Time and a half is owed after 8 hours in a single workday, after 40 hours in a workweek, and for the first 8 hours of a seventh consecutive workday. Double time is owed after 12 hours in a day, and after 8 hours on that seventh day. Five triggers, any one of which is enough on its own.
Four of California’s five overtime triggers are invisible to a payroll system built around the federal 40-hour week, because four of them are counted inside a single day rather than across a week.
The Five Triggers in One Table
| Hours | Rate owed | Trigger |
|---|---|---|
| Over 8 in a workday | 1.5x | Daily |
| Over 40 in a workweek | 1.5x | Weekly, matching the federal rule |
| First 8 hours, 7th consecutive workday | 1.5x | Seventh day |
| Over 12 in a workday | 2x | Daily double time |
| Over 8 on the 7th consecutive workday | 2x | Seventh-day double time |
Workday and workweek are fixed periods the employer defines in advance. The seventh-day rules count consecutive days inside one defined workweek, not any rolling seven days, which is why the boundary you choose matters.
A 38-Hour Week That Still Owes Overtime
An employee at $20 an hour works 6, 6, 14, 6, 6 hours across five days, so 38 hours in total. Federal payroll sees 38 hours and no overtime. California sees the 14-hour Wednesday.
| Reading | How the hours split | Gross pay |
|---|---|---|
| Federal rule only | 38 regular hours, nothing over 40 | $760.00 |
| California rules | 32 regular, 4 at time and a half, 2 at double time | $840.00 |
| Difference | Entirely from hours 9 to 14 of one workday | $80.00 |
Our overtime pay calculator handles the single-threshold arithmetic, and the weekly timesheet generator produces the daily record these computations have to rest on. Without day-level hours on paper, none of the four daily triggers can be evidenced either way.
How Daily and Weekly Overtime Interact
Hours already paid as daily overtime do not count again toward the weekly 40-hour trigger. California calls the alternative pyramiding and prohibits it, so an hour is never paid into two overtime computations at once.
The employee gets the greater computation, not the sum. That single sentence resolves most of the arithmetic disputes about California overtime.
The Four-by-Ten Exception
Four ten-hour days without daily overtime is possible, but only under a formally adopted alternative workweek schedule: a written proposal, a two-thirds secret-ballot vote of the affected work unit, and a filing with the state. Employers who run the schedule without running the process owe two hours of overtime a day, on every day, for as long as the arrangement lasted.
Where California Sits Nationally
Only a handful of states add any daily trigger on top of the federal weekly rule, and California’s set is the most demanding of them.
States With Daily Overtime Rules
Federal law requires overtime after 40 hours in a workweek everywhere. These states add a daily trigger on top. Rules carry industry and employer-size exceptions; confirm your state's current law before relying on this summary.
| State | Daily trigger | Detail |
|---|---|---|
| California | Over 8 hours / day | 1.5x after 8, 2x after 12; special 7th-day rules |
| Alaska | Over 8 hours / day | 1.5x, with exemptions for some voluntary flex plans |
| Nevada | Over 8 hours / day | Applies when the employee earns under 1.5x minimum wage |
| Colorado | Over 12 hours / day | 1.5x after 12 in a workday (or 12 consecutive hours) |
Source: State labor codes (CA Labor Code §510; AK Stat. §23.10.060; NV Rev. Stat. §608.018; CO COMPS Order) · checked 2026-08
Frequently Asked Questions
When does overtime start in California?
At three separate triggers: after 8 hours in a single workday, after 40 hours in a workweek, and for the first 8 hours worked on the seventh consecutive day in one workweek. Any one of them alone is enough; the employee gets whichever computation pays more, never both for the same hour.
When is double time owed?
After 12 hours in a single workday, and after 8 hours on the seventh consecutive day of work in a workweek. A 14-hour day pays 8 regular hours, 4 at time and a half, and 2 at double time.
Does California overtime apply to salaried employees?
Only if they fail an exemption test. The main exemptions require duties that are executive, administrative, or professional, and a salary of at least twice the state minimum wage for full-time work. A job title alone decides nothing, and misclassification is among the most litigated wage issues in the state.
Can an employee work four days of ten hours without overtime?
Only under a formally adopted alternative workweek schedule, approved by a two-thirds secret-ballot vote of the affected work unit and reported to the state. Without one, hours 9 and 10 of each of those days are overtime, even though the week totals 40.
How do daily and weekly overtime interact?
Hours already paid as daily overtime do not count again toward the 40-hour weekly trigger. California prohibits pyramiding, meaning the same hour is never counted into two overtime payments. The employee gets the greater computation, not the sum.