California overtime rules: daily overtime, double time and the 7th day

Does California require overtime after 8 hours a day? Yes: 1.5x for hours over 8 in a workday or 40 in a workweek, and 2x for hours over 12 in a workday (Labor Code 510(a)).

California adds three things to the federal 40-hour rule: daily overtime, double time, and a 7th-day rule. Where both apply, the worker gets the rule that pays more (29 U.S.C. 218(a)).

The rules, from Labor Code section 510(a)

"Any work in excess of eight hours in one workday and any work in excess of 40 hours in any one workweek and the first eight hours worked on the seventh day of work in any one workweek shall be compensated at the rate of no less than one and one-half times the regular rate of pay for an employee. Any work in excess of 12 hours in one day shall be compensated at the rate of no less than twice the regular rate of pay for an employee. In addition, any work in excess of eight hours on any seventh day of a workweek shall be compensated at the rate of no less than twice the regular rate of pay of an employee."

Hours	Rate
Up to 8 in a workday	regular
Over 8 and up to 12 in a workday	1.5x
Over 12 in a workday	2x
Over 40 in a workweek (straight-time hours only)	1.5x
7th day worked in the workweek, first 8 hours	1.5x
7th day worked in the workweek, over 8 hours	2x

How the hours are counted

• No double counting. Section 510(a) says "Nothing in this section requires an employer to combine more than one rate of overtime compensation in order to calculate the amount to be paid to an employee for any hour of overtime work." The Labor Commissioner's opinion letter of January 19, 2000 says daily overtime hours "would not be counted for the purpose of any other overtime payment, such as weekly overtime hours." So the weekly 40 counts only straight-time hours. Our calculator does the same.
• The 7th day. The text says "the seventh day of work in any one workweek." A workweek has seven days, so this applies only when someone works every day of that workweek.
• Alternative workweeks. Section 510(a) does not apply to schedules adopted under sections 511, 514 (collective bargaining) or 554. Our calculator does not model those schedules.

Worked example

A worker earning $20.00 an hour works 13 hours on Monday and 8 hours on each of the next four days, 45 hours in total.

• Monday: 8 regular, 4 at 1.5x, 1 at 2x.
• Straight-time hours in the week: 8 + 32 = 40, so no weekly overtime is added.
• Pay: 40 × $20.00 = $800.00, plus 4 × $30.00 = $120.00, plus 1 × $40.00 = $40.00, total $960.00 (arithmetic).

Under the federal rule alone the same week would pay 40 × $20.00 + 5 × $30.00 = $950.00.

Salaried workers

• Exempt salary floor. Section 515(a) lets exemptions apply only to staff who earn "a monthly salary equivalent to no less than two times the state minimum wage for full-time employment," and 515(c) defines full time as 40 hours a week. With the 2026 state minimum wage of $16.90 an hour (Department of Industrial Relations), that is $16.90 × 2 × 40 = $1,352.00 a week, or $70,304 a year (arithmetic). Duties tests also apply.
• Non-exempt salaried staff. Section 515(d)(1): "the employee's regular hourly rate shall be 1/40th of the employee's weekly salary." A $1,000 weekly salary gives a $25.00 regular rate and $37.50 an hour for overtime (arithmetic).

Meal and rest breaks

California's break rules have their own page: California break laws.

Calculate a week with the overtime calculator, California setting.

Not legal, tax or payroll advice. Read on October 27, 2026 from the Legislature's own pages through Internet Archive copies (section 510 dated January 2, 2026, section 515 dated March 1, 2025), because leginfo.legislature.ca.gov refused our connection.