California overtime calculator

Calculate California overtime for one workweek

Enter the hours worked on each of the seven days of one workweek, in order, with Day 1 as the first day of your employer's workweek. Leave a day at 0 if it was not worked. The calculator runs in your browser and sends nothing.

What are the California overtime rules?

California Labor Code section 510 sets four overtime rules for non-exempt employees. The Labor Commissioner's overtime FAQ states each one in plain terms.

1. 1

   Split each day

   For days 1 to 6, the first 8 hours are regular, hours 9 to 12 are overtime and anything past 12 is double time.

2. 2

   Apply the seventh-day rule

   If every one of the seven days has hours above 0, day 7 is different: its first 8 hours are overtime and the rest are double time, and none of it counts as regular.

3. 3

   Cap regular hours at 40

   Going day by day, once regular hours reach 40, any later regular hours become overtime. This is how a short Saturday ends up fully at 1.5 times.

4. 4

   Price it

   Gross pay = rate x (regular + 1.5 x overtime + 2 x double time).

What does the calculator leave out?

The calculator assumes your regular rate equals the hourly rate you enter, and it applies only the standard rules. It does not handle anything that changes who is owed overtime or how the regular rate is built.

• Exempt employees. Executive, administrative and professional exemptions depend on duties and pay, not job title.
• Alternative workweek schedules, such as four 10-hour days, which follow their own adoption rules and can change when daily overtime starts.
• Collective bargaining agreements. Some construction employees are covered by agreements that meet the conditions in Labor Code section 514 and treat daily overtime differently.
• Regular rate adjustments. Non-discretionary bonuses, shift differentials and piece rates can raise the regular rate used for overtime.
• Prevailing wage jobs, meal and rest period premiums, and travel time questions, each of which has its own rules.
• A workweek that is not seven consecutive days from a fixed start. Enter the days in your employer's workweek order.

What does the default week work out to?

With the default inputs, five 10-hour days and a 6-hour Saturday at $34.00 an hour come to 40 regular hours and 16 overtime hours, for $2,176.00 before deductions. The Saturday is all overtime because the first five days already used up the 40 regular hours.

To see the seventh-day rule, enter 8, 8, 8, 8, 8, 8 and 10. All seven days have hours, so day 7 is 8 hours of overtime and 2 hours of double time. Days 1 to 5 supply the 40 regular hours, day 6 becomes 8 overtime hours, and the total is 40 regular, 16 overtime and 2 double-time hours: $2,312.00 at $34.00 an hour.

How do you use the result?

• Checking a timesheet: compare the regular, overtime and double-time columns on payroll with this split for the same week.
• Scheduling: test a planned week before you commit the crew and see how many hours land at 1.5 or 2 times the rate.
• Estimating a job: an overtime-heavy schedule raises the cost per hour, so run the planned week through the labor burden calculator at the blended rate.
• Keeping the record: overtime depends on hours by day, so each day's start, end and breaks need to be on the record. Hours that are recorded as they happen are easier to defend than hours rebuilt from memory.

For the full picture on construction crews, including prevailing wage and union cases, read California construction overtime rules. If you only need weekly overtime, use the time card calculator.