Daily Overtime

What Is Daily Overtime?

Daily overtime is California's requirement that employers pay non-exempt employees premium wages for hours worked beyond 8 in a single workday. This is a significant protection that goes beyond federal law, which only requires overtime after 40 hours in a workweek.

Under California law:

Hours 8-12 in a workday: Paid at 1.5× the regular rate (time-and-a-half)
Hours over 12 in a workday: Paid at 2× the regular rate (double-time)

Why Daily Overtime Matters

Daily overtime protects workers from extremely long shifts by requiring premium pay, even when:

The employee works fewer than 40 hours in the week
The long shift is the only day worked
The employee volunteered for the extra hours

Example: Daily OT Without Weekly OT

An employee works:

Monday: 12 hours
Tuesday: 8 hours
Wednesday: 8 hours
Thursday: Off
Friday: Off

Total hours: 28 (no weekly overtime)

But the Monday shift triggers 4 hours of daily overtime (hours 9-12 at 1.5×).

How to Calculate Daily Overtime

The Workday Definition

A "workday" is any consecutive 24-hour period starting at the same time each day. Employers can define when the workday starts, but:

It must be consistently applied
It should not be changed to avoid overtime
The default is midnight to midnight

Calculation Steps

Identify the workday start time for your organization
Count total hours worked within that 24-hour period
Apply overtime rates:
- Hours 1-8: Regular rate
- Hours 8.01-12: 1.5× regular rate
- Hours 12.01+: 2× regular rate

Example Calculation

Employee earns $24/hour and works a 14-hour shift:

Hours	Rate	Amount
First 8	$24.00	$192.00
Next 4 (hours 9-12)	$36.00 (1.5×)	$144.00
Last 2 (hours 13-14)	$48.00 (2×)	$96.00
Total		$432.00

Without daily overtime (federal rules only), this employee would receive $336.00 (14 × $24).

Daily Overtime and Shift Schedules

Split Shifts

When employees work two shifts in the same workday with a break between:

Both shifts count toward the same workday's hours
The gap doesn't reset the daily overtime calculation
May also trigger split shift premium requirements

Overnight Shifts

For shifts that cross midnight:

The workday starts when the shift begins
All hours are counted in that single workday
The next shift starts a new workday

Example:

Employee starts at 10 PM, works until 8 AM (10 hours)
All 10 hours are in one workday (the one starting at 10 PM)
2 hours of daily overtime at 1.5×

On-Call Workers Called Back

If an on-call employee is called in after completing a shift:

Hours count toward the same workday if within 24 hours of workday start
May trigger unexpected daily overtime
Track carefully for compliance

Daily Overtime Exceptions

Alternative Workweek Schedules

Under an approved alternative workweek schedule:

Employees can work up to 10 hours/day without daily overtime
Must be properly adopted through employee vote
Overtime applies after 10 hours (or 12 depending on schedule)

Exempt Employees

Exempt employees who meet salary and duties tests are not entitled to daily overtime.

Healthcare Workers

Certain healthcare employees may work up to 12 hours without daily overtime under specific alternative workweek arrangements.

Tracking Daily Overtime

Accurate time tracking is essential for daily overtime compliance:

Required Records

Employers must maintain:

Start and end time for each shift
Total hours worked each workday
Meal period start and end times
Documentation of overtime hours and rates paid

Time Tracking Best Practices

Record actual times: Don't round start/end times in ways that hide overtime
Track breaks accurately: Ensure meal breaks are properly deducted
Alert managers: Set up notifications when employees approach 8 hours
Require approval: Implement pre-authorization for work beyond 8 hours
Audit regularly: Review time records for missed daily overtime

Common Compliance Mistakes

Averaging Hours Across Days

Wrong: "Employee worked 6 hours Monday and 10 hours Tuesday, averaging 8 hours/day."

Right: Tuesday has 2 hours of daily overtime regardless of Monday's hours.

Using Weekly Hours Only

Wrong: "Employee worked 38 hours this week, so no overtime."

Right: Must check each day for hours over 8, even if weekly total is under 40.

Ignoring Unpaid Work

Wrong: Not counting time spent:

Preparing before shift start
Cleaning up after shift ends
Working through meal breaks
Responding to work messages

Right: All time "suffered or permitted to work" counts toward daily hours.

Improper Workday Definitions

Wrong: Shifting the workday start time to break up long shifts across two workdays.

Right: Workday definition must be consistent and not changed to avoid overtime.

Daily Overtime in Multi-Location Scheduling

When employees work at multiple locations in one day:

Hours are combined for daily overtime purposes
The location doesn't affect the daily overtime calculation
Different local minimum wages may apply by location, but overtime calculation is based on total daily hours

Technology Solutions

Modern workforce management systems help manage daily overtime by:

Real-time tracking: Monitoring hours throughout the workday
Threshold alerts: Notifying managers before employees hit 8 hours
Schedule optimization: Building schedules that minimize unexpected overtime
Automatic calculations: Correctly applying daily overtime rates
Compliance reporting: Generating audit-ready overtime reports

Cost Impact

Daily overtime significantly affects labor costs in industries with irregular schedules:

Industries Most Affected

Healthcare (12-hour shifts)
Manufacturing (extended production runs)
Retail (holiday seasons)
Events and hospitality
Construction

Budget Considerations

When forecasting labor costs:

Include expected daily overtime
Build overtime budgets for predictable long days
Consider alternative workweek adoption for legitimate operational needs
Factor in double-time for shifts over 12 hours

Daily overtime is a cornerstone of California's worker protections—understanding and properly managing it is essential for compliant operations.