Overtime Laws by State (2026): Daily Overtime, Weekly Thresholds and Mandatory Overtime

Most jurisdictions, 27 of them, write the 40-hour week into their own law, though a few add extras like 7th-day or Sunday pay. The 18 with no state threshold still follow the federal rule, so the practical gap between those two groups is small.

Daily overtime is rare, and the triggers vary a lot. An 8-hour trigger in California or Alaska pays far more often than Colorado's 12-hour trigger, which mainly catches long shifts.

Most thresholds above 40 are industry carve-outs, often for jobs federal overtime law also exempts, so the state number can be the one that counts. Minnesota and Kansas are different: if your employer is covered by the FLSA, the 40-hour line still applies.

The federal floor of $35,568 is less than half of Washington's $80,168.40. A salaried manager who counts as exempt in Texas might be owed overtime for the same job in Seattle or Los Angeles.

States with daily overtime rules (2026)

Source: U.S. Department of Labor, Wage and Hour Division, State Minimum Wage Laws; California Department of Industrial Relations, Labor Commissioner's Office, Overtime FAQ; Colorado Department of Labor and Employment, COMPS Order Poster & Notice (Colorado Overtime & Minimum Pay Standards); Alaska Department of Labor and Workforce Development, Wage and Hour Frequently Asked Questions. Download as image

Can an employer require overtime? Selected federal and state rules

Source: U.S. Department of Labor, Wage and Hour Division, Overtime Pay; California Department of Industrial Relations, Labor Commissioner's Office, Overtime FAQ; Maine Legislature, 26 M.R.S. § 603 Limitation on mandatory overtime; Minnesota Office of the Revisor of Statutes, Minnesota Statutes § 181.275 Regulating nurses' overtime; New York State Senate, New York Labor Law § 167 Restrictions on consecutive hours of work for nurses; Washington State Legislature, RCW 49.28.140 Health care facility employees: overtime. Download as image

Type of state overtime rule by state

• 4Daily and weekly overtime
• 27Weekly overtime after 40 hours
• 2Weekly threshold above 40 hours
• 18No separate state threshold (federal FLSA applies)

Which states have daily overtime?

Only four do: Alaska, California, Colorado and Nevada. In most of the country, a 10-hour Monday followed by a short week earns you nothing extra as long as the week stays at or under 40 hours. In these four states, the long day itself can trigger premium pay.

California is the strictest. Time-and-a-half starts after 8 hours in a workday, and double time starts after 12. The seventh consecutive day in a workweek has its own rule: the first 8 hours pay 1.5x and anything past that pays 2x. If you work a string of long shifts in California, those rules stack quickly.

Alaska also starts at 8 hours a day, but only for employers with four or more employees. Colorado waits until 12 hours, counted per day or as 12 consecutive hours, and it bans employers from swapping comp time for overtime pay. Nevada's daily rule only applies to people earning under 1.5 times the state minimum wage. Earn 1.5 times the minimum or more and you are back to weekly overtime only.

Oregon sits just outside this group. It pays premium wages after 10 hours a day, but only in certain manufacturing settings like mills, factories and canneries. Most Oregon workers count overtime by the week.

Does federal overtime still apply if my state sets a higher threshold?

Usually, yes. Minnesota's state law sets overtime at 48 hours a week, and Kansas sets it at 46 for employers outside the FLSA. Those numbers look worse for workers, but they mostly apply to small businesses the federal law doesn't reach. If your employer is covered by the FLSA, you are owed overtime after 40 hours, and the federal rule wins.

The same logic covers the 18 jurisdictions with no state overtime threshold at all, including Texas, Florida and Georgia. Workers there are not left without overtime. They just rely on the federal law and the U.S. Department of Labor to enforce it. Virginia is a twist on this: it has no separate threshold, but its law lets workers sue under state law for FLSA overtime violations, with a 3-year window.

The industry carve-outs are worth knowing if you work in one. New York residential workers who live in get premium pay after 44 hours. Seasonal amusement businesses get a longer week in North Carolina (45 hours) and Missouri (52 hours). Federal law exempts many seasonal amusement businesses from overtime, so in those jobs the state number may be the only rule. If you take a summer job at a park or resort, ask which rule your employer uses.

Can my employer make me work mandatory overtime?

In most jobs, yes. The FLSA has no limit on how many hours employees aged 16 and older can work in a week. It only says the extra hours must be paid. Refusing scheduled overtime can get you disciplined or fired in most states, especially if you work at will.

The real limits are narrow. Maine caps required overtime at 80 hours in any consecutive 2-week period for most employees, and protects nurses who refuse more than 12 consecutive hours. California lets employers require overtime but bars discipline for refusing to work the seventh day of the workweek. New York limits mandatory overtime for nurses, Washington restricts it for many health care facility staff, and Minnesota protects nurses who decline extra hours they believe would put patients at risk.

If you have caregiving duties or a second job, don't rely on the law to protect your evenings. Get your schedule expectations in writing before you accept. A line such as "you may be asked to work additional hours as business needs require" gives your employer wide room, so ask how often that has meant weekends in practice.

Am I exempt from overtime because I'm paid a salary?

Not automatically. For the common white-collar exemptions you need two things: a salary at or above the threshold, and job duties that fit an executive, administrative or professional role. Pay a receptionist a salary and they are still owed overtime.

The federal floor is $684 per week. Several states set the bar much higher. California requires at least $70,304 a year for 2026, Colorado $57,784, and New York $66,300 in New York City, Nassau, Suffolk and Westchester. If your offer letter calls the role exempt but the salary sits below your state's number, that label is likely wrong.

Titles like coordinator or associate deserve a second look. Check the salary first, then ask what you will actually spend your days doing.

What overtime rules mean for freelancers and the businesses that hire them

Overtime laws protect employees, not independent contractors. If you invoice a client as a freelancer, there is no time-and-a-half for a long week. Your protection is your rate and your scope. A fixed-fee project with unlimited revisions can turn into many unpaid hours with no legal backstop. Build that time into your quote. Cap revision rounds, say what counts as a change in scope, and set an hourly rate for anything outside it.

Businesses face the reverse risk. Labeling a full-time, closely supervised worker a contractor doesn't remove overtime liability if a state agency or court decides the person was really an employee. Back overtime, plus penalties and interest, can make up a large share of what a misclassification case costs.

For a business, the safer move is to match the contract to reality. If you set the hours and the tools, treat the person as an employee and track their time.

What to do if your overtime pay looks wrong

• Keep your own record of start times, end times and breaks each day, especially in a daily-overtime state.
• Compare your pay stub against both the weekly rule and, in Alaska, California, Colorado or Nevada, the daily rule.
• If you are salaried and called exempt, check your salary against your state's threshold and your duties against the job description.
• Ask your employer in writing which overtime rule they apply and how they define the workweek.
• Contact your state labor department or the U.S. Department of Labor's Wage and Hour Division if the answer doesn't add up.
• Note any wage claim deadline in your state so a late complaint doesn't cost you back pay.

Sources and method

Every number on this page comes from the sources below, each opened and read on or before October 18, 2026. A second, independent review checked every figure against its source and corrected anything that did not match. 51 of 51 state entries were confirmed; any that could not be are marked "Not yet confirmed" and left out of every count and chart.

1. U.S. Department of Labor, Wage and Hour Division, State Minimum Wage Laws (Updated July 1, 2026)
2. U.S. Department of Labor, Wage and Hour Division, Overtime Pay (Undated web page, accessed October 18, 2026)
3. U.S. Department of Labor, US Department of Labor announces technical amendment restoring regulations on exemptions for executive, administrative, professional employees (May 14, 2026)
4. California Department of Industrial Relations, Labor Commissioner's Office, Overtime FAQ (Undated web page, accessed October 18, 2026)
5. California Department of Industrial Relations, News Release 2025-118: 2026 minimum wage and exempt salary (December 5, 2025)
6. Washington State Department of Labor & Industries, Washington's minimum wage going up to $17.13 an hour in 2026 (September 30, 2025)
7. Colorado Department of Labor and Employment, COMPS Order Poster & Notice (Colorado Overtime & Minimum Pay Standards) (Effective 1/1/2026)
8. New York State Department of Labor, Minimum Wage Frequently Asked Questions (Undated web page (2026 thresholds effective January 1, 2026), accessed October 18, 2026)
9. Minnesota Office of the Revisor of Statutes, Minnesota Statutes § 177.25 Overtime (Current statute, accessed October 18, 2026)
10. Kansas Office of Revisor of Statutes, K.S.A. 44-1204 Minimum wages and maximum hours (Current statute, accessed October 18, 2026)
11. Kansas Office of Revisor of Statutes, K.S.A. 44-1202 Definitions (Current statute, accessed October 18, 2026)
12. Maine Legislature, 26 M.R.S. § 603 Limitation on mandatory overtime (Current statute, accessed October 18, 2026)
13. Washington State Legislature, RCW 49.28.140 Health care facility employees: overtime (Current statute, accessed October 18, 2026)
14. New York State Senate, New York Labor Law § 167 Restrictions on consecutive hours of work for nurses (Current statute, accessed October 18, 2026)
15. Minnesota Office of the Revisor of Statutes, Minnesota Statutes § 181.275 Regulating nurses' overtime (Current statute, accessed October 18, 2026)
16. Virginia Legislative Information System, Code of Virginia § 40.1-29.2 Employer liability (Current statute (history through 2026, c. 1040), accessed October 18, 2026)
17. Alaska Department of Labor and Workforce Development, Wage and Hour Frequently Asked Questions (Undated web page, accessed October 18, 2026)