Fact Check: Overtime Laws by State: Federal Rules, Exemptions, 2024–2026

"The federal rule is one sentence in the U.S. Code — 29 USC §207(a)(1)."

"A 'workweek' is whatever 7-day period you choose ... Once you choose it, you can't shift it to dodge overtime (29 CFR §778.105)."

"Each workweek stands alone. A worker who does 50 hours one week and 30 the next owes 10 hours of overtime on the 50-hour week (29 CFR §778.104)."

"The federal definition (29 USC §207(e)) is broad: every dollar of pay counts toward the regular rate, except for eight specific things."

"Hospitals/residential care/skilled nursing can elect a 14-day work period under 29 USC §207(j); overtime then kicks in at 8 hours in a workday OR 80 hours across 14 days."

"Public agencies that employ fire-protection or law-enforcement personnel can use work periods of 7 to 28 days; fire: 53 hours per 7 days (up to 212 per 28); police: 43 hours per 7 days (up to 171 per 28)."

"Executive exemption (29 CFR §541.100): primarily manages, directs 2+ employees, has hiring/firing authority or particular weight in recommendations."

"Administrative exemption (29 CFR §541.200): office work directly related to management or general business operations, requiring discretion and independent judgment on significant matters."

"Learned professional exemption (29 CFR §541.301): advanced knowledge in a field of science or learning, customarily acquired through specialized intellectual instruction."

"Creative professional exemption (29 CFR §541.302): work requiring invention, imagination, originality, or talent in a recognized artistic field."

"Outside sales exemption (29 CFR §541.500): no minimum salary; primarily making sales away from the employer's place of business."

"Salary basis rule (29 CFR §541.602): paid a predetermined amount each pay period that doesn't drop based on quality or quantity of work."

"29 CFR §541.604(b) requires a guarantee of at least the minimum weekly salary regardless of days/shifts worked, with a reasonable relationship between guarantee and earnings."

"Salaried non-exempt computation (29 CFR §778.113): regular rate = salary ÷ intended hours."

"Fluctuating workweek method (29 CFR §778.114(a)): five conditions — hours actually fluctuate, salary fixed, minimum-wage floor at highest hours, mutual understanding, 0.5× premium over 40."

"The 2020 FWW Final Rule (85 Fed. Reg. 34970, June 8, 2020) clarified that bonuses, premiums, commissions, hazard pay can be paid under FWW so long as those amounts are folded into the regular-rate calculation."

"Weighted average (29 CFR §778.115): regular rate for multi-rate workers = total straight-time earnings ÷ total hours."

"29 CFR §778.209: when a non-discretionary bonus covers more than one workweek, apportion it back and recompute the regular rate."

"29 CFR §778.211: discretionary bonus requires both the fact of payment and the amount to be at the employer's sole discretion, decided near the end of the period."

"Retroactive pay raises (29 CFR §778.303): overtime premium must be recomputed for the retroactive period."

"The 2019 Regular Rate Final Rule (84 Fed. Reg. 68736, effective Jan 15, 2020) added expense reimbursements, wellness benefits, tuition assistance, and certain unused-leave payouts to the §7(e) exclusion list."

"29 CFR §516.2(a) recordkeeping requirements: personal info, workweek start, daily and weekly hours, basis of pay, regular hourly rate, straight-time and overtime earnings, additions/deductions, total wages, date of payment and pay period."

"California adds a fourth year through its Unfair Competition Law (Bus. & Prof. Code §17200)."

"Massachusetts triples the damages outright (MGL c.151 §1B)."

"New York reaches six years back (NY Lab. Law §198)."

"Bonus discretion test (29 CFR §778.211): both fact of payment AND amount must be at sole discretion, decided near the end of the period."

"Federal §7(g)(2) escape hatch lets you pay at the rate of the work performed during the overtime hour only if there's a written agreement before the work and both rates are bona fide."

"California Labor Code §510(a): 1.5× over 8 hours/day; 1.5× over 40 hours/week; 2× over 12 hours/day; 1.5× first 8 hours of 7th consecutive day; 2× hours over 8 on 7th consecutive day."

"California Labor Code §511: alternative workweek schedules require two-thirds secret-ballot vote; up to 10 hours per day straight time."

"California doesn't allow a tip credit (Labor Code §351)."

"Alaska AS 23.10.060: 8h/day daily overtime; 40h/week weekly overtime."

"Kentucky KRS §337.050: 7th-day premium pay at 1.5× for all hours."

"Nevada NRS §608.018: 8h/day overtime applies to workers earning less than 1.5× the state minimum wage."

"Colorado COMPS Order: 12h/day overtime at 1.5×; agricultural 60h."

"Oregon ORS §653.265: 10h/day overtime in canneries, dryers, and packing facilities. Oregon ORS §653.272: agricultural overtime stepping from 55h (2024) to 48h (2025) to 40h (2027)."

"Pennsylvania 43 P.S. §333.104; PMWA prohibits FWW."

"New York overtime rule at 12 NYCRR §142-2.2 (1.5× over 40h, 44h for live-in domestic); 6-year statute of limitations at NY Lab. Law §198."

"29 USC §213(b)(1): Motor Carrier Act overtime exemption applies to vehicles weighing more than 10,000 pounds."

"Technical Corrections Act of 2008 narrowed the Motor Carrier Act exemption for vehicles 10,000 pounds or under."

"29 USC §213(b)(12): agricultural overtime exemption (all farms). 29 USC §213(a)(6)(A): small-farm exemption from both minimum wage and overtime for farms employing ≤500 man-days of agricultural labor in any quarter of the previous year."

"29 USC §203(m): tip credit — tips don't enter the regular rate."

"29 CFR §516.2 recordkeeping plus state-law overlays means tracking where each hour was worked is the foundation."

"Federal statute of limitations: 2 years; 3 years for willful violations (29 USC §255(a)). Liquidated damages double the recovery (29 USC §216(b))."

"29 USC §260: good-faith defense to liquidated damages."

"Massachusetts MGL c.151 §1A: 40-hour weekly overtime requirement."

"40 hours in a workweek, 1.5× the regular rate."

"Exemption requires all three: salary basis (29 CFR §541.602), salary threshold $684/week ($35,568/year) under the DOL's 2019 Final Rule, and the duties test."

"Computer exemption (29 CFR §541.400): $684/week or $27.63/hour minimum; primarily systems analysis, programming, software engineering."

"Highly compensated employee threshold: $107,432/year from the DOL's 2019 Final Rule, codified at 29 CFR §541.601."

"California's exempt salary threshold is 2× the state minimum wage at 40 hours/week — $68,640/yr at the 2025-2026 minimum of $16.50/hr."

"The 2024 DOL Final Rule (vacated) at 89 Fed. Reg. 32842 (April 26, 2024) raised the threshold to $844/week (effective July 1, 2024) and $1,128/week (effective January 1, 2025), highly compensated to $151,164."

"California's exempt salary threshold rose to $68,640/yr on January 1, 2025 with the minimum-wage increase to $16.50/hr."

"Colorado's COMPS Order 40 retained the $1,057.69/week threshold for 2025."

"Federal law doesn't require daily overtime. It only cares about the weekly total."

"DOL Fact Sheet #54 walks through the 8-and-80 election in plain language."

"DOL Fact Sheet #8 walks through §7(k) in plain language."

"DOL Fact Sheet #82 is the DOL's plain-language summary."

"Industrial Welfare Commission Wage Orders and California Labor Commissioner enforce: hours physically worked in California are governed by California overtime."

"Helix Energy Solutions Group v. Hewitt, 598 U.S. 39 (2023): a worker pulling in over $200,000 a year on a daily-rate structure was ruled non-exempt because the rate structure failed the salary-basis test."

"Corning Glass Works v. Brennan, 417 U.S. 188 (1974): employer bears the burden of proving every element of the exemption. Encino Motorcars v. Navarro, 584 U.S. 79 (2018): FLSA exemptions get a 'fair reading,' rejecting the prior narrow-construction canon."

"Overnight Motor Transportation Co. v. Missel, 316 U.S. 572 (1942) — codified by 29 CFR §778.114."

"Anderson v. Mt. Clemens Pottery Co., 328 U.S. 680 (1946): when employer records are missing or deficient, the employee carries a low bar (reasonable inference) and the employer must come forward with evidence of the precise amount of work performed."

"Tyson Foods v. Bouaphakeo, 577 U.S. 442 (2016): extended Mt. Clemens to class actions; representative evidence is admissible when employer's records are inadequate."

"Alvarado v. Dart Container Corp., 4 Cal. 5th 542 (2018): California uses non-overtime hours only as the divisor for flat-sum bonus regular-rate calculation, producing a higher rate than the federal method."

"Skyline Homes, Inc. v. Department of Industrial Relations, 165 Cal. App. 3d 239 (1985): California rejects the fluctuating workweek method; Lab. Code §510 controls."

"Alvarado extends the four-year UCL window to flat-sum bonus claims; the case applied retroactively, so claims reach four years back from filing."

"Ferra v. Loews Hollywood Hotel, LLC, 11 Cal. 5th 858 (2021): the §226.7 missed-break premium must use the full regular rate (including non-discretionary bonuses and shift differentials), not just base hourly."

"Marshall v. Brunner, 668 F.2d 748 (3d Cir. 1982): leading case for regular-rate computation with §3(m) plus multi-rate work."

"O'Brien v. Town of Agawam, 350 F.3d 279 (1st Cir. 2003)."

"Chavez v. City of Albuquerque, 630 F.3d 1300 (10th Cir. 2011)."

"Chevalier v. General Nutrition Centers, Inc., 220 A.3d 1038 (Pa. 2019): Pennsylvania rejects the fluctuating workweek method."

"November 15, 2024 — State of Texas v. United States Department of Labor, No. 4:24-cv-499, 2024 WL 4806268 (E.D. Tex. Nov. 15, 2024) vacated the 2024 DOL final rule."

"Walling v. Youngerman-Reynolds Hardwood Co., 325 U.S. 419 (1945)."

"Bay Ridge Operating Co. v. Aaron, 334 U.S. 446 (1948)."

"149 Madison Ave. Corp. v. Asselta, 331 U.S. 199 (1947)."

"Flood v. New Hanover County, 125 F.3d 249 (4th Cir. 1997)."

"California, Pennsylvania, and Alaska reject the fluctuating-workweek method (CA Lab. Code §510; PA 43 P.S. §333.104 + Chevalier v. GNC; AK 23.10.060)."

"States following federal only: 25 states (see table)."

"Jen worked example: 30h × $20 + 20h × $30 = $1,200; weighted regular rate $24.00/hour; OT premium 10 × 0.5 × $24.00 = $120; total $1,320."

"$1,300 quarterly attendance bonus over 13 workweeks = $100/week added to the regular rate."

"Retroactive raise example: $20→$22 over 8 weeks at 5 OT hours/week = $720 straight-time back pay + $120 overtime back pay."

"Misclassified coordinator at $50K, 10 unpaid OT hours/week, doubled by federal liquidated damages, across 2-3 years ≈ $52,000 per worker."

"California Alvarado method: $20/hr × 50 hrs + $200 weekend bonus → CA regular rate $25.00/hr, OT premium $75 on the bonus, total $1,375; vs. federal $24.00 / $120 / $1,320 ⇒ $55 more per worker per week."

"Marcus worked example: $20/hr at a 30-person warehouse in Sacramento; 50 hours with $200 weekend bonus; federal method total $1,320 vs. Alvarado method $1,375 — $55 difference per worker per week."

"May 5, 2026 — The Fifth Circuit dismissed the government's appeal in Texas v. DOL."

"May 14, 2026 — The DOL formally rescinded the 2024 final rule."