Articles
Editorial standards →Holiday Pay Laws by State and Federal Rules
Federal law does not require holiday pay. Rhode Island is the one state that does. The biggest compliance trap is FLSA §778.211 — non-discretionary holiday bonuses recompute the regular rate for overtime.
Final Paycheck Laws by State
When final wages are due after termination: state-by-state timing rules, the voluntary vs involuntary distinction, California Labor Code §203 and Massachusetts treble damages, multi-state remote workers, and the 2024-2026 court rulings that changed the penalty math.
Mileage & Expense Reimbursement Laws by State (2026)
California Labor Code §2802, Illinois 820 ILCS 115/9.5, the IRS 72.5¢ rate, and the post-pandemic remote-work liability wave — what every multi-state employer owes in 2026.
Meal and Rest Break Laws by State
The 5 most expensive break mistakes + every US state's meal and rest break rules — premium pay, auto-deduction risk, industry rules, and minor labor laws.
Paid Sick Leave Laws by State
There is no federal paid sick leave law. Every US state with paid sick leave or paid leave requirements — accrual rates, annual caps, carryover rules, waiting periods, multi-state workers, and major city ordinances.
Vacation and PTO Payout Laws by State
The combined-PTO trap costs thousands per departing employee — plus the 7 mandatory-payout states, multi-state remote workers, and the most expensive failure patterns.
Off-the-Clock Work Laws by State
The 5 most expensive off-the-clock mistakes — federal Portal-to-Portal vs California's stricter "control" test, the named cases (Frlekin, Troester, Tyson), and remote-work exposure.
No Tax on Overtime: What the OBBB Deduction Actually Means for Employers
OBBB's IRC § 225 overtime deduction explained — what qualifies, the $12,500 cap, why California daily OT doesn't count, the four confirmed state decouplers, and 2026 W-2 Box 12 code TT reporting.
Pay Stub (Wage Statement) Requirements by State
FLSA does not require pay stubs. California §226 nine items, the Naranjo cascade, state-by-state requirements, and the 9 states with no stub at all.
Time Clock Rounding Rules and Recent Court Cases
FLSA permits neutral rounding to 5/6/15-min increments under 29 CFR §785.48(b). California is narrowing it to nothing — Camp v. Home Depot is pending at the Supreme Court.
Recordkeeping Requirements: How Long to Keep Time and Payroll Records by State
FLSA §516 requires 3 years for payroll, 2 years for time cards. New York and Hawaii require 6 years. Plus the Mt. Clemens burden-shifting rule that turns recordkeeping failures into damages multipliers.
Buddy Punching and Time Clock Fraud: Detection, BIPA, and the 2024 Amendment
Time-clock fraud costs roughly 2% of payroll. Biometric detection triggers Illinois BIPA exposure; GPS, photo-on-punch, and device-ID alternatives produce signal without the BIPA trap.
US Overtime Rules by State: A Complete Guide
The 5 most expensive overtime mistakes + every US state's rules — daily OT, double-time, 7th-day premiums, exemptions, and the 2024-2026 DOL changes.
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Editorial standards
How the articles are written — primary sources, named cases with full citations, statute references, last-updated dates, and a corrections path.
Fact-check methodology
How the claims are verified — Tier 1 source hierarchy, status taxonomy, and the per-article reports with clickable sources.
Tools
Free calculators that answer "what's MY number?" — PTO accrual, vacation payout, California meal-break premium pay, and more.
About Clockspot
Clockspot is online time clock software for small businesses — the simplest way to track employee time, with GPS location tracking, PTO accruals, job costing, and overtime calculation. Used in all 50 states since 2007.
These articles are the reference material we wish existed when we started building Clockspot in 2007 — wage-hour compliance written by people who actually operate it. See what we built at Clockspot.