Daily vs. Weekly Overtime
Most people assume overtime only kicks in at 40 hours per week. That's the federal default — but several states layer daily overtime on top, and the difference can mean hundreds of dollars on your paycheck.
Federal Overtime Is Weekly-Only — But Many States Add a Daily Rule
Under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), overtime applies on a weekly basis only: non-exempt employees earn 1.5x their regular rate for hours worked beyond 40 in a single workweek. A workweek is a fixed, recurring 7-day (168-hour) period set by the employer — it doesn't have to start on Monday or align with the calendar week.
Under federal law alone, there is no daily threshold. A worker who puts in 12 hours on Monday and takes Tuesday off, ending the week at 40 hours total, earns zero overtime under the FLSA. Several states, however, have their own daily overtime rules that kick in based on hours worked in a single day, regardless of the weekly total.
Which States Have Daily Overtime?
| State | Daily OT Rule | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| California | OT after 8 hrs/day; double-time after 12 hrs/day | Also has a 7th-consecutive-workday rule (1.5x for first 8 hrs, 2x after 8 hrs if employee works all 7 days) |
| Alaska | OT after 8 hrs/day or 40 hrs/week, whichever triggers first | Daily OT hours are not double-counted toward the weekly 40-hour threshold. Exception for approved voluntary flexible work hour plans (threshold moves to 10 hrs) |
| Nevada | OT after 8 hrs in a 24-hour period | Applies only to employees earning less than $18.00/hr (1.5× the $12.00 state minimum wage). Workers earning $18.00/hr or more follow the standard 40-hr weekly rule only. Exception for written 4/10 schedules |
| Colorado | OT after 12 hrs/day | Under the Colorado Overtime and Minimum Pay Standards Order |
| Oregon* | OT after 10 hrs/day | Manufacturing, canneries, driers, and packing plants only — not the general workforce |
| North Dakota* | OT after 8 hrs/day | Oilfield and construction workers only — not the general workforce |
| All other states | Federal 40-hour/week rule only — no daily OT trigger | |
* Industry-specific rules, not general state-wide daily overtime.
A note on Colorado: The homepage calculator includes a dedicated "Colorado (daily OT)" option in the Overtime Ruleset dropdown. Select it and switch to Daily Hours Mode to see how Colorado's 12-hour daily threshold applies to your schedule.
Why You Can Get Overtime Without Working a 40-Hour Week
This is the scenario that catches people off guard. In a daily-OT state, your weekly total can be under 40 hours and you can still earn overtime.
Example: A worker in California works four 9-hour days (Monday through Thursday) and takes Friday off. Their weekly total is 36 hours — well under the federal 40-hour threshold, so no federal weekly overtime applies. But under California's daily rule, each of those four days included 1 hour beyond the 8-hour daily threshold. That's 4 hours of overtime pay owed even though the weekly total never reached 40.
The same logic applies in Alaska: four 10-hour days totals 40 hours (no weekly OT), but each day has 2 hours of daily OT — 8 hours of overtime pay that wouldn't exist under federal rules alone.
To see how this works with your own schedule, use the homepage calculator's Daily Hours Mode and select the matching state ruleset.
How Timeclock Rounding Can Trigger Unexpected Overtime
Another common source of confusion: unexpected overtime showing up on a timesheet or pay stub when you're sure you didn't work beyond a threshold.
Many employers use rounding rules for clock-in and clock-out times — rounding to the nearest 5, 6, or 15 minutes is common. If you clock in a few minutes early or clock out a few minutes late, and the rounding rule rounds in your favor, small amounts of extra recorded time accumulate over the week. In a daily-OT state, a few extra minutes per day can be enough to push a day from 8.0 to 8.25 recorded hours — triggering the daily overtime tier for time that felt like a normal workday.
This isn't necessarily an error. Rounding policies are legal under federal rules as long as they're applied consistently and are neutral over time — they can't systematically round in the employer's favor. But the effect can still surprise workers who see overtime they didn't expect.
If you consistently see small amounts of unexpected overtime on your pay stubs, review your recorded clock-in/out times alongside the rounding policy your employer uses. If the pattern seems inconsistent or consistently unfavorable, ask your payroll or HR department for clarification.
How to Check Your Own Situation
To figure out which overtime rules apply to you:
- Identify your state from the table above. If your state isn't listed, you're on the federal 40-hour weekly rule only.
- If you're in a daily-OT state, use the homepage calculator's Daily Hours Mode — select your state's ruleset and enter your hours day by day. The calculator automatically splits regular, overtime, and double-time hours based on your state's rules.
- If your state has a daily threshold not directly listed in the calculator (like Colorado at 12 hours), use the "Union / Custom Daily Threshold" option and enter your threshold manually.
Related Guides
- Overtime Pay Calculator — use Daily Hours Mode to calculate overtime under your state's specific rules
- Multiple Pay Rates Overtime — how blended-rate overtime works when you have two or more hourly rates in the same week
- No Tax on Overtime Calculator — important: state daily overtime that doesn't independently satisfy the federal 40-hour/week FLSA rule does not qualify for the federal tax deduction. If you're in a daily-OT state, only the portion of your overtime that also exceeds 40 hours in the workweek is FLSA-qualified for the deduction.