Overtime Pay Laws | States + Federal (2025 Update)

Summary 

• Federal overtime laws require that employers provide overtime pay to those who work over 40 hours per workweek.

• Many states have their own overtime laws. States that do not have their own overtime rules default to the federal law. 

• Many employers opt to use specialized payroll platforms that can automate overtime calculations and payments. 

If you are in charge of hourly employees, it’s likely that there will be days, weeks, or even months when your staff needs to work extra hours. Whether that’s over a typical eight-hour workday or a 40-hour workweek, the federal government has made it mandatory to compensate all non-exempt employees. This is important as it protects workers and rewards them for the additional time they spend supporting your business. 

Some states have their own overtime laws, while others do not. It’s crucial to stay informed on the current overtime regulations in your state. In fact, if an employer willfully or repeatedly violates overtime requirements, they will be subject to a civil money penalty of up to $1,000 for each violation. 

Luckily, the laws themselves are relatively straightforward. Below we’ve compiled the federal laws along with a table outlining the overtime laws by state. 

Jump to overtime law table

Federal overtime laws 

According to the US Department of Labor, federal laws on overtime pay are determined by the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). The FLSA states that all non-exempt employees are entitled to overtime pay for working over 40 hours in a workweek. If an employee has exempt status, such as a salaried employee, you are not required to provide overtime. 

The rate of overtime pay must be no less than time and a half their usual hourly rate of pay (or 1.5 times the regular rate of pay). Additionally, there is no limit to the number of hours an employee can work in any workweek. 

A “workweek” is seven consecutive days or a fixed set of 168 hours. These seven days do not need to align with a typical calendar week or job starting time. As long as a fixed and regularly recurring schedule is established, employees should receive the overtime rate owed to them. Typically, overtime pay is included with the wages earned in a regular payday or pay period. 

Forced overtime work

In most states, workers can be “forced” to work overtime by their company. Employers can schedule workers for any shift length or consecutive work days. Additionally, federal law does not require breaks to be provided to the employee. However, many states have mandatory breaks and paid rest periods. If a worker refuses to work overtime, the employer has a legal right to terminate the employee. 

Salaried employees and other overtime exemptions 

Various occupations and job duties are exempt from overtime pay. The standard salary level that currently exempts executive, administrative, and professional (EAP) employees is at $684 per week ($35,568 annually). 

On April 2024, the U.S. Department of Labor announced a rule that aims to increase the salary thresholds for EAP employees to $844 per week ($43,888 annually) effective July 1, 2024, and further to $1,128 per week ($58,656 annually) starting January 1, 2025. However, the U.S. District Court for Eastern District of Texas vacated the 2024 final rule. Currently, the 2019 thresholds are being enforced.

Examples of some exempt roles include: 

• Commissioned sales employees
• Computer professionals 
• Drivers, driver’s helpers, loaders, and mechanics
• Seasonal and recreational establishments
• Executive, administrative, professional, and outside sales employees

A state-by-state breakdown of overtime laws

If a state does not have its own overtime laws, it must default to the federal law. However, if a state has its own overtime laws, the state law is added on top of the federal law. In other words, employers need to abide by whichever law is more generous and provides their staff with the highest earnings. 

When it comes to remote workers who work in different states, the labor laws of the state in which they are physically located and perform work apply. This is true regardless of where the company is located. So if your company is based in New York, but your employee is working from California, you would follow California’s overtime laws for that employee. 

A look at overtime laws by state

Column two denotes whether or not a state has a law establishing a daily overtime threshold and the rate at which these hours are paid. The dashes indicate that the state does not have any laws pertaining to daily overtime. 

Column three lists each state’s weekly overtime threshold as well as the rate at which overtime is paid. States with notable exceptions or unique labor laws have links to their respective Department of Labor pages. 

As you can see from the table above, the majority of states base overtime pay on a 40-hour workweek, defaulting to the federal law. However, some states require overtime pay based on the hours worked in a single workday or other unique exceptions. Below we’ve delved into a few examples of state-by-state exceptions. For other exceptions, click through the links in the table above. 

California 

In California, employers are required by law to provide 1.5x pay for every hour an employee works beyond: 

• 40 hours in a workweek
• 8 hours in a workday 
• 6 days in a workweek  

Moreover, California also has a law in which an employer must pay 2x an employee’s regular hourly rate, also known as double time pay, if they work over:  

• 12 hours in a workday 
• 8 hours on the seventh consecutive day of work in a workweek

Alaska

Like California, Alaska’s state overtime law requires that employers pay overtime when a non-exempt employee logs more than 40 hours of work and eight hours in a workday. However, the overtime rules have a number of exemptions related to occupations in agriculture and aquatic work. ‌

Colorado

Colorado’s state overtime law requires overtime pay for hours worked beyond: 

• 40 hours in a workweek 
• 12 hours in a workday 
• 12 consecutive hours, regardless of the start and end time of the workday  

Kansas 

Unlike the conventional 40 hours of most states, Kansas overtime law requires employers to pay overtime when an employee has worked over 46 hours in a workweek. However, because the FLSA requires that overtime is awarded at 40 plus hours, Kansas businesses that are covered by the FLSA must follow the federal law. If not, they must follow Kansas’s overtime rules for non-exempt employees.  

Minnesota 

Minnesota’s state overtime law requires companies to pay overtime for those working over 48 hours in a workweek. Like Kansas, Minnesota businesses covered by FLSA must follow the federal law. 

Stay on Top of Overtime

Overtime is expensive. While necessary at times, ideally, it should never be the norm. If you find yourself consistently paying out overtime hours even in the face of manageable workloads, something is probably wrong. Check out the free webinar below to figure out how to keep your labor costs low by drilling down on where you are overspending on overtime. 

Webinar: How to Lower Your Overtime Hours

For the few times you do need to pay overtime, make sure you are doing it correctly. There are many ways to do this; however, manually tracking and calculating overtime hours is a dangerous game.

Workforce.com’s Payroll platform makes the hassle of recording, calculating, and paying overtime much easier. Through an extensive time clock system, employee overtime hours and pay are automatically compiled on electronic timesheets, helping you improve visibility, reduce errors, and avoid compliance risks. With special tags, you can customize multiple earnings rates to match your state’s specific overtime rules. These rates automatically trigger whenever an employee crosses into overtime. 

To learn more about how Workforce.com can help you manage overtime, book a call today. 

This information is for general purposes only and should not be considered legal advice. While we strive to keep it updated, labor laws and regulations can change at any time. It’s always a good idea to consult with a legal professional or relevant authorities to comply with the most current standards.