Overtime Calculator (FLSA & California)

In 2026, a Sacramento staffing-agency payroll auditor reconciling 60-hour weeks across 11 California warehouse workers, a Detroit auto-parts plant foreman comparing federal 40-hour straight overtime against the contractually-required 8-hour-daily overtime, a Brooklyn dispatch supervisor for a 24/7 ride-share fleet, and a Phoenix construction estimator pricing a job that'll mean Saturday work all need the same three numbers: how many hours pay at straight (1.0x), how many at time-and-a-half (1.5x), and how many at double-time (2.0x). This calculator decomposes hours worked into Regular / OT-1.5x / OT-2.0x bands and outputs gross pay under either federal FLSA-only or California Labor Code §510 rules.

The 1.5x overtime premium is older than the Fair Labor Standards Act. The 1916 Adamson Act first established an 8-hour day for interstate railroad workers with 1.5x for hours beyond. The 1933 NIRA (National Industrial Recovery Act) — struck down by the Supreme Court in 1935 — applied 1.5x more broadly. FDR's 1938 FLSA codified it at 1.5x for hours above 44/week (lowered to 40 in October 1940). The Act has been amended 30+ times; current rules live at 29 USC §207 and 29 CFR Part 778.

California became the first state to require daily overtime in 1999 (Stats. 1999 Ch. 134, Knox/Solis bill), restoring the 8-hour daily threshold that the 1980 IWC wage orders had removed. Under California Labor Code §510(a): time-and-a-half for hours 8-12 in a day; double-time for hours 12+ in a day OR for hours 8+ on the 7th consecutive day of work; the 7th consecutive day itself pays 1.5x for the first 8 hours. Alaska, Nevada, and Colorado have similar daily-OT rules. The federal FLSA pre-empts only the minimum standard — states may always be more generous.

Industries with their own overtime regimes: railroad/airline (Railway Labor Act 1926), federal government (FEPCA 1990, Title 5 §5542), agricultural workers (29 USC §213(b)(12) federal exemption, but California AB 1066 phased in OT for ag workers fully by 2025), domestic workers (29 USC §202(a)(15)(B) live-in exemption removed by DOL 2015 rule). The 2024 DOL salary threshold rule ($58,656 for executive/admin/professional exemption) brought ~4.3 million salaried workers back under FLSA OT coverage. Constructions trades have their own collective-bargaining overtime structures.

The economic case for overtime regulation has been debated since 1900. Henry Ford's 1926 voluntary move to a 40-hour workweek at the Highland Park plant (and 5-day workweek) was followed by union demands across industries. The 1938 FLSA reflects a New Deal compromise between organized labor (which wanted a 30-hour week, Black-Connery Bill) and industry (which wanted no federal mandate at all). Modern econometric work (Hamermesh 2006, Costa 2000) suggests the 40-hour line creates a clear notch in the labor supply curve that employers actively manage around — by hiring more workers, scheduling around the threshold, or pushing for exemption.

Time-and-a-half math is more nuanced than it looks. The 'regular rate' for OT purposes (29 CFR §778.108-§778.115) includes more than just the hourly rate — it includes non-discretionary bonuses, shift differentials, on-call pay, and the cash value of board/lodging. A worker at $20/hr who also receives a $200/week production bonus has an effective regular rate of $20 + ($200/40) = $25/hr — and OT pays at $25 × 1.5 = $37.50/hr. Failure to include the bonus in the OT base is the most common DOL wage-and-hour violation finding.

Modern overtime litigation is increasingly class-based. The Tyson Foods v. Bouaphakeo 2016 Supreme Court decision allowed statistical sampling proof of donning/doffing time. The Encino Motorcars v. Navarro 2018 decision narrowed exemptions. The 2024 5th Circuit cases on the DOL salary threshold remain in flux. California PAGA (Private Attorneys General Act, Labor Code §2698-2699) allows representative actions against employers — the 2024 PAGA reform (AB 2288/SB 92, signed July 2024) tightened standards but kept the framework intact. The lesson: get the OT math right the first time.