or workweek. Under state law employees are entitled to:

• One and one-half times the regular wage rate for work performed in excess of:
  1. In excess of 40 hours during a workweek (45 for domestic work employee)
  2. In excess of eight hours during a workday (more than 9 for domestic work employee)
  3. During the first 8 hours of the 7th workday
• Twice the regular wage rate for work performed in excess of:
  1. 12 hours during a workday
  2. Eight hours during the 7th workday

Alternative Workweek Schedules

California’s overtime wage payment requirements apply differently to individuals who work under an alternative workweek schedule. An “alternative workweek schedule” is a work schedule that allows an employee to work more than eight hours during a workday without accruing overtime.

Under alternative workweek schedules, employers must compensate their employees for overtime work they perform over 10 hours during a workday and 40 hours during a workweek.

Executive, Administrative, Professional Employee Exemptions

Executive, administrative and professional (EAP) employees are exempt from the state’s overtime pay requirements if:

• Their job duties match the descriptions in the table below; and
• They earn a monthly salary equivalent to no less than two times the state minimum wage for full-time employment. Full-time employment means 40 hours per week as defined in Labor Code Section 515(c).

The table below provides the salary threshold EAP employees must satisfy to qualify for the exemption.

Executive Employee Duties Test

A person employed in an executive capacity means any employee:

• Whose duties and responsibilities involve the management of the enterprise in which he or she is employed or of a customarily recognized department or subdivision thereof; and
• Who customarily and regularly directs the work of two or more other employees therein; and
• Who has the authority to hire or fire other employees or whose suggestions and recommendations as to the hiring or firing and as to the advancement and promotion or any other change of status of other employees will be given particular weight; and
• Who customarily and regularly exercises discretion and independent judgment; and
• Who is primarily engaged in duties, which meet the test of the exemption.

Administrative Employee Duties Test

A person employed in an administrative capacity means any employee:

• Whose duties and responsibilities involve either:
  1. The performance of office or non-manual work directly related to management policies or general business operations of his or her employer or his or her employer's customers, or
  2. The performance of functions in the administration of a school system, or educational establishment or institution, or of a department or subdivision thereof, in work directly related to the academic instruction or training carried on therein;
• Who customarily and regularly exercised discretion and independent judgment;
• Who regularly and directly assists a proprietor, or an employee employed in a bona fide executive or administrative capacity,
• Who performs, under only general supervision, work along specialized or technical lines requiring special training, experience, or knowledge,
• Who executes, under only general supervision, special assignments and tasks,
• Who is primarily engaged in duties which meet the test for the exemption.

Professional Employee Duties Test

A person employed in a professional capacity means any employee who meets all of the following requirements:

• Who is licensed or certified by the State of California and is primarily engaged in the practice of one of the following recognized professions: law, medicine, dentistry, optometry, architecture, engineering, teaching, or accounting, or
• Who is primarily engaged in an occupation commonly recognized as a learned or artistic profession. "Learned or artistic profession" means an employee who is primarily engaged in the performance of:
  1. Work requiring knowledge of an advance type in a field or science or learning customarily acquired by a prolonged course of specialized intellectual instruction and study, as distinguished from a general academic education and from an apprenticeship, and from training in the performance of routine mental, manual, or physical processes, or work that is an essential part of or necessarily incident to any of the above work; or
  2. Work that is original and creative in character in a recognized field of artistic endeavor (as opposed to work which can be produced by a person endowed with general manual or intellectual ability and training), and the result of which depends primarily on the invention, imagination, or talent of the employee or work that is an essential part of or necessarily incident to any of the above work; and
  3. Whose work is predominantly intellectual and varied in character (as opposed to routine mental, manual, mechanical, or physical work) and is of such character that the output produced or the result accomplished cannot be standardized in relation to a given period of time.
• Who customarily and regularly exercised discretion an independent judgment in the performance of duties set forth above.

Computer Software Employee Exemption

An employee in the computer software field who is paid on an hourly basis shall be exempt under the professional exemption, if all of the following apply:

• The employee is primarily engaged in work that is intellectual or creative and requires the exercise of discretion and independent judgment;
• The employee is primarily engaged in duties that consist of one or more of the following:
  1. The application of systems analysis techniques and procedures, including consulting with users, to determine hardware, software, or system functional specifications;
  2. The design, development, documentation, analysis, creation, testing, or modification of computer systems or programs, including prototypes, based on and related to, user or system design specifications; or
  3. The documentation, testing, creation, or modification of computer programs related to the design of software or hardware for computer operating systems;
• The employee is highly skilled and is proficient in the theoretical and practical application of highly specialized information to computer systems analysis, programming, and software engineering (a job title shall not be determinative of the applicability of the exemption;
• The employee’s hourly rate of pay is not less than the applicable salary level (see table below).  The DIR adjusts this pay rate on Oct. 1 of each year to be effective on Jan. 1 of the following year by an amount equal to the percentage increase in the California Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers.

  Effective date	Jan. 1, 2020	Jan. 1, 2021	Jan. 1, 2022	Jan. 1, 2023	Jan. 1, 2024
  Hourly Rate	$46.55	$47.48	$50	$53.80	$55.58
  Monthly Salary	$8,080.71	$8,242.32	$8,679.16	$9,338.78	$9,646.96
  Annual Salary	$96,968.33	$98,907.70	$104,149.81	$112,065.20	$115,763.35

However, the exemption described above does not apply to an employee if any of the following apply:

• The employee is a trainee or employee in an entry-level position who is learning to become proficient in the theoretical and practical application of highly specialized information to computer systems analysis, programming, and software engineering.
• The employee is in a computer-related occupation but has not attained the level of skill and expertise necessary to work independently and without close supervision.
• The employee is engaged in the operation of computers or in the manufacture, repair, or maintenance of computer hardware and related equipment.
• The employee is an engineer, drafter, machinist, or other professional whose work is highly dependent upon or facilitated by the use of computers and computer software programs and who is skilled in computer-aided design software, including CAD/CAM, but who is not in a computer systems analysis or programming occupation.
• The employee is a writer engaged in writing material, including box labels, product descriptions, documentation, promotional material, setup and installation instructions, and other similar written information, either for print or for onscreen media or who writes or provides content material intended to be read by customers, subscribers, or visitors to computer-related media such as the World Wide Web or CD-ROMS.
• The employee is engaged in any of the activities set forth in nos. 1 through 4 above for the purpose of creating imagery for effect used in the motion picture, television, or theatrical industry.

Overtime Exemption for Licensed Physicians and Surgeons

California law exempts licensed physicians and surgeons from overtime requirements if certain conditions are met. One of the criteria is that these individuals’ hourly rate of pay is at least equal to the wage threshold listed below.

The Department of Industrial Relations is responsible for adjusting this pay rate on Oct. 1 of each year to be effective on Jan. 1 of the following year by an amount equal to the percentage increase in the California Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers.

Effective date	Jan. 1, 2023	Jan. 1, 2024
Hourly Rate	$97.99 per hour	$101.22 per hour

More Information

Additional requirements and exceptions to the information above may apply. For more information, please contact the California Labor Commissioner's Office.

Overtime Pay in Colorado (CO)

Federal overtime wage payment requirements are governed by the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). In Colorado, these requirements are governed by the Colorado Wage Act (CWA), the Colorado Overtime and Minimum Pay Standards (COMPS) Order and Colorado’s Publication And Yearly Calculation of Adjusted Labor Compensation (PAY CALC). Under these laws, employees must receive one and one-half times their regular wage rate for all overtime hours. Under the FLSA, when both state and federal law apply, employers must comply with the law that provides the greatest benefit or protection to their employees.

The Colorado Department of Labor and Employment (CDLE) enforces these overtime requirements throughout the state. If an employee is covered by multiple federal, state, or local overtime wage rules, the requirement providing a higher wage or standard applies.

Overtime Pay

Colorado law requires employers to compensate their employees at one and one-half times their regular rate of pay for any overtime hours worked.

COMPS provides three ways to calculate overtime pay. Employers must use whichever method results in the greater payment of wages. Overtime hours are hours worked in excess of:

• 40 hours in a workweek;
• 12 hours in a workday; or
• 12 consecutive hours, regardless of the starting and ending time of the workday. 

Under Colorado law, a workweek means any consecutive set period of 168 hours starting with the same calendar day and hour each week. The hours an employee works during one workweek may not be averaged with the hours worked during any other workweek for computing overtime.

Employers that require minors to work over eight hours in a workday during certain emergencies as permitted by Colorado law, must pay those minors one and one-half times their regular rate for each hour worked in excess of 40 hours in a week.

Affected Employers

All Colorado employers are subject to COMPS, regardless of industry, unless an exemption applies. Please note that the COMPS Order specifically includes foreign labor contractors, migratory field labor contractors and crew leaders as “employers.” This inclusive approach is a departure from previous state wage orders.

Exemptions from Overtime Payment Laws

State law provides the following exemptions. To qualify for an exemption, employees must satisfy all the terms and conditions of the exemption, as outlined in the COMPS order. Overtime exemptions exist for: 

• Administrative employees
• Bona fide volunteers and work-study students
• Certain hospital and nursing home employees
• Certain salespersons and mechanics
• Commission sales employees
• Drivers (and helpers) subject to the FMCSA
• Elected officials and staff
• Employees in highly technical computer-related occupations
• Executives or supervisors
• Highly compensated employees
• Highly technical computer employees
• In-residence workers
• Medical transportation
• Outside salespersons
• Owners and proprietors
• Professional employees
• Ski industry workers
• Some agricultural workers
• Taxi cab drivers 

Salary Thresholds for Certain Exemptions

2024 PAY CALC sets the following salary thresholds for overtime exemptions. These thresholds represent one requirement employees need to satisfy to qualify for an overtime exemption.

Effective Date	Jan. 1, 2023	Jan. 1, 2024
Agricultural range workers	$559.29 per week	$590.61 per week
Executive, administrative and professional (EAP) employees	$961.54 per week ($50,000 annual equivalent)	$1,057.69 per week ($55,000 annual equivalent)
Highly technical computer employees	$ 31.41 per hour or the EAP salary above	$33.17 per hour or the EAP salary above
Highly compensated employees (weekly wage must be at least the EAP salary above)	$112,500 annually and the EAP weekly salary	$123,750 annually and the EAP weekly salary
Certain drivers and driver helpers	$750.75 per week	$793.10 per week
Certain seasonal camp or outdoor education field staff	Full minimum wage or: $373.30 per week (adults) $287.62 per week (minors) Nonprofits with up to $25 million in revenue: $277.75 per week (adults) $206.35 per week (minors)	Full minimum wage or: $405.64 per week (adults) $314.92 (minors) Nonprofits with up to $25 million in revenue: $304.70 per week (adults) $229.10 per week (minors)

Overtime Pay in Delaware (DE)

Delaware follows federal overtime payment requirements. This means that employees in the state must receive one and one-half times their regular wage rate for all hours worked over 40 in a workweek.

More Information

For more information, please visit the Delaware Department of Labor, Office of Labor Law Enforcement website. 

District of Columbia Overtime Pay

Federal overtime work and payment requirements are governed by the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). The District of Columbia also regulates overtime pay and, in some cases, prescribes more stringent or additional requirements that employers must follow. Under the FLSA, when both local and federal laws apply, employers must comply with the law that is more favorable to their employees.

The District of Columbia’s Department of Employment Services (DOES) enforces compliance with local overtime requirements.

Overtime Pay

District law requires employers to compensate their employees for overtime work at one and one-half their regular wage rate for all hours worked in excess of 40 hours during a workweek. An employee’s regular wage rate means “all remuneration for employment paid to, or on behalf of, the employee,” but excludes any items excluded by the FLSA (some extra compensation paid under sections 207(e)(5), (6), and (7) may be creditable toward overtime compensation).

Individuals are considered to “work in the District of Columbia” when:

• They regularly spend more than 50% of their working time in the district; or
• Their employment is based in the district, and they regularly spend a substantial amount of their working time in the District and no more than 50% of their working time in any particular state. 

Retail or Service Establishment Exemption

Retail or service establishment employees are exempt from this requirement if:

• They receive a regular rate of pay that is more than one and one-half the applicable minimum hourly rate; and
• More than half of their compensation for a representative period (not less than 1 month) represents commissions on goods or services.

Other Overtime Exemptions

Additional overtime exemptions in the District of Columbia apply to:

• Individuals employed in a bona fide executive, administrative, or professional capacity, or in the capacity of outside salesman (as defined by the FLSA);
• Employees engaged in the delivery of newspapers to the home of consumers;
• Volunteers engaged in the activities of an educational, charitable, religious or nonprofit organization without any expectation of payment;
• Lay member of religious organizations who are engaged in religious functions;
• Casual babysitters who are employed on an irregular or intermittent basis, and whose vocation is not babysitting;
• Individuals employed by the federal government;
• Individuals employed as seamen;
• Individuals employed by a railroad;
• Salespersons, parts persons or mechanics primarily engaged in selling or servicing automobiles, trailers or trucks, if employed by a nonmanufacturing establishment primarily engaged in the business of selling these vehicles to ultimate purchasers;
• Individuals employed by an air carrier who voluntarily exchanges workdays with another employee for the primary purpose of utilizing air travel benefits available to them;
• Individuals employed as private household workers who live on the premises of their employers; or
• Individuals employed as companions for the aged or infirm.

More Information

Please contact the District of Columbia Department of Employment Services Office of Wage and Hour Compliance for more information on the District's overtime rules. 

Florida Overtime Pay

The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) regulates minimum wage, overtime and work hour requirements for most employees. Florida law supplements federal regulations and in some instances provides more stringent requirements that employers must follow. The Florida Department of Economic Opportunity (DEO) enforces and investigates wage and hour violation claims in the state.

Regular Work Hours and Overtime Pay

Even though Florida recognizes a 10-hour day as a legal day’s work, it has adopted the 40-hour workweek (seven consecutive calendar days) as the basis to calculate overtime pay.  The hours an employee works during one workweek may not offset the hours worked in previous or future workweeks.

Overtime pay in Florida follows FLSA regulations. In general, employees are entitled to receive one and one-half times their regular wage rate for work performed during overtime hours. However, employers in Florida should be aware that the FLSA allows some exemptions for the 40-hour workweek.

More Information

Please visit the DEO website for more information.

Overtime Pay in Georgia (GA)

The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) regulates minimum wage, overtime pay and work hour requirements for most employees. Overtime pay in Georgia follows FLSA regulations. In general, employees are entitled to receive one and one-half times their regular wage rate for work performed during overtime hours.            

Georgia has also adopted FLSA regulations on work hours. The FLSA uses the 40-hour workweek (seven consecutive calendar days) as the basis to calculate overtime pay. The hours an employee works during one workweek may not offset the hours worked in previous or future workweeks.

More Information

The Georgia Department of Labor (GDOL) directs individuals to address their wage and hour concerns to the United States Department of Labor (DOL).

Overtime Pay in Hawaii (HI)

Hawaii law complements federal law and, in some cases, prescribes more stringent or additional requirements that employers must follow. Under the FLSA, whenever employers are subject to both state and federal laws, the law most favorable to the employee will apply.

The Hawaii Department of Labor and Industrial Relations (HDLIR) enforces compliance with minimum wage and overtime pay requirements throughout the state.

Overtime Pay

Employers must compensate their employees for overtime work at a rate of one and one-half times their regular rate for any work that exceeds 40 hours during a workweek. To determine overtime compensation for employees who perform two or more different kinds of work for the same employer, employers must consider the total earnings from all kinds of work as if they were earned by performing one kind of work. In general, working more than eight hours per day is not considered overtime work, except when work is performed on a State or county public works construction project.

“Salary” means “a predetermined wage, exclusive of the reasonable cost of board, lodging, or other facilities, at which an employee is employed each pay period.” The regular rate of an employee who is employed on a salary basis must be computed as follows:

• If the employee is employed on a weekly salary, the weekly salary and the reasonable cost of board, lodging, or other facilities, if furnished to the employee, must be divided by 40;
• If the employee is employed on a biweekly salary, the biweekly salary and the reasonable cost of board, lodging, or other facilities, if furnished to the employee, must be divided by two and the quotient divided by 40;
• If the employee is employed on a semi-monthly salary, the semi-monthly salary and the reasonable cost of board, lodging, or other facilities, if furnished to the employee, must be multiplied by 24, the product divided by 52 and the quotient divided by 40; and
• If the employee is employed on a monthly salary, the monthly salary and the reasonable cost of board, lodging, or other facilities, if furnished to the employee, must be multiplied by 12, the product divided by 52 and the quotient divided by 40.

If an employee's compensation and the reasonable cost of board, lodging, or other facilities, if furnished to the employee, are less than 50% of the employee's total earnings for the pay period, the total earnings must be “reduced to a regular rate as described above, except that the actual number of hours worked in the workweek shall be substituted for the final divisor of 40.”

Air Carriers

State overtime pay requirements do not apply to any overtime hours worked by employees who work for air carriers subject to title II of the Railway Labor Act if such overtime hours are the result of a voluntary agreement between employees to exchange work time or days off.

Overtime Exemption

A limited exemption applies to employers that are:

• Engaged in agriculture and in the first processing of milk, buttermilk, whey, skim milk, or cream into dairy products, or in the processing of sugar cane molasses or sugar cane into sugar (but not refined sugar) or into syrup, or in the first processing of or in canning or packing any agricultural or horticultural commodity, or in handling, slaughtering, or dressing poultry or livestock;
• Engaged in agriculture and whose agricultural products are processed by an employer who is engaged in a seasonal pursuit or in processing, canning, or packing operations; or
• At any place of employment engaged primarily in the first processing of, or in canning or packing seasonal fresh fruits.

This limited exemption for overtime compensation for hours in excess of 40 in a workweek applies for up to 20 different workweeks. Employers may select when to claim this exemption in any yearly period commencing July 1.

However, employers are required to pay overtime compensation during these exempt workweeks for any overtime work in excess of 48 hours in a workweek. Unless an extraordinary emergency applies, state law prohibits employers from scheduling their employees in split shifts unless all of the shifts within a period of 24 hours fall within a period of 14 consecutive hours.

Compensatory Time Off

Under state law, there is no provision for compensatory time off. However, the HDLIR recognizes the use of compensatory time or “comp time” in lieu of overtime if:

• The compensatory time is applicable only to employees who are on a salary;
• The employee must be allowed to take the compensatory time off within the same pay period in which the overtime is worked; and
• The compensatory time is earned at one and one-half times the number of overtime hours worked.

Overtime Pay in Idaho (ID)

Idaho follows federal overtime payment requirements. This means that employees in the state must receive one and one-half times their regular wage rate for all hours worked over 40 in a workweek.

More Information

For more information, please visit the Idaho Department of Labor website.

Overtime Pay in Iowa (IA) 

Iowa follows federal overtime payment requirements. This means that employees in the state must receive one and one-half times their regular wage rate for all hours worked over 40 in a workweek.

More Information

For more information, please visit the Iowa Division of Labor website.

Overtime Pay in Kansas (KS)

Federal overtime wage payment requirements are governed by the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). The FLSA requires employers to compensate their employees with one and one-half their regular wage rate for all hours worked in excess of 40 hours in a workweek. In Kansas, overtime wage payment requirements are governed by the Kansas Minimum Wage and Maximum Hours Law (KMWMHL).

The Kansas Department of Labor (KDOL) enforces overtime standards throughout the state.

Overtime Pay

The KMWMHL applies to individuals who are not covered by the FLSA and requires employers to compensate their employees with one and one-half times their regular wage rate for any overtime hours worked.

In Kansas, overtime hours are hours worked in excess of 46 hours in a workweek. The hours an employee works during one workweek cannot be averaged with the hours worked on any other workweek. To determine the number of hours an employee works during a workweek, the employer must consider any time during which the employee was subject to the employer’s control. Usually, hours of work includes any time the employee is:

• Allowed to work (regardless of whether he or she is required to work);
• Waiting for a job assignment;
• Waiting to begin work;
• Cleaning or performing other “off the clock” duties; and
• Traveling under the request, control or direction of the employer (excluding normal commuting time to and from work).

White-collar Exemptions

State law allows overtime exemptions for individuals employed in a bona fide executive, administrative, supervisory or professional capacity, also known as ‘white-collar exemptions. These exemptions also apply to individuals working in outside sales or outside collections.

Salary Level

To qualify as an exempt executive, administrative, professional or supervisory employee, an employee must be compensated on a salary basis at a rate of not less than $684 per week, exclusive of board, lodging or other facilities. Administrative and professional employees may also be paid on a fee basis. 

The $684 weekly salary threshold may be translated into equivalent amounts for periods longer than one week. For example, the biweekly salary basis must be at least $1,368, the semimonthly salary basis must be at least $1,482 and the monthly salary basis must be at least $2,964. However, the threshold cannot be broken down into smaller compensation periods. 

For academic administrative employees, the compensation requirement may be met by compensation on a salary basis at a rate at least equal to the entrance salary for teachers in the educational establishment by which the employee is employed.

For computer employees, the compensation requirement also may be met by compensation on an hourly basis at a rate not less than $27.63 per hour.

The exception from the salary or fee requirement does not apply to pharmacists, nurses, therapists, technologists, sanitarians, dietitians, social workers, psychologists, psychometrists or other professions that service the medical profession.

The salary level does not apply to outside sales employees.

Catch-up Nondiscretionary Bonuses

Employers may pay their employees a nondiscretionary bonus of up to 10% of the salary level to ensure their employees satisfy the salary level requirement within a 52-week period. Employers may utilize any 52-week period for this purpose, such as a calendar year, fiscal year or an anniversary of hire year. If a year period is not determined in advance, the calendar year will apply. Catch-up payments made after the end of the 52-week period will count only toward the prior year’s salary amount.

An employee who does not work a full 52-week period may qualify for exemption if the employee receives a pro rata portion of the salary level based upon the number of weeks that the employee will be or has been employed. Employers may make one final catch-up payment within one pay period after the end of employment.

State law allows employers to make deductions from pay in the salary basis requirement for absences of one or more full days occasioned by sickness or disability if the deduction is made in accordance with a bona fide plan, policy or practice of providing compensation for loss of salary occasioned by both sickness and disability.

Highly Compensated Employees

Employees with total annual compensation of at least $107,432 are exempt from overtime pay if they customarily and regularly perform at least one of the exempt duties or responsibilities of an executive, administrative or professional employee.

Highly compensated employees must receive a total annual compensation that includes at least $684 per week paid on a salary or fee basis. Total annual compensation may also include commissions, nondiscretionary bonuses, and other nondiscretionary compensation earned during a 52-week period.

Total annual compensation does not include board, lodging or other facilities nor payments for medical insurance, life insurance, contributions to retirement plans or the cost of other fringe benefits.

If an employee’s total annual compensation does not meet the highly compensated salary level by the last pay period of the 52-week period, the employer may, during the last pay period or within one month after the end of the 52nd week, make a one-time “catch-up” payment sufficient to achieve the required level.

An employee who does not work a full year for the employer, either because the employee is newly hired after the beginning of the year or they end the employment before the end of the year, may qualify for this exemption if the employee receives a pro rata portion of the highly compensated salary level based upon the number of weeks that the employee will be or has been employed. An employer may make one catch-up payment within one month after the end of employment.

For this exemption, employers may use any 52-week period, such as a calendar year, a fiscal year or an anniversary of hire year. If a period is not designated, the calendar year will apply. This exemption does not apply to employees whose primary duty includes performing non-office or manual work.

Overtime Pay in Louisiana (LA)

Louisiana follows federal overtime payment requirements. This means that employees in the state must receive one and one-half times their regular wage rate for all hours worked over 40 in a workweek.

More Information

Please contact the Louisiana Workforce Commission for more information. 

Maine Overtime Rules

Unless specifically exempted, employees must receive overtime pay for hours worked in excess of 40 in a workweek at a rate not less than one and one-half times their regular rate of pay. The regular rate includes all earnings, bonuses, commissions and other compensation that is paid or due based on actual work performed and does not include any sums excluded from the definition of “regular rate” under the FLSA. Employers have the right to allow or deny overtime, but if overtime is worked, it must be paid regardless of whether it was authorized.

Finally, unless an exemption applies employers may not require their employees to work more than 80 hours of overtime in any consecutive two-week period.

White Collar Exemptions

In agreement with FLSA requirements, state law recognizes overtime pay exemptions for employees who work in a bona fide executive, administrative or professional capacity. Both state and federal law requires that these individuals satisfy these three requirements:

• Salary basis test: Employees regularly receive a predetermined amount of compensation each pay period;
• Salary level test (threshold): The salary must be at least equal than the state salary threshold;
• Duties test: Employee job duties match the duties specified by law for the executive, administrative and professional employee exemptions.

As shown in the table below, the salary level amounts are updated annually.

 

Effective Date	Jan. 1, 2022	Jan. 1, 2023	Jan. 1, 2024
Minimum Wage	$12.75	$13.80	$14.15
Weekly Overtime Exemption Threshold	$735.59	$796.17	$816.35

 

Other Exemptions

Additional overtime exemptions apply to:

• Automobile mechanics, automobile parts clerks, automobile service writers and automobile salespersons;
• Mariners;
• Public employees, except those employed by the executive or judicial branch of the state;
• The canning, processing, preserving, freezing, drying, marketing, storing, packing for shipment or distributing of:
  • Agricultural produce;
  • Meat and fish products; and
  • Perishable foods.
• Individuals employed, directly or indirectly, for or at an egg processing facility that has over 300,000 laying birds must be paid overtime in accordance with this subsection;
• Drivers or driver's helpers who are not paid hourly and are subject to the provisions of federal transportation overtime laws; and
• Public employees employed by the executive or judicial branch of the state engaged in fire protection activities, as defined and covered by federal law.

More Information 

Please contact the Maine Department of Labor's Wage and Hour Division for more information about Maine's overtime wage payment requirements. 

Overtime Pay in Maryland (MD)  

The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) regulates federal work hour and overtime payment requirements. Under the FLSA, employees must receive one and one-half times their regular wage rate for all hours worked over 40 hours in a workweek. For the most part, Maryland has adopted federal regulations as state standards. However, in some instances, Maryland law provides additional requirements that employers must follow.

The Division of Labor and Industry (DLI) of the Maryland Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation enforces overtime wage standards and investigates wage violation claims throughout the state.

Overtime Pay

Maryland has adopted the 40-hour workweek (seven consecutive calendar days) as the regular work period and the basis to calculate an employee’s overtime pay. Employees that work over 40 hours in one week are entitled to receive one and one-half times their regular wage rate for all hours worked over 40. The hours an employee works during one workweek may not offset the hours worked in previous or future workweeks.

Regular Wage Rate

Employers must calculate their employees’ regular rate before they can determine applicable overtime wages. An employee’s regular rate can vary from week to week and may be different from the employee’s contractual rate of pay. To calculate an employee’s regular rate for a specific work period, employers must divide the employee’s entire compensation for a period by the number of hours the employee worked during that period.

In Maryland, an employee’s entire compensation includes bonuses, commissions, fringe benefits, overtime wages and any other compensation due to an employee for his or her service. Compensation may also include board, lodging and other benefits provided to an employee if these benefits are customarily provided to employees. These benefits must be reported only for the cost that they represent to the employer, in compliance with any limits set by the DLI.

Regular Work Hours

Maryland generally recognizes the 40-hour workweek for most employees. However, Maryland also allows extended workweeks for employees in certain industries.

• 48-hour workweek: Employees working for a bowling establishment and employees that work and reside at a facility that provides care for the aged, intellectually disabled and sick (if the institution is not a hospital) are exempt from the 40-hour workweek standard. These individuals are eligible to receive overtime pay for all hours worked over 48 hours during a workweek.
• 60-hour workweek: In Maryland, agricultural employees exempt from federal overtime regulations are entitled to receive overtime compensation for hours worked over a 60-hour workweek, unless they are subject to an overtime wage exception under the Maryland Wage and Hour Law.

More Information

Please contact the DLI website for more information. 

Overtime Pay in Massachusetts (MA) 

Federal overtime wage law is covered by the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). Under the FLSA, employees must receive one and one-half times their regular wage rate for all hours worked in excess of 40 in a workweek. The Massachusetts Minimum Fair Wage Law (MFWL) also regulates overtime wage rates and sometimes imposes more stringent requirements that employers in the state must follow.

The Department of Labor Standards (DOLS), which is part of the Massachusetts Labor and Workforce Development (LWD), enforces the MFWL and investigates overtime wage violation claims in the state.

Overtime wages

Under the MFWL, individuals who work more than 40 hours in a workweek are entitled to receive wages equivalent to one and one-half times their regular wage rate.

To determine an employee’s regular wage rate, an employer must divide the employee’s compensation for a workweek by the number of hours the employee worked during that workweek. An employee’s regular rate may vary from week to week and may be different from the employee’s contractual rate of pay.

An employee’s compensation for a workweek includes all forms of compensation given for employment (before any deductions are made), whether paid directly to or on behalf of the employee. However, this term excludes commissions, drawing accounts, bonuses and other incentive payments based on sales or production.

Retail Employees

Retail employees are entitled to receive one and one-half their regular wage rate for the hours they work on Sundays and holidays. However, when calculating a retail employee’s regular wage rate, the employer may exclude any overtime compensation received during the pay period, unless prohibited by a collective bargaining agreement.

Tipped Employees

Unless an exemption applies, tipped employees are entitled to receive overtime wages. A tipped employee’s overtime wages must be at least equivalent to one and one-half times the minimum wage rate.

Mandatory Overtime for Nurses

State law prohibits hospitals to require their nurses to work mandatory overtime, except of emergency situations where:

• The safety of the patient requires it; and
• There is no reasonable alternative.

In this context, “mandatory overtime” means any hours worked by a nurse in a hospital setting to deliver patient care, beyond the predetermined and regularly scheduled number of hours agreed upon by the hospital and nurse. However, state law also prohibits predetermined and regularly scheduled shifts to exceed 12 hours in any 24-hour period.

During emergency situations, hospitals must make a good faith effort to request nurses to voluntarily work overtime before imposing mandatory overtime work. Mandatory overtime work cannot be used as a practice for providing appropriate staffing for the level of patient care required.

Massachusetts requires hospitals to report all instances of mandatory overtime and the circumstances requiring its use to the Department of Public Health. These reports are considered public documents.

Under no circumstances can a nurse be allowed to exceed 16 consecutive hours worked in a 24-hour period. In the event a nurse works 16 consecutive hours, that nurse must be given at least eight consecutive hours of off-duty time immediately after the worked overtime.

However, these requirements must not be construed to limit, alter or modify the terms, conditions or provisions of a collective bargaining agreement entered into by a hospital and a labor organization.

Exemptions from Overtime Payment Laws

Minnesota’s overtime wage laws do not apply to:

• Individuals covered by the FLSA’s 40-hour workweek overtime regulations;
• Individuals working under a collective bargaining agreement that meets FLSA requirements;
• Sugar beet hand laborers paid on a piece rate basis (their regular rate must be at least 40 cents higher than the state minimum wage rate);
• Individuals who work in construction of on-farm silos or installation of appurtenant equipment on a unit or piece rate basis (their regular rate must be higher than the state minimum wage rate);
• Sales, parts or mechanic personnel who primarily sell or service automobiles, trailers, trucks or farm implements (must also be paid on a commission or incentive basis if employed by a nonmanufacturing establishment that primarily sells the vehicles to ultimate purchasers)
• Air carrier employees subject to the Railway Labor Act (when overtime hours were not required but were voluntarily agreed on and traded for subsequent scheduled hours); or
• The time employees spend in ride-sharing arrangements (transportation that is incidental to another purpose of the driver)

Health Care Exception

Employers that operate a health care facility can calculate an employee’s overtime wages using a 14-day work period instead of the standard 7-day workweek if:

• The employer and employee agree, before the employee is required to work overtime, to the 14-day period; and
• The employee is compensated for overtime work over 80 hours during the 14-day period and over eight hours per workday.

Nurse Exception

Employers can require nurses to work overtime during an emergency. An emergency is a period when replacement staff is not able to report for duty for the next shift or there is an increased need for patient care because of unusual, unpredictable or unforeseen circumstance (such as an act of terrorism, a disease outbreak, adverse weather conditions or a natural disaster impacting continuity of patient care).

In the absence of an emergency, employers cannot take adverse action against a nurse that refuses to work overtime hours if, in the nurse’s best judgment, overtime work would jeopardize patient safety. Adverse action may include discharging, disciplining, threatening, reporting to the Board of Nursing, discriminating against or penalizing the nurse regarding compensation, work location assignment, or terms, conditions or privileges of employment.

Overtime Rates in Mississippi (MS) 

Mississippi follows federal overtime payment requirements. This means that employees in the state must receive one and one-half times their regular wage rate for all hours worked over 40 in a workweek.

More Information

For more information please visit the Mississippi Department of Employment Security

Exceptions to Overtime Payment Laws

The following categories of employees are exempt from overtime laws:

• Agricultural workers;
• Amusement and recreational business employees (overtime is required for hours worked over 52 in a workweek);
• Employees exempt from overtime wage payment requirements under the FLSA;
• Bona fide executive, administrative or professional employees;
• Volunteers engaged in activities for educational, charitable, religious or nonprofit organizations;
• Foster parents;
• Individuals who work for less than four months in a resident or day camp for youth;
• Individuals who work for an educational conference center operated by an educational, charitable or nonprofit organization;
• Individuals working for an educational organization who receive tuition, housing and assistance with other educational fees in lieu of payment;
• Domestic employees who occasionally work on or about a private residence for up to six hours on each occasion;
• Disabled individuals working for sheltered workshops that are certified by the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education;
• Casual babysitters;
• Employees subject to Part A (Rail) of Federal Interstate Transportation laws;
• Casual or intermittent golf caddies, newsboys and individuals in similar occupations;
• Individuals paid on commission (in whole or in part) whose hours and place of employment are not substantially controlled by the employer;
• Government employees;
• Employees working for service or retail businesses with less than $500,000 in annual gross sales;
• Inmates in correctional facilities; and
• Any individual employed in connection with the publication of any weekly, semiweekly or daily newspaper with a circulation of fewer than 4,000 within the county or counties contiguous to where the paper is published.

Overtime Pay in Montana (MT)

Unless exempt from state overtime provisions, employees must be paid at a rate of one and one-half their regular rate for all hours worked over 40 per week. Employees who perform different types of work for which they receive varying rates of pay must be paid overtime at a weighted average hourly rate.

More Information

Please contact the Montana Department of Labor and Industry for more information

Overtime Pay in Nebraska (NE)

More Information

For more information please visit the Nebraska Department of Labor website. 

Overtime Pay in New Hampshire

New Hampshire follows federal overtime payment requirements. This means that employees in the state must receive one and one-half times their regular wage rate for all hours worked over 40 in a workweek.

More Information

For more information, please visit the New Hampshire Department of Labor website. 

Overtime Work and Payment Requirements in New Jersey (NJ)

Federal overtime wage payment laws are governed by the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). In New Jersey, these requirements are governed by the New Jersey State Wage and Hour Law (NJWHL). Under both laws, employees must receive one and one-half times their average hourly wage for all hours worked in excess of 40 hours in a workweek. The New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development (LWD) enforces compliance with overtime requirements throughout the state.

Overtime Pay

The NJWHL requires employers to compensate their employees one and one-half times their average wage rate for any hours worked in excess of 40 hours in a workweek.

Overtime wages may not be offset by allowances for the value of food, lodging or gratuities. However, skilled mechanics may receive one and one-half times their contractual rate of pay, instead of their average wage rate, if they work for nonmanufacturing employers engaged in the business of selling new or used motor vehicles and the employee’s contractual rate of pay is at least equal to the minimum wage rate.

Mandatory Overtime for Health Care Facilities

Health care facilities cannot require employees involved in direct patient care activities or clinical services to work more than their predetermined and regularly scheduled daily work shift, not can they require these employees to work more than 40 hours per week. Overtime work for employees involved in direct patient care activities or clinical services must be strictly voluntary.

“Health care facility” means “a health care facility licensed by the Department of Health and Senior Services, including state or county psychiatric hospitals, state developmental centers and health care service firms registered by the Division of Consumer Affairs in the Department of Law and Public Safety.”

“Direct patient care activities” or “clinical services” means “activities/services in which an employee provides direct service to patient/residents in a clinical setting, including the emergency department, inpatient bedside, operating room, other clinical specialty treatment area, or, in the case of a patient served by a home health care agency or health service firm, the individual's home.”

Employers cannot discriminate, dismiss, discharge or in any other way penalize employees who refuse to work overtime.

Finally, employers cannot construe on-call time as a substitute for mandatory overtime. “On-call time” means “time spent by an employee who is not currently working on the premises of the place of employment, but who is compensated for availability, or as a condition of employment has agreed to be available, to return to the premises of the place of employment on short notice if the need arises.”

Emergency Exception

During unforeseeable emergent circumstances, employers may require overtime work if:

• Overtime work is required only as a last resort, and is not used to fill vacancies resulting from chronic short staffing; and
• Employers have exhausted reasonable efforts to obtain staffing (this requirement does not apply in the event of any declared national, state or municipal emergency or a disaster or other catastrophic event which substantially affects or increases the need for health care services or causes the facility to activate its emergency or disaster plan).

“Reasonable efforts” means that employers:

1. Seek persons who volunteer to work extra time from all available qualified staff who are working at the time of the unforeseeable emergent circumstance;
2. Contact all qualified employees who have made themselves available to work extra time;
3. Seek the use of qualified per diem staff; and
4. Seek qualified personnel from a contracted temporary agency when such staff is permitted by law, regulation or applicable collective bargaining agreements.

“Unforeseeable emergent circumstance” means “an unpredictable or unavoidable occurrence at unscheduled intervals relating to health care delivery that requires immediate action.”

Employers that impose mandatory overtime work must also provide their employees with up to one hour on or off the facility's premises to arrange for the care of their minor children, or elderly or disabled family members.

Exempt Employees

Mandatory overtime for health care facility requirements do not apply to:

• Physicians;
• Volunteers;
• Employees who volunteer to work overtime;
• Licensed assisted living facility employees who receive room and board as a benefit of employment and reside at the facility on a full-time basis;
• Employees who assume on-call duty;
• Employees participating in a surgical or therapeutic interventional procedure that is in progress, when it would be detrimental to the patient if the employee left (in the case of elective procedures, the rules do apply if the procedure was scheduled such that the length of time ordinarily required to complete the procedure would exceed the end of the employee's scheduled shift); and
• Employees not involved in direct patient care activities or clinical services.

Policies, Training and Recordkeeping

Affected facilities must develop, revise as necessary and implement policies and procedures to train and educate their staff on mandatory overtime. These policies and procedures must include mandatory educational programs that address at a minimum:

• The conditions under which an employer can require mandatory overtime;
• Overtime procedures;
• Employee rights; and
• Complaint procedures.

Affected facilities must also establish a staffing plan designed to facilitate compliance with mandatory overtime requirements. Staffing plans must include procedures to provide for replacement staff in the event of sickness, vacations, vacancies and other employee absences. These plans must be made available upon request to the Department of Labor or the state agency that licenses the facility.

Lastly, affected facilities must also establish a system for keeping records of circumstances where employees are required to work in excess of an agreed-to, predetermined and regularly scheduled daily work shift, or in excess of 40 hours per week. These records must include, but are not limited to:

• The employee's name and job title;
• The name of the employee's work area or unit;
• The date the overtime was worked, including start time;
• The number of hours of overtime mandated;
• The employee's daily work schedule for any week in which the employee is required to work excess time;
• The reason why the overtime was necessary;
• A description of the reasonable efforts that were exhausted prior to requiring overtime, including:
  1. The names of employees contacted to work voluntary overtime;
  2. A description of efforts to secure per diem staff; and
  3. A list of the temporary agencies contacted; and
• The signature of the individual authorizing the required mandatory overtime.

These records must be kept for at least two years.

Employers must provide their employees with a copy of this documentation when they are required to work overtime. However, this employee copy should indicate the total number, rather than the names, of employees contacted to voluntarily work overtime.

Finally, state law also requires employers to post in a conspicuous place a notice prepared by the New Jersey Department of Labor concerning New Jersey Mandatory Overtime Restrictions for Health Care Facilities.

Air-carrier Employees: Time Off in Lieu of Overtime Pay  

Air-carrier employees may request compensatory time off instead of receiving overtime pay. To qualify for this option, an employee must request the additional time off and the employer must determine that:

• The workload permits the employee’s absence; or
• Additional time off is taken within a period that does not cause excessive obstruction to the employer’s operations.

Air carrier employers that grant this request are no longer liable to their employees for overtime wages. However, employers may not require, force or coerce their employees to take this option. An air carrier is an employer that holds a certificate of public convenience and necessity issued by the Civil Aeronautics Board. An air-carrier employee is an individual working for an air carrier that operates seven days a week, 24 hours a day.

More Information

Please contact the Division of Wage and Hour Compliance for more information.  

New York Overtime Pay

New York law requires employers to compensate their employees with one and one-half times their regular wage rate for any overtime hours worked. Overtime hours are hours worked in excess of 40 hours in a workweek. The hours an employee works during one workweek cannot be averaged with the hours worked on any other workweek.

Employers must compensate their employees for all hours of work. To determine the number of hours an employee works during a workweek, the employer must consider any time during which the employee was subject to the employer’s control. This includes any time the employee is:

• Allowed to work (regardless of whether he or she is required to work);
• Waiting for a job assignment;
• Waiting to begin work;
• Cleaning or performing other “off-the-clock” duties; and
• Traveling under the request, control or direction of the employer (excluding normal commuting time to and from work).

However, compensable time for residential employees does not include any time the employee is sleeping or is free to leave the employer’s premises, even if he or she is required to be on call during this time. A residential employee is an employee that lives on the employer’s premises. Additional requirements may apply to compensable time for meal periods and sleep times that are excluded from hours worked under the FLSA.

Executive, Administrative and Professional Employee Exemptions

New York’s wage orders dictate the salary threshold that executive and administrative employees need to meet to qualify for an overtime exemption. The salary threshold for executive and administrative employees depends on the employer’s location. Employers are encouraged to visit the NYSDOL website and use the following answers to frequently asked questions.

• $1,125 per week ($58,500 per year) for exempt employees in New York City, Nassau, Suffolk and Westchester;
• $1.064.25 per week ($55,341 per year) for exempt employees in the rest of the state.

Farm Workers

On Feb. 22, 2023, the New York State Department of Labor (NYDOL) published amendments to the state’s overtime regulations for farm workers. These amendments incorporate the Farm Labor Wage Board recommendation to reduce the overtime threshold for farm workers from 60 to 40 hours per week.

The overtime threshold determines how many hours farm workers need to work before they qualify for overtime pay. The amendments specify that the overtime threshold for farm workers will be reduced to 40 hours per week over a 10-year period. Employers will need to compensate their farm workers for overtime at a wage of at least 1.5 times their regular rate of pay if they work more than the following number of hours in one workweek: 

• 56 hours on or after Jan.  1, 2024;
• 52 hours on or after Jan.  1, 2026;
• 48 hours on or after Jan.  1, 2028;
• 44 hours on or after Jan.  1, 2030; 
• 40 hours on or after Jan.  1, 2032. 

The NYDOL is not authorizing any exceptions to these requirements at this time.

Prohibition on Mandatory Overtime for Nurses

Employers cannot require nurses to work overtime. For this purpose, employers must consider on-call time as regular work time. If an exception applies and employers can require nurses to work overtime, employers may not use on-call time as a substitute for mandatory overtime. Employers can impose mandatory overtime on nurses during:

• A health care disaster (natural or other type of unexpected disaster affecting the county or contiguous county where the nurse is employed);
• A government-declared state of emergency;
• A patient care emergency (an unforeseen situation requiring the presence of the nurse to provide safe patient care); or
• An ongoing medical or surgical procedure.

Spread of Hours for Restaurant and Hotel Employees

Restaurants and all-year hotel employees with a spread of hours greater than 10 are entitled to receive one additional hour of pay at the basic minimum hourly wage rate. This additional hour of pay cannot be offset by wage allowances such as meals or lodging credits, and need not be included when calculating an employee’s regular wage rate for overtime pay purposes.

The spread of hours is the length of the interval between the beginning and the end of an employee’s workday, including work time, meal breaks and rest periods.

More Information 

Additional requirements and exceptions to the information above may apply. For more information, please contact the New York Department of Labor.

Overtime Pay in North Carolina (NC)

Regular Work Hours

North Carolina recognizes the 40-hour workweek (seven consecutive calendar days) as the regular work period and the basis to calculate overtime pay. The hours an employee works during one workweek may not offset the hours worked in previous or future workweeks.

Overtime Pay

North Carolina requires employers to pay their employees one and one-half times their regular rate for the time they work over 40 hours during a workweek. An employee’s regular rate is a per hour rate of compensation that can vary from week to week. This rate may be different from the employee’s contractual rate of pay.

A special provision allows seasonal amusement and recreational establishments to pay their employees one and one-half times their regular rate for work over 45 hours during a workweek.

More Information

For more information on overtime pay in North Carolina visit the state's Department of Labor website. 

Ohio Overtime Pay

Federal overtime wage law is governed by the federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). In Ohio, overtime requirements are also covered by the Minimum Fair Wage Standards (MFWS).

The Ohio Department of Commerce  Bureau of Wage & Hour (ODOC), enforces overtime standards throughout the state.

Overtime Pay

Under both federal and state law, private employers must pay their employees one and one-half times their regular wage rate for all hours worked in excess of 40 hours during a workweek. However, state law applies to employers that gross at least $150,000 per year. Nevertheless, Ohio’s overtime pay calculation method follows the provisions, methods and exceptions prescribed by the FLSA.

Public employees may elect to receive one and one-half times compensatory time off for any hours worked overtime. In addition, county organizations can submit an alternative method for calculating overtime wage payment to the ODOC for approval. If the proposal is accepted, the county organization is exempt from overtime regulations to the degree that their new policy deviates from Ohio standards. County organizations must provide each employee a written notice of the alternative policy at least 10 days before it becomes effective. 

Regular Wage Rate

Employers must calculate their employees’ regular rate to determine applicable overtime wages. An employee’s regular rate can vary from week to week and may be different from the employee’s contractual rate of pay. To calculate an employee’s regular rate for a specific work period, employers must divide the employee’s entire compensation for a workweek by the number of hours the employee worked during that period.

An employee’s entire compensation generally includes commissions and the reasonable costs of room and board (if customarily provided by the employer to the employees and not excluded by contract or collective bargaining agreement). Gratuities, unless specifically allowed by the ODOC, are not part of an employee’s entire compensation.

Incorporated Portal-to-Portal Act Provisions

Ohio has officially incorporated provisions of the federal Portal-to-Portal Act into state law. The Portal-to-Portal Act complements the FLSA and provides that employers are not required to compensate employees for time they spend on activities that take place before or after their principal activities.

The provisions incorporated into state law (Sections 2 and 4 of the Portal-to-Portal Act) indicate that employers are not required to pay overtime for time employees spend: 

• Walking, riding or traveling to and from where they perform their principal employment activities;
• Performing activities that are preliminary to or postliminary to their principal employment activities; or
• Performing activities requiring insubstantial or insignificant periods of time beyond their scheduled working hours. 

However, exceptions to the list above apply if employees:

• Engage in the activities during the regular workday or prescribed hours or at the specific direction of their employer;
• Perform the activities pursuant to an express provision of a contract with the employer; or
• Perform the activities pursuant to a custom or practice applicable to where the employee works and the custom or practice is not inconsistent with a contract.

More Information

Please contact the Ohio Department of Commerce, Bureau of Wage & Hour Administration for more information.

Overtime Pay in Oklahoma (OK)

Oklahoma law has adopted federal standards regarding the payment of overtime wages. This means that, in Oklahoma, employers must compensate their employees with one and one-half times their regular wage rate for all overtime hours worked.

Overtime Pay

“Overtime hours” are hours worked in excess of 40 hours in a workweek. The hours an employee works during one workweek cannot be averaged with the hours worked on any other workweek.

An employee’s regular rate is the actual rate of pay he or she receives for a standard, non-overtime workweek. Employers must calculate their employees’ regular rate before they can determine applicable overtime wages. An employee’s regular rate can vary from week to week and may be different from the employee’s contractual rate of pay. To calculate an employee’s regular rate for a specific work period, employers must divide the employee’s entire compensation for a workweek by the number of hours the employee worked during that period. An employee’s entire compensation is all compensation paid to the employee. Usually, “entire compensation” includes the employee’s hourly rate, shift differential, minimum wage tip credit, non-discretionary bonuses, production bonuses and commissions, but does not include:

• Reimbursements for business expenses;
• Bona fide gifts;
• Discretionary bonuses;
• Employer investment contributions; and
• Payment for non-working hours (for example: pay for vacation, sick leave or jury duty).

A workweek in Oklahoma is a fixed period of 168 hours, or seven consecutive 24-hour days. The workweek can begin on any day of the week and at any hour of the day, without coinciding with a calendar week.

To determine the number of hours an employee works during a workweek, the employer must consider any time during which the employee was subject to the employer’s control. This includes any time the employee is:

• Allowed to work (regardless of whether he or she is required to work);
• Waiting for a job assignment;
• Waiting to begin work;
• Cleaning or performing other “off the clock” duties; and
• Traveling under the request, control or direction of the employer (excluding normal commuting time to and from work).

More Information

Please visit the Oklahoma Department of Labor website for more information. 

Overtime Pay in Oregon (OR)

Oregon overtime laws apply to most private employers in the state. However, special overtime rules apply to government agencies, public works projects, hospitals, canneries and manufacturing establishments (including legislation on bakeries and tortilla factories) and some agricultural employers. 

Overtime Rate

Unless an exemption applies, Oregon requires private employers to pay one and one-half times the regular rate of pay for any employee who works over 40 hours during a workweek. 

Overtime exemptions include: 

• Employees working in an executive, administrative, or professional capacity;
• Outside salespersons;
• Taxicab drivers; and
• Certain farm workers.

Finally, some employers must pay overtime on a daily basis after certain employees work 10 hours in one day, including piecework employees, canners, dryers, and packers not working on farms.

Agriculture

"Agriculture" includes farming in all its branches and among other things includes the cultivation and tillage of the soil, dairying, the production, cultivation, growing, and harvesting of any agricultural or horticultural commodities, the raising of livestock, bees, fur-bearing animals, or poultry and any practices performed by a farmer or on a farm as an incident to or in conjunction with such farming operations, including preparation for market, delivery to storage or to market or to carriers for transportation to market.

"Agricultural employment" is employment in "agriculture” and an "agricultural worker" is an individual who performs services in agriculture for an employer in exchange for an agreed remuneration or rate of pay.

As of Jan. 1, 2023, employers are required to pay overtime to agricultural workers after they work 55 hours in one workweek. There are some situations where an employer may be exempt from paying overtime and minimum wage.

The number of hours agricultural workers must work before being entitled to overtime compensation will be reduced until it matches the 40-hour workweek, as shown in the table below.

Effective date	Jan. 1, 2023	Jan. 1, 2025	Jan. 1, 2027
Overtime workweek threshold	55 hours per week	48 hours per week	40 hours per week

However, overtime compensation requirements for agricultural workers do not apply to:

• Members of an employer's immediate family.
• Local hand harvest or pruning workers who are paid piece rate and who worked fewer than 13 weeks during the previous calendar year.
• Migrant hand harvest workers 16 or younger who are paid the same piece rate as workers over 16.
• Workers mainly engaged in the range production of livestock.
• Harvest and pruning workers who are paid piece rate and work for an employer who did not exceed 500 piece-rate workdays of agricultural labor in any quarter of the previous calendar year. A piece-rate workday accrues for each day an employee performs piece-rate agricultural labor for at least one hour.
• Any individual employed in agriculture whose principal duties are administrative, executive or professional work and who: perform predominantly intellectual, managerial or creative tasks; exercise discretion and independent judgment; and earn a salary and are paid on a salary basis.

Manufacturing and Canneries

A “manufacturing establishment” means an establishment engaged in manufacturing. “Manufacturing” means the process of using machinery to transform materials, substances or components into new products.

Employees of mills, factories, and manufacturing establishments may earn overtime on a daily (if they work more than 10 hours that day) or weekly basis (if they work more than 40 hours that week). Employers must use whichever method yields the greatest compensation for their employees. This means that when employees who have worked daily overtime (over 10 hours in a day) have also worked more than 40 hours in the workweek, employers must calculate overtime wages earned for hours worked on both a daily basis and a weekly basis and then pay the greater of the two.

Domestic Service

“Domestic service” means services related to the care of persons in private homes or the maintenance of private homes or their premises. “Domestic worker” means an individual who works in the home of another person for the purpose of caring for a child, doing housekeeping or providing other domestic service and who is not compensated with public funds for the work performed.

With a few exemptions for casual workers and companions to the elderly or disabled, most domestic service workers are entitled to at least federal minimum wage and overtime. State law requires employers to pay domestic workers overtime at a rate of one and one-half their regular wage rate for working more than:

• 40 hours during a workweek; or
• 44 hours during a workweek if the domestic worker lives in the home of the employer.

More Information

Please contact the Oregon Bureau of Labor and Industries for more information. 

Pennsylvania Overtime Pay Requirements

Federal overtime wage law is covered by the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). In Pennsylvania, overtime pay requirements are also governed by the Pennsylvania Minimum Wage Act (PMWA). Under both laws, employees must receive one and one-half times their regular wage rate for all hours worked in excess of 40 hours in a workweek.

The Bureau of Labor Law Compliance, part of the Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industry (DLI), enforces overtime standards throughout the state.

Overtime Pay

The PMWA requires employers to compensate their employees with one and one-half times their regular wage rate for any overtime hours worked.

Overtime hours are hours worked in excess of 40 hours in a workweek. A workweek consists of seven consecutive days starting on any day selected by the employer. The hours an employee works during one workweek cannot be used to offset the hours he or she works in previous or future workweeks.

The regular rate of pay is the actual rate of pay an employee receives for a standard, non-overtime workweek. Employers must calculate their employees’ regular wage rates before they can determine applicable overtime wages. An employee’s regular wage rate can vary from week to week and may be different from the employee’s contractual rate of pay.

Exemption for Executive, Administrative and Professional Employees

The PMWA allows an overtime exemption for bona fide executive, administrative and or professional (EAP) employees. The exemption includes:

• Academic administrative personnel and teachers in elementary or secondary schools;
• Outside sales personnel; and
• Retail employees that devote at least 60 percent of their time in the performance of executive administrative activities.

Click here for a comprehensive list of exemptions (see pages 2-3).

Calculating the Regular Rate of Pay

To calculate an employee’s regular rate for a specific work period, employers must divide the employee’s entire compensation for a workweek by the number of hours the employee worked during that period.

An employee’s entire compensation includes all remuneration for employment paid to or on behalf of the employee. This includes the employee’s wages, bonuses, tips and commissions.

An employee’s compensation excludes:

• Sums paid as gifts, including special occasion payments made as a reward for service if the payment is not measured by (or dependent on) hours worked, production or efficiency;
• Vacation, holiday or sick pay;
• Payments for times when the employer fails to provide sufficient work;
• Reasonable reimbursements for traveling expenses or other expenses incurred by an employee in the furtherance of the employer's interests;
• Discretionary bonuses;
• Payments made under a bona fide profit-sharing plan or trust or bona fide thrift or savings plan without regard to hours of work, production or efficiency;
• Talent fees paid to performers, including announcers on radio and television programs;
• Irrevocable contributions made by an employer to a trustee or third person under a bona fide plan for providing old-age, retirement, life, accident or health insurance or similar benefits for employees;
• Overtime pay;
• Premium pay for work on Saturdays, Sundays, holidays or regular days of rest, or on the sixth or seventh day of the workweek (premium pay must be at least 1 ½ times the employee’s regular rate of pay); and
• Business expense reimbursements, bona fide gifts, discretionary bonuses, employer investment contributions and payments for non-working hours (vacation, sick leave, jury duty).

For nonexempt salaried employees, the regular rate is the amount of remuneration (determined as explained above) divided by 40 hours.

More Information

Contact the Pennsylvania Department of Labor & Industry for more information on overtime rules in the state. 

Overtime Rates in Rhode Island (RI)

Overtime Rate

Rhode Island requires private employers to pay overtime to employees who work more than 40 hours a week. Overtime pay is one and one-half the employee's regular rate of pay for all hours in excess of 40 during the workweek. For a full list of exceptions, please see RIGL § 28-12-4.3.

Sundays and Holidays

Employees are also entitled to to receiev at least one aand one-half times their regular wage rate for any work they perform on Sundays or holidays. An exemption applies to employees who work in healthcare, hospitality, agriculture and commercial fishing. Please click here for a full list of exceptions.

More Information

Please contact the Rhode Island Department of Labor and Training for more information.

Overtime Pay in South Carolina (SC)

South Carolina follows federal overtime payment requirements. This means that employees in the state must receive one and one-half times their regular wage rate for all hours worked over 40 in a workweek.

More Information

For more information please visit the Office of Wages and Child Labor website. 

Overtime Pay in South Dakota (SD)

South Dakota follows federal overtime payment requirements. This means that employees in the state must receive one and one-half times their regular wage rate for all hours worked over 40 in a workweek. 

Utah Overtime Pay

Overtime compensation in Utah is governed by the FLSA. Under the FLSA, nonexempt employees must be compensated at a rate of one and one-half times their regular wage rate for every hour they work over 40 hours during a workweek.

Utah law defines hours worked (or compensable time) as any period an employee is required to:

• Work;
• Be on the employer’s premises, ready to work;
• Be on duty;
• Report to a prescribed workplace; or
• Attend a meeting or training.

Compensable time may include any work an employee performs during established break and rest periods of 30 minutes or more, where the employee was expected to be relieved of all responsibilities.

More Information

For more information contact the Utah Labor Commission.

Overtime Pay in Vermont (VT)

Vermont's overtime pay requirements apply to private employers with 2 or more employees, unless an exemption applies

Overtime Rate

Covered employers in Vermont must pay their employees one and one-half times their regular wage rate for any hours they work over 40 during a workweek. The standard for calculating overtime hours is based upon a single workweek. An employer is not permitted to average the hours worked by an employee over two or more weeks, regardless of the pay schedule utilized by the employer.

Bonuses, which are considered part of the regular rate as remuneration for employment (paid in lieu of wages) are included in determining the regular hourly rate of an employee for purposes of computing the proper overtime compensation. However, gifts, rewards for services, discretionary or special occasion bonus, reimbursement for expenses, employer benefit contributions and pay for foregoing holidays and vacations are not included when determining the regular rate of pay for overtime calculations.

When an employee works in two or more different jobs, with different rates of pay, in a single work week, the regular rate for that week is the average of the combined rates, i.e. the total earnings from all employment positions are combined and then divided by the total number of hours work in all jobs. This figure is then utilized to calculate overtime pay

Exemptions

State law provides overtime pay exemptions for employees who work in: 

• Retal or service establishments; 
• Amusement or recreational establisments (some restrictions apply);
• Hotels, motels or restaurant establishments;
• Hospitals, public health centers, nursing homes, maternity homes, therapeutic community residences and residential care homes (some restrictions apply);
• Businesses engaged in the transportation of persons or property (if FLSA overtime requirements do not apply);
• Political subdivisions of the state.

However, even when exempt from overtime under state law, an employee covered by the FLSA may still be entitled to overtime. 

More Information 

For more information, contact the Vermont Department of Labor.

Virginia Overtime Wages

The Virginia Minimum Wage Act (VMWA) complements federal law and, in some instances, provides more stringent requirements that employers in the state must follow. Under the FLSA, whenever federal and state standards apply, employees are entitled to enforce the standard that provides the most protection or the greater benefit.

The Virginia Department of Labor and Industry (VDOLI) monitors and enforces compliance with the VMWA throughout the state. 

Overtime Pay

Virginia overtime wage laws follow federal overtime pay provisions set by the FLSA. As a result, Virginia employers will need to follow FLSA overtime pay requirements and exemptions, including:

• Regular wage rate calculations;
• Use of the fluctuating workweek method for overtime compensation; 
• All exemptions available under FLSA (except the exemption for derivative carriers); and
• All relevant FLSA interpretations and guidance. 

Despite the amendments, the VOWA still allows employees in Virginia to file individual or collective action claims for unpaid wages and overtime in state courts in addition to a right of action under the FLSA. As a result, employers may be liable for penalties under both the FLSA and the VOWA.

The VOWA also extends the period for filing a claim for unpaid wages to three years (two years under the FLSA). 

More Information

For more information please visit the Virginia Department of Labor and Industry. 

Washington Overtime Pay

Federal overtime wage payment requirements are governed by the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). In Washington, these requirements are governed by the Washington Minimum Wage Act (WMWA). Under both laws, employees must receive one and one-half times their regular wage rate for all hours worked in excess of 40 hours in a workweek.

The Washington State Department of Labor and Industries (L&I) enforces overtime standards throughout the state.

Overtime Pay

The WMWA requires employers to compensate their employees with one and one-half times their regular wage rate for any hours worked in excess of 40 hours in a workweek.

In general, the WMWA does not place restrictions on the number of hours employees are required to work, so long as an employer’s policy regarding work hours does not violate the WMWA. However, employees may request L&I investigations when they feel that required overtime hours are detrimental to their health, safety or welfare.

White-collar Exemptions

Washington provides overtime pay exemptions for some white-collar employees. White-collar employees are individuals whose work does not require physical labor or skill. The white-collar exemptions apply to executive, administrative, professional, computer professional and outside sales employees.

On Dec. 11, 2019, Washington amended its wage and hour laws to increase the salary threshold white-collar employees must satisfy to qualify for the state’s overtime exemptions. The updated salary levels depend on employer size and are based on the state’s minimum wage rate. As a result, the threshold for the white-collar exemptions in Washington will rise as the minimum wage rate increases.

Threshold for Executive, Administrative and Professional Employees

The table below explains how to determine the new thresholds white-collar employees will need to satisfy to qualify for an overtime exemption under Washington law. Please note that compensation must be paid to these employees on a salary or fee basis, excluding board, lodging or other facilities.

Effective Date	Overtime Threshold
Jan. 1, 2022	All employers regardless of size $1,014.30 a week ($52,743.60 a year)  1.75 x state minimum wage
Jan. 1, 2023	Employers with 50 or fewer employees $1,101.80 a week ($57,293.60 a year) 1.75 x state minimum wage   Employers with 51 or more employees $1,259.20 a week ($65,478.40 a year) 2 x state minimum wage
Jan. 1, 2024	All employers regardless of size 1,302.40 a week ($67,724.80 a year) 2 x state minimum wage

Threshold for Computer Professionals

Both federal and state laws allow certain computer professionals to qualify for an overtime exemption whether they receive a salary or are paid on an hourly basis. To qualify for this exemption, computer professionals must receive at least an hourly rate that is at least 3.5 times the state’s minimum wage rate. The table below provides an overview of how this requirement has adjusted to annual minimum wage increases.

Effective date	Jan. 1, 2022	Jan. 1, 2023	Jan. 1, 2024
Minimum wage rate	$14.49	$15.74	$16.28
Exemption Threshold	$50.72	$55.09	$56.98

Casual Laborers

Individuals “employed in casual labor in or about a private home” are exempt from overtime and minimum wage requirements. Casual labor refers to employment that is irregular, uncertain or incidental in nature and duration. For example, casual labor includes:

• Babysitting children for an evening;
• Raking leaves, mowing lawns or weeding flower beds or gardens;
• Housesitting and feeding pets for someone who is on vacation; and
• Paying friends to move furniture or help declutter a closet.

More Information 

Contact the Washington State Department of Labor and Industries for more information on overtime pay and exemptions. 

 

Overtime Pay in West Virginia (WV)

Federal overtime pay requirements are governed by the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). West Virginia law also regulates the payment of overtime work. 

State Overtime Pay

West Virginia must pay an overtime rate of 1.5 times the employees' regular hourly rate for all hours actually worked over 40 within the same seven consecutive-day workweek. 

In order to determine whether an employer is covered under the overtime provisions of state law, an assessment must first be made to establish whether the company itself, or at least 80% of the company’s employees, fall under the overtime provisions of the FLSA. If federal jurisdiction can be established by federal enterprise coverage or individual employee interstate commerce activity, then the requirements of state law cannot be applied. 

In order for state overtime laws to apply, all of the following conditions must be met:

1. The company does not qualify for federal “enterprise” coverage. 
2. 80% of the company’s employees do not qualify individually for federal overtime coverage based on work duties considered as interstate commerce activity. 
3. The company has the required six non-exempt employees working at any one separate, distinct, and permanent business location. 

Once a company meets all of the above conditions, the jurisdictional requirements of state law relating to the enforcement of overtime wages are also met. That means the company’s nonexempt employees that are working at a business location where the six employee requirement is met are covered by state overtime laws. 

Hours Actually Worked

Hours paid in the form of employee benefits such vacation pay, holiday pay, sick leave, PTO etc. are not considered hours worked and are therefore not considered when determining hours worked for the purpose of overtime wages. That means when the payment of such benefits are shown on the employee’s paycheck represented as hours, such time is not counted toward the number of hours “actually worked”.

The West Virginia Division of Labor has published the following example: 

An employee is asked to work their regular eight-hour schedule on a paid holiday. The employee is paid for working 40 hours and for eight hours of holiday pay, which totals 48 hours for the workweek. Although the employee is being paid for more than 40 hours, overtime wages will not apply because the number of actual hours worked remained at 40.

Overtime Rate for Piece Workers 

Employees that are paid by the number of items produced or by a unit of measurement are still entitled to the payment of overtime wages under the requirements of state law. Once a calculation is made to determine the employee’s hourly rate for the workweek, the number of hours worked in excess of forty for that week are to be paid at a rate of one and one-half times the rate the employee received for working non-overtime hours. 

Employees Paid at Different Hourly Rates 

Should an employee receive different rates of pay for different types of work performed within the same workweek, the employee’s overtime rate would be based on the regular rate of pay that applied to the type of work that was performed in excess of the forty hours. For example, an employee is paid an hourly rate of $10 when working at the shop and a rate of $15 when driving the company’s service truck. The employee ends up working a total of 42 hours for the week, 32 hours at the shop and 10 hours driving the service truck. As the employee was driving the service truck for the two hours that exceeded 40, that individual’s overtime rate would be based on $15 per hour. 

Overtime Pay in Wisconsin (WI)

Federal overtime wage payment requirements are governed by the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). Wisconsin law also regulates the payment of overtime wages. Under both laws, employees must receive one and one-half times their regular wage rate for all hours worked in excess of 40 hours during a workweek. The Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development (DWD), enforces overtime standards throughout the state.

Overtime Pay

Wisconsin law requires employers to compensate their employees with one and one-half times their regular wage rate for any overtime hours worked, unless an exception applies.

Overtime hours include any hours worked in excess of 40 hours during a workweek and any hours an employee works on Sunday, unless the employee is allowed another day of rest in that calendar week.

The hours an employee works during one workweek cannot be averaged with the hours worked on any other workweek. A workweek in Wisconsin is a fixed period of 168 hours, or seven consecutive 24-hour workdays. The workweek can begin on any day of the week and at any hour of the day, without coinciding with a calendar week.

An employee’s regular rate is the actual rate of pay he or she receives for a standard, non-overtime workweek. Employers must calculate their employees’ regular rate before they can determine applicable overtime wages. An employee’s regular rate can vary from week to week and may be different from the employee’s contractual rate of pay.

Covered Employers

The state overtime law applies to most Wisconsin employers, including state and local units of government but not necessarily to each individual worker.  The law applies to factories, mercantile (see definition of mercantile) or mechanical establish-ments, restaurants, hotels, motels, resorts, beauty parlors, retail and wholesale stores, laundries, express and transportation firms, telegraph offices and telephone exchanges.

Covered Employees

Covered workers, regardless of age, must be paid 1.5 times their regular rate of pay for all hours worked in excess of 40 hours a week.

Under the Wisconsin Employment of Minors regulation, 16 and 17-year-old minors must receive one and one half times the regular rate of pay, for all hours worked in excess of 10 hours per day or 40 hours per week.

Overtime Pay in Wyoming (WY)

Wyoming follows federal overtime payment requirements. This means that employees in the state must receive one and one-half times their regular wage rate for all hours worked over 40 in a workweek.

More Information

For more information please visit the Wyoming Labor Standards Division website.