The federal rule is time-and-a-half after 40 hours in a workweek, with no daily limit at all. California, Alaska, Nevada and Colorado apply daily overtime after eight hours in a workday, and California adds double time after twelve and special rules for a seventh consecutive workday. Where state law is more generous it governs, and you can be owed daily overtime in a week under 40 hours.
Why the distinction matters
Four ten-hour days is forty hours — no federal overtime at all. In a daily-overtime state that same schedule produces eight hours of overtime, because each day past eight counts on its own.
So the same roster is lawful and cheap in one state and expensive in another, which is why compressed schedules are far more common in some places than others.
California is the strictest
Time-and-a-half after eight hours in a day and after 40 in a week. Double time after twelve hours in a day. On a seventh consecutive day in a workweek, time-and-a-half for the first eight hours and double time beyond that.
California also sets its own exempt salary threshold, $70,304 a year in 2026 — roughly double the federal figure, so a salary that exempts someone federally may not exempt them there.
The others
Alaska, Nevada and Colorado apply daily overtime with their own conditions and thresholds, and several states have industry-specific daily rules covering healthcare, agriculture or manufacturing even where no general daily rule exists.
You never get less
Federal and state rules do not cancel each other. You are entitled to whichever produces more, calculated properly rather than picked whole — the point is not to choose a regime but to end up with the larger correct figure.
The practical check
If you regularly work shifts longer than eight hours, find out whether your state has a daily rule before anything else. It is the single question most likely to reveal unpaid money, and it is answered on your state labor agency’s own page.
Common questions
Is there a federal daily overtime rule?
No. Federal law counts hours over 40 in a workweek and sets no daily limit.
Which states have daily overtime?
California, Alaska, Nevada and Colorado apply it after eight hours in a workday, with their own conditions.
Can I get overtime in a week under 40 hours?
Yes, in a daily-overtime state. Four ten-hour days is forty hours federally and eight overtime hours in California.
What are California's extra rules?
Double time after twelve hours in a day, and on a seventh consecutive workday time-and-a-half for eight hours then double time.
Which rule applies if both do?
Whichever produces more. Federal and state rules do not cancel each other out.