Time and a half for every hour over 40 in a workweek. That is the federal rule under the Fair Labor Standards Act, and it applies to non-exempt employees regardless of how they are paid.
| Base rate | Overtime rate | 45 h week | 50 h week |
|---|---|---|---|
| $20 | $30 | $950 | $1,100 |
| $25 | $37.50 | $1,187.50 | $1,375 |
| $30 | $45 | $1,425 | $1,650 |
| $35 | $52.50 | $1,662.50 | $1,925 |
| $40 | $60 | $1,900 | $2,200 |
The regular rate is not always the hourly rate
This is where most overtime disputes start. Overtime is 1.5× the regular rate, and the regular rate includes more than the base hourly figure.
It includes non-discretionary bonuses, shift differentials, and production or piece-rate earnings. If a bonus is promised for hitting a target, it is part of the regular rate and it raises the overtime rate for the weeks it covers.
It excludes genuinely discretionary gifts, reimbursed expenses, and paid time off that was not worked.
A worker on $25 an hour who earns a $200 attendance bonus in a 50-hour week has a regular rate above $25, and their overtime should be calculated on the higher figure. Employers get this wrong routinely, and it is one of the most common wage claims filed.
Forty in a week, not eight in a day — federally
Federal law counts the week, not the day. Four ten-hour days is 40 hours and carries no federal overtime.
Several states go further and require overtime on a daily basis:
- California: 1.5× over 8 hours in a day, 2× over 12 hours in a day, and 2× beyond 8 hours on a seventh consecutive workday
- Alaska, Nevada, Colorado: daily thresholds of 8 or 12 hours with conditions
Where state law is more generous than federal law, state law applies. Where a union agreement is more generous than both, the agreement applies — which is common in construction and is one of the ways union packages are worth more than the base rate suggests.
What the workweek actually is
A fixed and regularly recurring period of 168 consecutive hours — seven 24-hour days. An employer sets when it starts, and it does not have to match a calendar week, but it cannot be moved around to avoid overtime.
Hours cannot be averaged across two weeks. Fifty hours one week and thirty the next is ten hours of overtime, not zero, and "time off in lieu" is not lawful for non-exempt private-sector employees.
Who is exempt
Exempt employees are owed no overtime. Exemption depends on both a salary threshold and the actual duties performed — executive, administrative, professional, outside sales, and certain computer roles.
The duties test is what matters and it is frequently misapplied. A job title including "manager" does not create an exemption; supervising two or more employees as a primary duty, with genuine authority over hiring and firing, is closer to the test. Being paid a salary does not create one either.
Misclassification is common enough to be a standing category of enforcement, and the remedy is back pay.
What it is worth over a year
At $30 an hour, five overtime hours a week is $11,700 a year; ten hours a week is $23,400.
In trades where overtime is routine, that is the gap between the advertised base rate and what people actually take home — and it is already inside the BLS annual means used across this site, which is why the hourly conversions there often read above a quoted rate.
The annual conversion pages show the effect at each rate.