Maria clocks out of a Fresno warehouse at 7:30 PM. She started at 8:00 AM and took a 30-minute unpaid lunch. Eleven hours on the clock. Under federal law, every one of those hours pays straight time. Under California law, she gets 8 hours at her base rate plus 3 hours at time and a half. That gap, three hours of premium pay in a single Tuesday shift, is the California difference.
The state adopted daily overtime in 1999 through AB 60, which directed the Industrial Welfare Commission to issue wage orders requiring premium pay after 8 hours in a single day. No other large state leans this hard on daily thresholds. The rules apply to most non-exempt employees, whether paid hourly, by salary, by commission, or by piece rate. And they stack: daily overtime and weekly overtime both apply, but an employer cannot count the same hours under both rules. That practice is called pyramiding, and it is prohibited.
Daily overtime after 8 hours
Any work beyond 8 hours in a single workday triggers time and a half. The workday runs from the moment an employee starts until they stop, and it need not match a calendar day. An employer can set a consistent workday, but once set, it sticks.
The 8-hour threshold applies to each workday independently. Work 10 hours Monday and 6 hours Tuesday. Monday carries 2 overtime hours. Tuesday carries none. The daily clock resets at the start of each workday.
The base rate for overtime includes more than the hourly wage. Shift differentials, non-discretionary bonuses, commissions, and most other compensation all get folded in. Divide total compensation by total hours worked to find the rate that drives the overtime calculation.
Double time after 12 hours
Pass 12 hours in a single workday and the rate jumps to double time: 2x the base rate for every hour beyond 12.
Take a 14-hour shift at $18 an hour. The math:
- 8 hours at $18.00 = $144.00
- 4 hours at $27.00 (1.5x) = $108.00
- 2 hours at $36.00 (2x) = $72.00
- Total for the day: $324.00
Double time also kicks in on the seventh consecutive day of work, but only after 8 hours on that day.
Seventh consecutive day
California treats the seventh straight workday differently. On that day, the first 8 hours pay at time and a half. Hours beyond 8 pay at double time.
Work 10 hours on your seventh consecutive day: 8 hours at 1.5x plus 2 hours at 2x. Work only 6 hours on that seventh day: all 6 hours at 1.5x. This rule applies even if total weekly hours sit below 40. It catches schedules that spread hours thin across many days.
Weekly overtime after 40 hours
The weekly threshold is 40 hours in a single workweek. A workweek is a fixed, recurring block of 168 hours: seven consecutive 24-hour periods. It need not match the calendar week or the pay period.
Only hours actually worked count toward the 40. Vacation pay, holiday pay, and sick pay do not count as hours worked.
When daily and weekly overtime overlap, the employer must calculate both and apply whichever gives the employee the higher total. No double-counting the same hours.
Alternative workweek schedules
California permits alternative workweek schedules, but only after a vote. A 4/10 schedule means 4 days at 10 hours each with no daily overtime for those 10-hour shifts. A 3/12 schedule means 3 days at 12 hours each with no daily overtime until hour 13.
The vote requires at least two-thirds approval from affected employees in a secret ballot election. The schedule must be in place for at least 30 days before it takes effect.
Under an approved alternative schedule, hours beyond the scheduled shift length still trigger overtime. On a 4/10 schedule, an 11-hour day produces 1 hour at time and a half. Hours over 12 still trigger double time, and weekly overtime still applies after 40 hours.
Agricultural worker phase-in
Agricultural workers historically had different overtime rules. AB 1066, signed in 2016, changed that with a gradual phase-in.
As of January 2022, employers with 26 or more employees must pay overtime after 40 hours in a week. For employers with 25 or fewer employees, the phase-in was scheduled to reach 40 hours per week by 2025. Daily overtime thresholds for agricultural workers also phased in. By 2022, large employers paid overtime after 8 hours per day or 40 hours per week. Small employers followed a longer timeline.
The rules differ by employer size and year. Agricultural employees should check current thresholds with the California Division of Labor Standards Enforcement.
Worked examples at time and a half over 40 hours
All examples assume a standard workweek with no alternative schedule and no seventh-day work. The figures use the arithmetic from the federal Fair Labor Standards Act overtime formula, applied here to illustrate the weekly component of California pay. Daily overtime and double time add premium pay on top of these amounts.
At $15 per hour
| Hours worked | Straight-time portion | Overtime portion | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 40 | 40 × $15.00 = $600.00 | 0 × $22.50 = $0.00 | $600.00 |
| 45 | 40 × $15.00 = $600.00 | 5 × $22.50 = $112.50 | $712.50 |
| 50 | 40 × $15.00 = $600.00 | 10 × $22.50 = $225.00 | $825.00 |
| 60 | 40 × $15.00 = $600.00 | 20 × $22.50 = $450.00 | $1,050.00 |
At $20 per hour
| Hours worked | Straight-time portion | Overtime portion | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 40 | 40 × $20.00 = $800.00 | 0 × $30.00 = $0.00 | $800.00 |
| 45 | 40 × $20.00 = $800.00 | 5 × $30.00 = $150.00 | $950.00 |
| 50 | 40 × $20.00 = $800.00 | 10 × $30.00 = $300.00 | $1,100.00 |
| 60 | 40 × $20.00 = $800.00 | 20 × $30.00 = $600.00 | $1,400.00 |
At $25 per hour
| Hours worked | Straight-time portion | Overtime portion | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 40 | 40 × $25.00 = $1,000.00 | 0 × $37.50 = $0.00 | $1,000.00 |
| 45 | 40 × $25.00 = $1,000.00 | 5 × $37.50 = $187.50 | $1,187.50 |
| 50 | 40 × $25.00 = $1,000.00 | 10 × $37.50 = $375.00 | $1,375.00 |
| 60 | 40 × $25.00 = $1,000.00 | 20 × $37.50 = $750.00 | $1,750.00 |
At $35 per hour
| Hours worked | Straight-time portion | Overtime portion | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 40 | 40 × $35.00 = $1,400.00 | 0 × $52.50 = $0.00 | $1,400.00 |
| 45 | 40 × $35.00 = $1,400.00 | 5 × $52.50 = $262.50 | $1,662.50 |
| 50 | 40 × $35.00 = $1,400.00 | 10 × $52.50 = $525.00 | $1,925.00 |
| 60 | 40 × $35.00 = $1,400.00 | 20 × $52.50 = $1,050.00 | $2,450.00 |
The federal salary threshold for overtime exemption sat at $844 per week ($43,888 per year) as of July 2024. A second increase to $1,128 per week ($58,656 per year) was scheduled for January 2025. Check the current threshold with the US Department of Labor before relying on either figure.
Reporting time pay
California requires reporting time pay, a rule with no federal equivalent. An employee who reports for a scheduled shift and is sent home early, or given less than half the scheduled hours, must be paid for half the scheduled shift's hours at the base rate, up to a maximum of 4 hours.
Scheduled for an 8-hour shift but sent home after 2 hours? Pay covers the 2 hours worked plus 2 hours of reporting time pay (half of the remaining 6 hours, capped at 4). Total: 4 hours of pay.
Misconceptions that cost money
"Salaried staff don't get overtime." False. Salaried employees who fail the duties test for exemption must receive overtime. A salary alone does not make someone exempt.
"My employer can give me comp time instead of cash." In the private sector, no. California requires cash payment for overtime. Comp time is available only to public sector employees under limited conditions.
"Working through lunch automatically earns overtime." Only if those minutes push you past the daily or weekly threshold. Unpaid meal breaks of 30 or more minutes where the employee is relieved of all duties do not count as hours worked. If an employee performs duties during an unpaid break, those minutes count toward overtime thresholds.
"Holiday pay counts toward the 40-hour threshold." It does not. Only hours actually worked count. Holiday pay, vacation pay, and sick pay are not hours worked for overtime purposes.
Calculating a California paycheck
- Track hours each day, including start and end times.
- Subtract unpaid meal breaks of 30 or more minutes.
- Add up daily hours for each workday.
- Apply daily rules: over 8 hours at 1.5x, over 12 hours at 2x.
- Track the weekly total separately.
- Apply the weekly rule: over 40 hours at 1.5x.
- Resolve any overlap using the higher total (no pyramiding).
- Check for seventh consecutive day rules.
- Calculate the base rate, folding in bonuses and shift differentials.
- Multiply to get total pay.
An overtime calculator runs the numbers against current state and federal thresholds. For the federal baseline, read what is overtime pay. To understand how daily and weekly rules interact, see daily vs weekly overtime. For rules in other states, consult a state overtime rules comparison.