California overtime calculator: daily, double time and weekly

For most non-exempt employees in California, overtime is counted by the day as well as by the week. Hours over 8 in a workday are paid at 1.5 times the regular rate, hours over 12 in a workday at 2 times, and hours over 40 in a workweek at 1.5 times. Each hour is paid once, at the highest rate that applies. A 13-hour day at $20 an hour is 8.00 h × $20.00 = $160.00, 4.00 h × $20.00 × 1.5 = $120.00 and 1.00 h × $20.00 × 2 = $40.00, a total of $320.00.

This calculator applies those three rules to your week. Enter your hourly rate and each shift; it takes off unpaid breaks and shows every line of the sum.

How is a 13-hour day calculated?

Take one shift from 7:00 AM to 8:00 PM with no unpaid break, at $20 an hour:

The first 8 hours are regular time. Hours 9 to 12 are daily overtime at $20.00 × 1.5, which is $30.00 an hour. The 13th hour is double time at $20.00 × 2, which is $40.00. Under the federal 40-hour rule alone, the same day would have no overtime, because the week stays under 40 hours.

What are California’s overtime rules?

California Labor Code section 510 sets them for most non-exempt employees:

Federal law applies in California too, but for most employees it requires overtime only after 40 hours in a workweek (see the Department of Labor’s overtime page). Where both apply, the rule that pays more wins, and California’s daily rules usually do. For the federal rule alone or a custom weekly rule, use the overtime calculator.

Do daily overtime hours count toward the 40?

No. An hour already paid as daily overtime does not count toward the weekly 40, so it is never paid twice. Say you work 12 hours on Monday and 8 hours a day from Tuesday to Friday: 44 hours. The 4 hours after the 8th on Monday are daily overtime. That leaves 40 regular hours, exactly the weekly threshold, so no weekly overtime is added.

Weekly overtime still matters on a sixth day. Six 8-hour days have no daily overtime, but the sixth day takes the week past 40, so its 8 hours are weekly overtime at ×1.5.

What does this calculator not cover?

• The seventh-day rule. If you work all seven days of a workweek, California pays ×1.5 for the first 8 hours of the seventh day and ×2 after 8. The calculator does not apply this rule.
• Alternative workweek schedules. A schedule adopted under Labor Code section 511, such as four 10-hour days, moves the daily threshold. The calculator always uses 8 and 12 hours.
• Personal attendants in private households. Personal attendants, such as nannies and caregivers employed directly by a family in a private household, get ×1.5 after 9 hours a day or 45 hours a week (California Labor Code section 1454), not the 8-hour rule. Federal law can also require ×1.5 after 40 hours a week, depending on who employs the worker and whether they live in.
• IHSS providers. Providers in the In-Home Supportive Services (IHSS) program get overtime after 40 hours a week (Welfare and Institutions Code section 12300.4). For that weekly rule alone, use the overtime calculator with the federal rule.
• Hospital and nursing-home 8-and-80 schedules. The 14-day period under FLSA section 7(j), with overtime after 8 hours a day and after 80 hours in 14 days, is not built in.
• The workday as your employer sets it. California’s workday is a fixed 24-hour period that can start at any hour. The calculator counts each shift on the calendar day it starts.
• Shifts across the end of the week. Under the FLSA each workweek stands alone (29 CFR 778.104), so the hours of a shift that crosses the end of the workweek count in the week they were worked. The calculator puts the whole shift on the day it starts.
• A weighted-average regular rate. The calculator uses one hourly rate. If you work at two or more rates in a week, or earn some bonuses on top of the hourly rate, the regular rate for overtime is a weighted average of that pay.
• Other states. Only the federal and California rules are built in; other states with daily overtime rules are not.
• The night the clocks change. Times are clock times without a time zone, so a shift that runs through a daylight saving change is off by one hour.

These rules apply to non-exempt employees; many salaried employees are exempt from overtime.

Calculations are estimates to help you check your pay. They are not legal, payroll or tax advice.

Can Hourio track California overtime every week?

Yes, with Pro. Hourio is an iPhone app that calculates your pay for every pay period from the shifts you log. Its California preset applies the same daily and weekly rules as this calculator, with no double counting, and shows each line of the sum. Daily overtime and the California preset are part of Pro at $19.99 a year or $39.99 once; weekly overtime is free. The pricing page has the details.