California · guide
California overtime by the day and by the week
California pays overtime by the day as well as by the week. This guide covers the general rule of the Labor Commissioner, the seventh consecutive day, why the same hour is never paid twice as overtime, and weeks run through the time card.
The general rule
A nonexempt employee 18 or older, or a 16 or 17 year old who is not required by law to attend school, is owed one and a half times the regular rate for every hour over 8 in a workday, up to and including 12, and for every hour over 40 in the workweek.
Double the regular rate is owed for every hour over 12 in a workday.
Overtime is owed whether or not the employer authorized it, for work the employer knew or should have known about. It is based on hours actually worked: a paid sick day or a paid holiday you did not work does not count toward overtime. An agreement to work for less does not waive it.
The seventh consecutive day
On the seventh consecutive day of work in a workweek, the first 8 hours are paid at one and a half times the regular rate and every hour after 8 at double the regular rate.
An employer can generally require overtime, but it cannot discipline an employee for refusing to work the seventh day of a workweek.
An hour is overtime only once
Daily and weekly overtime do not stack on the same hours. In its opinion letter of January 19, 2000, the legal section of the Labor Commissioner works the case of 10 hours a day for five days: 50 hours in the week, of which 10 are overtime at one and a half times the rate, 2 on each day. Those daily overtime hours are not counted again for weekly overtime.
The same letter shows the rule both ways. 9 hours Monday to Thursday and 4 on Friday is a 40-hour week, yet 4 hours of daily overtime are due. 7 hours a day for six days has no daily overtime, but the week is 42 hours, so 2 hours of weekly overtime are due.
Sources: DLSE opinion letter 2000.01.19, No Pyramiding of Overtime Hours
Exemptions, exceptions and alternative schedules
Some classifications of employees are exempt from the overtime law, and others have an exception: a special rule that pays overtime on a different basis, as agricultural workers have. A salaried employee is owed overtime unless they meet the tests for exempt status or a specific exemption applies.
Most Industrial Welfare Commission wage orders also allow an alternative workweek schedule, such as four 10-hour days or three 12-hour days, with its own way of scheduling and computing overtime. This guide and the time card follow the general rule.
Federal law does not relieve an employer of a state law that pays premium rates past a daily standard, so a California employee covered by the FLSA is still owed daily overtime.
Sources: California Labor Commissioner (DLSE), Overtime FAQ; 29 CFR Part 778, Subpart B: The Overtime Pay Requirements
The regular rate and the payday
The regular rate includes hourly pay, salary, piecework and commissions, and an hourly rate includes any shift differential. It can never be less than the minimum wage. For a monthly salary, multiply it by 12, divide by 52 and divide by 40.
A nondiscretionary bonus, paid for hours worked, production or proficiency, or as an incentive to stay, is part of the regular rate. A discretionary bonus or a gift for a holiday is not.
Overtime must be paid no later than the payday for the next regular payroll period after it was earned (Labor Code section 204).
Worked examples
Each week, Monday to Sunday, is run through the time card under the California rule at $22 an hour: $33 at time and a half, $44 at double time.
10 h a day, Mon-Fri (DLSE letter)
- Regular h
- 40
- Overtime h
- 10
- Double h
- 0
- Gross pay
- $1,210.00
9 h Mon-Thu, 4 h Fri (DLSE letter)
- Regular h
- 36
- Overtime h
- 4
- Double h
- 0
- Gross pay
- $924.00
7 h a day, Mon-Sat (DLSE letter)
- Regular h
- 40
- Overtime h
- 2
- Double h
- 0
- Gross pay
- $946.00
One 13 h day
- Regular h
- 8
- Overtime h
- 4
- Double h
- 1
- Gross pay
- $352.00
8 h Mon-Sat, then 10 h on Sunday, the seventh day
- Regular h
- 40
- Overtime h
- 16
- Double h
- 2
- Gross pay
- $1,496.00
A guide to the general California rule, not legal advice. Your wage order, an exemption or an alternative workweek schedule can change what you are owed. Checked against California Labor Commissioner sources on November 4, 2026.
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