California doesn't wait for 40 hours — overtime starts every day. Enter your hours day by day and this calculator applies daily overtime, double time, the weekly rule, and the seventh-day rule together.
California Labor Code rules. Hours are never counted twice (no pyramiding).
Standard California rules for non-exempt employees. Alternative workweek schedules (e.g., an adopted 4/10), union agreements and exempt status can change the result.
Hours 9–12 in a day pay 1.5×; anything past 12 hours in a day pays 2×. This applies even in a short week — four 10-hour days earn 8 overtime hours in California, and zero under federal law.
Straight-time hours beyond 40 in the workweek pay 1.5×. Hours already paid as daily overtime are not counted again — California prohibits pyramiding the same hour at two premiums.
Work all seven days of one workweek and the seventh day pays 1.5× for the first 8 hours and 2× beyond 8 — from the very first hour.
A retail worker in Los Angeles earns $20/hour and works five 10-hour days (50 hours).
| Part | Math | Pay |
|---|---|---|
| Regular — 8 hrs × 5 days | 40 × $20 | $800.00 |
| Daily overtime — 2 hrs × 5 days | 10 × $30 | $300.00 |
| California gross | $1,100.00 | |
| Federal-only gross (for comparison) | $800 + 10 × $30 | $1,100.00 |
Same total here — but drop one day (four 10-hour days, 40 hours) and California still pays $80 of overtime while federal law pays none. That gap is why a California-specific calculator matters.
Daily: over 8 hours in a day = 1.5×, over 12 = 2×. Weekly: straight-time hours over 40 = 1.5×. Seventh straight day: first 8 hours at 1.5×, beyond at 2×. No hour is ever paid at two premiums (no pyramiding).
Yes: 2 daily overtime hours per day, 8 for the week, even at exactly 40 total hours. Exception: a formally adopted alternative workweek schedule (like a voted 4/10) removes daily overtime up to 10 hours.
If you work all seven days of a single workweek, day seven pays 1.5× for the first 8 hours and 2× after that. It does not apply if any day of that workweek was a day off.
Full rule-by-rule explanation: California overtime rules guide. For federal-only calculations, use the main overtime calculator.