Question 1

What is the federal overtime rule under the FLSA?

Accepted Answer

The Fair Labor Standards Act requires employers to pay non-exempt employees at least 1.5 times their regular rate for all hours worked beyond 40 in a single workweek. The FLSA does not require daily overtime. This 40-hour weekly threshold is the federal floor, and it applies to covered employers nationwide. States may set stricter rules, but no state can offer less protection than the FLSA provides. For a deeper look at the federal baseline, see FLSA overtime requirements.

Question 2

Do state overtime laws override federal FLSA rules?

Accepted Answer

When a state law is more favorable to the employee, the state law controls. The FLSA sets a floor, not a ceiling. For example, California, Washington, and Colorado all require daily overtime after 8 hours, which the FLSA does not. If your employees work in a state with stricter rules, you must follow the state standard. If the state law is less protective or silent, the FLSA applies. Multi-state employers need to track which rule governs each employee's location, not just apply a single company-wide policy. For more on how these layers interact, see when state overtime law supersedes FLSA.

Question 3

Which states have overtime rules stricter than federal law?

Accepted Answer

Several states impose overtime obligations beyond the FLSA's 40-hour weekly threshold. California, Alaska, Nevada, and Colorado require overtime pay after 8 hours in a single day. Washington state triggers overtime at both the daily and weekly level. Some states also mandate double-time pay after extended daily hours (California requires double-time after 12 hours in a day). Massachusetts has Sunday and holiday premium pay rules that layer on top of standard overtime. Employers operating in any of these states must configure their time tracking to capture daily hours, not just weekly totals. See states with daily overtime requirements for a full comparison.

Question 4

How does overtime work in Washington state?

Accepted Answer

Washington state triggers overtime at both 8 hours per day and 40 hours per workweek, applying whichever threshold the employee hits first. Employers must pay 1.5 times the regular rate for qualifying overtime hours. Agricultural workers have separate rules that have been phasing in additional overtime protections. Seattle employers may also face city-specific minimum wage and scheduling ordinances. If you operate in Washington, your time records must capture daily hours per shift to comply with the daily trigger.

Question 5

What are the overtime laws in New York?

Accepted Answer

New York follows a 40-hour weekly overtime threshold. Non-exempt employees earn 1.5 times their regular rate for hours worked beyond 40 in a workweek. New York does not have a daily overtime trigger, so working more than 8 hours in a single day does not by itself create an overtime obligation. Note that certain industries, such as residential employees, may have different calculations. New York also restricts hours for minors aged 16 to 17 during school weeks, but that is a child labor rule, not an adult overtime provision.

Question 6

How does overtime work in Texas?

Accepted Answer

Texas does not have a state overtime law. Employers in Texas follow the FLSA exclusively: non-exempt employees receive 1.5 times their regular rate for hours worked beyond 40 in a workweek. There is no daily overtime trigger. This simplifies compliance for Texas-only employers, but multi-state companies with Texas-based crews working in states like Colorado or California must still apply those states' stricter rules when employees work there.

Question 7

How is overtime calculated in Ohio?

Accepted Answer

Ohio follows a 40-hour weekly overtime threshold under Ohio Revised Code § 4111.03. Non-exempt employees must be paid 1.5 times their regular rate for hours over 40 per workweek. Ohio does not impose a daily overtime trigger. Employers with fewer than a specified gross revenue threshold may have limited state-level obligations, but the federal FLSA still applies to covered employers regardless. Accurate weekly hour totals per employee are the key recordkeeping requirement.

Question 8

What are the overtime rules in Massachusetts?

Accepted Answer

Massachusetts requires overtime pay at 1.5 times the regular rate for non-exempt employees who work more than 40 hours in a workweek. There is no daily overtime trigger. Massachusetts also has premium pay rules for Sunday and holiday work under MGL c.149 § 148, though these premiums have been phasing down in recent years. Employers with shift-based workers in Massachusetts need to track both weekly overtime hours and any applicable Sunday or holiday premium triggers separately.

Question 9

How does Colorado overtime work?

Accepted Answer

Colorado requires overtime pay at 1.5 times the regular rate after both 8 hours in a workday and 40 hours in a workweek. Colorado also triggers overtime at 1.5 times after 12 hours in a single day under the Colorado Overtime and Minimum Pay Standards (COMPS) Order. This means Colorado employers must track daily hours per employee, not just weekly totals. COMPS Order rules are updated periodically, so employers should verify current thresholds when configuring pay rules.

Question 10

What is the overtime law in Florida and Georgia?

Accepted Answer

Neither Florida nor Georgia has a state-level overtime law. Both states defer entirely to the FLSA: non-exempt employees receive 1.5 times their regular rate for hours beyond 40 in a workweek. There are no daily overtime triggers. This makes compliance relatively straightforward for employers operating only in these states, but any employee who crosses into a state with stricter rules (such as traveling to a job site in Colorado) must be tracked under that state's law for the hours worked there.

Question 11

Is overtime after 8 hours a day or 40 hours a week?

Accepted Answer

It depends on the state. The federal FLSA uses only a 40-hour weekly threshold. However, California, Alaska, Nevada, Colorado, and Washington all trigger overtime after 8 hours in a single workday. In these states, an employee could work fewer than 40 hours in a week but still earn overtime on a day they worked more than 8 hours. Employers in daily-trigger states must configure their time tracking to evaluate hours at the day level, not just the weekly level. See which states require daily overtime pay for a state-by-state breakdown.

Question 12

Is overtime after 8 hours or 40 hours in New York?

Accepted Answer

New York uses a 40-hour weekly threshold only. There is no 8-hour daily overtime trigger under New York Labor Law. An employee in New York could work a 10-hour shift without earning overtime, as long as their total weekly hours do not exceed 40. This is a common point of confusion for employers who also operate in states with daily triggers.

Question 13

Is overtime after 8 hours or 40 hours in Washington state?

Accepted Answer

Washington state triggers overtime at both levels. Employers must pay 1.5 times the regular rate after 8 hours in a day and after 40 hours in a workweek, whichever threshold the employee reaches first. This dual-trigger structure means your time records must capture start and end times for each shift, not just total weekly hours. Failing to track daily hours in Washington creates compliance exposure even if your weekly totals are accurate.

Question 14

When does overtime start in Texas and Illinois?

Accepted Answer

Both Texas and Illinois follow the FLSA's 40-hour weekly threshold. Neither state has a daily overtime trigger. Non-exempt employees in both states earn 1.5 times their regular rate only when they exceed 40 hours in a workweek. For employers operating in both states, the overtime rules are identical in structure, which simplifies cross-state payroll configuration for those two jurisdictions specifically.

Question 15

Can an employer refuse to pay overtime to hourly workers?

Accepted Answer

No. Under FLSA § 207, non-exempt hourly workers must receive 1.5 times their regular rate for hours over 40 per workweek. An employer may choose not to schedule overtime hours, but if a non-exempt employee works overtime, the employer is legally obligated to pay for it. Refusing to pay earned overtime is a federal wage violation and can trigger back-pay awards, liquidated damages, and penalties. Some states impose additional penalties for unpaid overtime. See unpaid overtime rights for hourly employees for more detail.

Question 16

Is overtime pay mandatory in New York?

Accepted Answer

New York requires employers to pay 1.5 times the regular rate for hours over 40 in a workweek. However, New York does not mandate that employers must offer or schedule overtime hours. The distinction matters: employers are not required to give employees overtime opportunities, but when an employee works more than 40 hours, the employer must pay the overtime premium. Refusing to pay for hours already worked is a wage violation under New York Labor Law.

Question 17

What is the 20-hour rule in New York?

Accepted Answer

The 20-hour rule in New York refers to child labor restrictions, not adult overtime. Under New York Labor Law, minors aged 16 to 17 are generally limited to working no more than 20 hours per week during school weeks. This is a scheduling and child labor compliance issue, not an overtime trigger. Adult non-exempt employees in New York are subject to the standard 40-hour weekly overtime threshold with no relevance to the 20-hour minor labor restriction.

Question 18

How do you calculate overtime pay for employees working in multiple states?

Accepted Answer

Apply the law of the state where the work is performed, using the rule most favorable to the employee for each workweek. If an employee works in both Texas (weekly-only threshold) and Colorado (daily and weekly triggers) during the same pay period, you must evaluate Colorado hours under Colorado rules and Texas hours under Texas rules. This requires your time records to tag each punch or shift to a specific work location. EasyClocking by WorkEasy Software applies jurisdiction-specific overtime rules at the time-record level, so each punch is evaluated against the correct state's thresholds before payroll export.

Question 19

What records do employers need to defend overtime pay calculations?

Accepted Answer

Under FLSA § 516.2, employers must retain payroll records for at least three years, including each employee's hours worked per day and per workweek, regular rate of pay, total overtime earnings, and total wages paid each pay period. States with daily overtime triggers also require daily start and stop times. Beyond the legal minimum, defensible records include edit-tracked audit trails showing who approved or modified a time entry, timestamps on every change, and evidence that the correct overtime rule was applied. EasyClocking by WorkEasy Software logs punches, edits, approvals, and payroll syncs in an audit trail designed to support this level of defensibility.

Question 20

How does automated time tracking reduce overtime compliance risk?

Accepted Answer

Automated time tracking reduces risk by applying the correct overtime rules at the point of capture rather than during manual payroll review. When rules are configured per jurisdiction, the system flags overtime triggers, calculates the correct premium, and surfaces exceptions (missed punches, threshold crossings, unusual hours) before payroll runs. This eliminates the manual step where most errors occur: someone re-entering hours into a spreadsheet or payroll system and applying the wrong state's rules. EasyClocking by WorkEasy Software applies jurisdiction-specific rules at the punch level, producing payroll-ready records that have already been validated against the applicable overtime law.

Multi-State Overtime Compliance for Hourly Workforces FAQ

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