California Overtime Rules: Daily OT, Double Time, and the 7th Day

California has the most worker-friendly overtime rules in the country, and they're nothing like the federal default. If you only know the "over 40 hours a week" rule, you're missing most of the ways a California job can trigger overtime, which means you might be missing money.

The big difference is that California counts your hours per day, not just per week. That single change opens up daily overtime, double time, and seventh-day premiums that the FLSA never requires. Here's the whole picture.

Daily overtime: time and a half after 8 hours

In California, non-exempt employees earn time and a half for all hours worked over 8 in a single workday, even if they never hit 40 for the week. Work a 10-hour day and you've earned 2 hours of overtime that day, period.

This stacks with the weekly rule too. You still get overtime for hours over 40 in a week, but the daily rule often kicks in first. For someone who works four 11-hour days, that's 12 daily overtime hours (3 per day), regardless of the weekly total. Enter your daily hours, not just the weekly sum, in the overtime calculator.

Double time: 2x pay after 12 hours

California is the only state that requires double time, and it applies after 12 hours in a single workday. Every hour past 12 is paid at 2x your regular rate.

So a 14-hour day breaks down like this: the first 8 hours at straight time, hours 9 through 12 at time and a half, and hours 13 and 14 at double time. At $25 an hour that's $200 + $150 + $100 = $450 for the day. The double time calculator handles these tiers automatically.

The seventh-consecutive-day rule

Here's a rule almost nobody knows: if you work seven consecutive days in a single workweek, the seventh day gets special treatment. The first 8 hours on that seventh day are paid at time and a half, and any hours beyond 8 on that day are paid at double time.

This protects workers who get scheduled without a day off. If your employer runs you seven straight days, that last shift should pay a premium from the very first hour, not just after 40 weekly hours.

How the daily and weekly rules combine

California tells you to apply whichever rule gives you the most overtime, and you never double-count the same hour. In practice the payroll system should compute daily overtime, daily double time, the weekly 40-hour overtime, and the seventh-day premium, then pay you the most favorable result without stacking premiums on a single hour.

Because it's layered, this is exactly the kind of math employers botch. A worker doing long days plus a six- or seven-day week can be owed a surprising amount that a simple "over 40" calculation completely misses.

Meal and rest break penalties on top

California overtime often comes bundled with break violations. Non-exempt employees are owed a 30-minute meal break before the end of the fifth hour and paid 10-minute rest breaks for every four hours worked. Miss one, and the employer owes one extra hour of pay at your regular rate as a penalty, per type, per day.

Those premium hours add up fast and are recoverable separately from overtime. If your long days also meant skipped or late lunches, you may be owed break premiums too. The full filing process is in the California wage-claim guide.

Frequently asked questions

Do California's daily overtime rules apply if I'm salaried? Only if you're non-exempt. California's exempt salary threshold is about $70,304 in 2026 (2x the state minimum for full-time), and you also have to pass the duties test. Many salaried Californians are actually non-exempt and owed daily overtime.

My employer says only hours over 40 count. Are they wrong? Under California law, almost certainly. Daily overtime after 8 hours applies regardless of your weekly total. An employer using only the federal weekly rule in California is likely underpaying you.

How far back can I claim California overtime? California generally allows up to three years for wage claims, and up to four years under the unfair-competition law. That's longer than the federal window, so don't assume you've run out of time.

Add up your California overtime

Pull your schedule and look at daily hours, long shifts over 12 hours, and any seven-day stretches. Run them through the overtime calculator and the double time calculator to see what you actually earned.

If your pay stubs only reflect weekly overtime, you may be owed daily OT, double time, seventh-day premiums, and break penalties. Estimate the total with the back-pay calculator, and review your options through the California Labor Commissioner or the DOL Wage and Hour Division. This is general information, not legal advice.