Overtime is simple in 40 states: time-and-a-half after 40 hours, the federal rule, with a $684-a-week salary floor for exempt staff. It stops being simple the moment you have a tech in California (overtime after 8 hours in a day, double time after 12, a seventh-day premium), Alaska (after 8 hours a day), Colorado (after 12), Nevada (after 8 for anyone under $18 an hour) or Kentucky (seventh consecutive day). And it gets expensive the moment you have a salaried service manager or dispatcher in Washington ($80,168 to $89,076 to be exempt in 2026), California ($70,304), New York ($62,353 to $66,300), Colorado ($57,784), Alaska or Maine, where a salary that’s exempt in Texas is owed overtime.
This guide gives every state’s overtime rule, the exempt-salary floor where the state sets its own, the penalty for getting it wrong, and the federal rules on the things trades shops actually litigate: drive time, on-call time, day rates, spiffs in the regular rate, and the 2025 no-tax-on-overtime deduction (which covers federal overtime but not California’s daily premium). Statutes current as of October 2026.
Quick answer: Five states require daily or special overtime: California (after 8 hours, double after 12, seventh day), Alaska (after 8), Colorado (after 12), Nevada (after 8 for workers under 1.5x minimum wage) and Kentucky (seventh consecutive day). Six states set exempt-salary floors above the federal $684: Washington ($1,541.70–$1,713/week), California ($1,352), New York ($1,199.10–$1,275), Colorado ($1,111.23), Alaska ($1,040) and Maine ($871.16). Minnesota and Kansas have 48- and 46-hour state thresholds that only matter for employers outside the FLSA. 24 states have overtime laws that mirror the FLSA; 17 have none and rely on federal law.
On this page
- The federal rule every state starts from
- The 10 states that differ (table)
- Exempt salary floors: who is really salaried
- Drive time, on-call and what counts as hours worked
- Day rates, spiffs and the regular rate
- No tax on overtime, and other recent changes
- State-by-state breakdown
- Running the business
- FAQ
The Federal Rule Every State Starts From
The Fair Labor Standards Act requires time-and-a-half of the regular rate for every hour over 40 in a fixed, recurring 168-hour workweek. Nearly every trades shop is covered (annual sales of $500,000 or more, or any employee who handles goods that moved in interstate commerce, which is every tech who installs a part). Four features of the federal rule matter most for the trades:
- The regular rate isn’t the hourly rate. It’s total compensation for the week (hourly pay, nondiscretionary bonuses, spiffs, commissions on upsells, shift differentials) divided by hours worked. A tech paid $25 an hour who earns $200 in spiffs on a 50-hour week has a regular rate of $29, and his 10 overtime hours are paid at $43.50, not $37.50. Shops that pay overtime on base rate alone owe back pay on every spiff.
- Exemption needs salary and duties. The $684 floor is the first test; the employee must also primarily perform executive, administrative or professional duties. A “service manager” who runs calls four days a week isn’t exempt at any salary. Techs, installers and dispatchers are almost never exempt.
- Comp time is illegal. Private employers can’t give time off in a later week instead of overtime pay (public employers can). Within the same workweek, rearranging hours is fine.
- Averaging is illegal. A 50-hour week followed by a 30-hour week is 10 hours of overtime, not zero, even on a biweekly payroll.
Penalties under the FLSA are back wages plus an equal amount as liquidated damages, attorney fees, and a two-year lookback (three if willful). Most states add their own penalties on top, from double damages to Massachusetts’ mandatory treble.
The 10 States That Differ
| State | Daily or special overtime | Weekly threshold | 2026 exempt salary floor |
|---|---|---|---|
| California | After 8 hours/day (1.5x), after 12 (2x); 7th consecutive day (1.5x first 8, 2x after) | 40 hours | $1,352/wk ($70,304) |
| Alaska | After 8 hours/day (employers with 4+ employees) | 40 hours | $1,040/wk; $1,120 from July 1, 2026 |
| Colorado | After 12 hours/day or 12 consecutive hours | 40 hours | $1,111.23/wk ($57,784) |
| Nevada | After 8 hours in 24 if paid under 1.5x minimum wage ($18) | 40 hours | Federal $684 |
| Kentucky | 7th consecutive day of the workweek | 40 hours | Federal $684 |
| Washington | None | 40 hours | $1,541.70/wk (≤50 employees); $1,713 (51+) |
| New York | None (spread-of-hours pay for 10+ hour days) | 40 hours (44 live-in) | $1,275/wk downstate; $1,199.10 upstate |
| Maine | None | 40 hours (80-hour cap per 2 weeks) | $871.16/wk ($45,300) |
| Minnesota | None | 48 hours (state); 40 under FLSA | Federal $684, state duties tests |
| Kansas | None | 46 hours (non-FLSA employers only) | Federal $684 |
Exempt Salary Floors: Who Is Really Salaried
The Department of Labor’s 2024 rule, which would have raised the federal floor to $1,128 a week, was struck down in November 2024, so the federal threshold sits at $684 ($35,568). Six states set their own, tied to the minimum wage, and they reach well into service-manager territory.
| Jurisdiction (2026) | Weekly | Annual | Basis |
|---|---|---|---|
| Washington (51+ employees) | $1,713.00 | $89,076 | 2.5x minimum wage |
| Washington (≤50 employees) | $1,541.70 | $80,168 | 2.25x minimum wage |
| California | $1,352.00 | $70,304 | 2x minimum wage |
| New York (NYC, Long Island, Westchester) | $1,275.00 | $66,300 | Executive/administrative only |
| New York (rest of state) | $1,199.10 | $62,353 | Executive/administrative only |
| Colorado | $1,111.23 | $57,784 | Indexed (COMPS Order) |
| Alaska | $1,040.00 ($1,120 from July 1) | $54,080 ($58,240) | 2x minimum wage |
| Maine | $871.16 | $45,300 | 3,000x minimum wage |
| Federal (all other states) | $684.00 | $35,568 | 2019 DOL rule; 2024 increase vacated |
The practical test: take every salaried person in the shop who isn’t an owner, and check their salary against the floor for the state where they work. In Washington a $75,000 service manager is non-exempt and owed overtime for every hour over 40; in Texas the same manager is exempt if the duties test is met. Pay the overtime, raise the salary, or convert the role to hourly: those are the three legal options, and the detailed walk-through is in exempt salary thresholds for service managers.
Drive Time, On-Call and What Counts as Hours Worked
Overtime disputes in field service are rarely about the rate; they’re about which hours count. The federal Portal-to-Portal Act and the DOL’s regulations draw these lines, and the states that have their own rules (California, Colorado, Oregon, Washington) are stricter, not looser:
| Situation | Hours worked? |
|---|---|
| Drive from home to the first job | Not paid, if it’s a normal commute, even in a company van, as long as the use is within the normal commuting area and subject to an agreement (Employee Commuting Flexibility Act). Stopping at the shop first to load parts makes the day start there. |
| Drive between jobs | Paid. All travel between customers during the workday is hours worked. |
| Drive home from the last job | Not paid, unless the tech had to return to the shop or the last job was outside the normal commuting area. |
| On call at home | Not paid unless restrictions are so tight the tech can’t use the time (must stay within 15 minutes, can’t drink, repeated call-outs). Time spent on an actual call is paid, including drive time from home. |
| Supply house run before the first job | Paid, and the commute that follows it is paid too. |
| Training, safety meetings, truck inventory | Paid if required or during working hours. |
| Lunch | Unpaid only if 30 minutes or more and fully relieved; a tech who eats while driving to the next job is working. |
California treats the commute in a company vehicle as hours worked when the employer requires the vehicle and restricts its use (Morillion), so California shops that make techs take the van home generally pay from the driveway. GPS data from the dispatch app is the record that settles these cases in both directions.
Day Rates, Spiffs and the Regular Rate
Three pay structures common in the trades create overtime problems. Day rates (a flat amount per day regardless of hours) are legal, but the employee is still owed overtime after 40 hours, computed on the regular rate (weekly pay divided by hours), and the Supreme Court held in Helix Energy v. Hewitt (2023) that a day rate isn’t a “salary” for exemption purposes no matter how high. Piece-rate and flat-rate pay (paid by the job) is legal if overtime is added on the regular rate; California also requires separate paid rest-break and non-productive time for piece-rate workers (Labor Code § 226.2). Spiffs, commissions and bonuses that are promised in advance (sell the maintenance plan, get $25) are nondiscretionary and go into the regular rate; only true surprise bonuses stay out. The fix is a payroll system that computes the weekly regular rate automatically, because doing it by hand is where the back-pay claims come from.
No Tax on Overtime, and Other Recent Changes
What’s new: The 2025 federal tax law created a deduction for “qualified overtime compensation” for 2025 through 2028: up to $12,500 ($25,000 joint) of the premium portion (the half-time, not the full overtime hour) of overtime required by the FLSA. State-only overtime (California’s daily premium, Alaska’s eighth hour, Colorado’s twelfth) doesn’t qualify unless it’s also over 40 federal hours. Employers must report the qualified amount separately (W-2 Box 12, code TT, from the 2026 forms), so payroll has to track federal and state overtime separately. Details in no tax on overtime for trade techs and W-2 code TT. Also: the federal $1,128 threshold was vacated (November 2024); Washington’s exempt multiplier reached 2.5x for large employers in 2026 and reaches 2.5x for every employer in 2028; Colorado’s COMPS Order #39 took effect January 1, 2026; Virginia’s overtime act was realigned with the FLSA in 2022.
State-by-State Breakdown
Red chips mark states with daily overtime, a seventh-day rule, a different weekly threshold or an exempt-salary floor above federal; amber marks states whose overtime law mirrors the FLSA (with any state wrinkles noted); grey marks states with no overtime statute, where federal law alone applies. Every block links the statute or agency page.
Jump to your state
Alabama Federal FLSA Only
State rule: No state overtime statute; the FLSA governs. Alabama has no wage-and-hour agency; overtime claims go to the U.S. Department of Labor or federal court.
Federal floor: time-and-a-half after 40 hours in the workweek for non-exempt employees; the regular rate includes nondiscretionary bonuses, spiffs and commissions; exempt salaried staff need at least $684 a week ($35,568) plus a duties test; comp time instead of overtime is illegal for private employers.
Alaska Daily OT After 8 Hours
Statute / Agency: AS 23.10.060; Alaska Wage and Hour Act
State rule: Time-and-a-half after 8 hours in a day or 40 in a week, for employers with four or more employees. Voluntary flexible plans of four 10-hour days need Department approval. A tech who works a 12-hour emergency day on Monday earns 4 hours of overtime that week even if he goes home early Friday.
Exempt salary: Twice the state minimum wage for 40 hours: $1,040 a week ($54,080) since July 1, 2025, rising to $1,120 ($58,240) when the minimum wage hits $14 on July 1, 2026. Alaska has no tip credit and no comp-time option.
Federal floor: time-and-a-half after 40 hours in the workweek for non-exempt employees; the regular rate includes nondiscretionary bonuses, spiffs and commissions; exempt salaried staff need at least $684 a week ($35,568) plus a duties test; comp time instead of overtime is illegal for private employers.
Arizona Federal FLSA Only
State rule: No state overtime statute; the FLSA governs. Arizona’s Industrial Commission enforces minimum wage and paid sick time but has no overtime statute; the FLSA’s 40-hour rule and $684 exempt threshold apply.
Federal floor: time-and-a-half after 40 hours in the workweek for non-exempt employees; the regular rate includes nondiscretionary bonuses, spiffs and commissions; exempt salaried staff need at least $684 a week ($35,568) plus a duties test; comp time instead of overtime is illegal for private employers.
Arkansas State Law Mirrors FLSA
Statute / Agency: Ark. Code § 11-4-211
State rule: Time-and-a-half after 40 hours for employers with four or more employees, tracking the FLSA; exempt threshold follows federal law.
Federal floor: time-and-a-half after 40 hours in the workweek for non-exempt employees; the regular rate includes nondiscretionary bonuses, spiffs and commissions; exempt salaried staff need at least $684 a week ($35,568) plus a duties test; comp time instead of overtime is illegal for private employers.
California Daily OT, Double Time, 7th Day
Statute / Agency: Cal. Labor Code § 510, 515; IWC Wage Orders
State rule: Time-and-a-half after 8 hours in a day or 40 in a week and for the first 8 hours on the seventh consecutive day of the workweek; double time after 12 hours in a day and after 8 on the seventh day. Alternative workweek schedules (four 10s) require a secret-ballot election of the affected work unit filed with DIR. Overtime pay must appear on the itemized wage statement.
Exempt salary: Twice the state minimum wage for full-time work: $1,352 a week ($70,304) in 2026, plus a strict duties test (more than half the time on exempt duties). A salaried service manager under that figure is owed daily overtime. Commissioned inside-sales and certain union employees have their own exemptions.
Trades note: California’s daily overtime isn’t “qualified overtime” for the federal no-tax-on-overtime deduction, which covers only FLSA-required premiums; see no tax on overtime for trade techs. Also see California employment laws for trade employers.
Federal floor: time-and-a-half after 40 hours in the workweek for non-exempt employees; the regular rate includes nondiscretionary bonuses, spiffs and commissions; exempt salaried staff need at least $684 a week ($35,568) plus a duties test; comp time instead of overtime is illegal for private employers.
Colorado Daily OT After 12 Hours
Statute / Agency: C.R.S. § 8-6-111; COMPS Order #39
State rule: Time-and-a-half after 12 hours in a day, 12 consecutive hours regardless of the workday, or 40 in a week, whichever yields more pay. The COMPS Order also requires a paid 10-minute rest break every 4 hours and a 30-minute meal period after 5 hours.
Exempt salary: $1,111.23 a week ($57,784) in 2026, indexed annually (about $1,151 proposed for 2027). Colorado’s duties tests are narrower than the FLSA’s, and highly compensated employees need $127,091 in 2026.
Federal floor: time-and-a-half after 40 hours in the workweek for non-exempt employees; the regular rate includes nondiscretionary bonuses, spiffs and commissions; exempt salaried staff need at least $684 a week ($35,568) plus a duties test; comp time instead of overtime is illegal for private employers.
Connecticut State Law Mirrors FLSA
Statute / Agency: Conn. Gen. Stat. § 31-76c
State rule: Time-and-a-half after 40 hours; Connecticut requires overtime pay for some employees the FLSA exempts (certain drivers and mechanics), and the exempt threshold follows federal law.
Trades note: Connecticut’s wage statement rules require showing hours and overtime separately; penalties for unpaid overtime are double damages.
Federal floor: time-and-a-half after 40 hours in the workweek for non-exempt employees; the regular rate includes nondiscretionary bonuses, spiffs and commissions; exempt salaried staff need at least $684 a week ($35,568) plus a duties test; comp time instead of overtime is illegal for private employers.
Delaware Federal FLSA Only
State rule: No state overtime statute; the FLSA governs. Delaware’s wage payment law covers paydays and deductions but not overtime; the FLSA governs.
Federal floor: time-and-a-half after 40 hours in the workweek for non-exempt employees; the regular rate includes nondiscretionary bonuses, spiffs and commissions; exempt salaried staff need at least $684 a week ($35,568) plus a duties test; comp time instead of overtime is illegal for private employers.
District of Columbia State Law Mirrors FLSA
Statute / Agency: D.C. Code § 32-1003(c)
State rule: Time-and-a-half after 40 hours; DC’s Wage Theft Prevention Act adds liquidated damages up to treble for unpaid overtime. Exempt threshold follows federal law.
Federal floor: time-and-a-half after 40 hours in the workweek for non-exempt employees; the regular rate includes nondiscretionary bonuses, spiffs and commissions; exempt salaried staff need at least $684 a week ($35,568) plus a duties test; comp time instead of overtime is illegal for private employers.
Florida Federal FLSA Only
State rule: No state overtime statute; the FLSA governs. Florida’s constitution sets the minimum wage but the state has no overtime law or wage-and-hour agency; the FLSA governs.
Federal floor: time-and-a-half after 40 hours in the workweek for non-exempt employees; the regular rate includes nondiscretionary bonuses, spiffs and commissions; exempt salaried staff need at least $684 a week ($35,568) plus a duties test; comp time instead of overtime is illegal for private employers.
Georgia Federal FLSA Only
State rule: No state overtime statute; the FLSA governs. Georgia has no overtime statute; the FLSA governs.
Federal floor: time-and-a-half after 40 hours in the workweek for non-exempt employees; the regular rate includes nondiscretionary bonuses, spiffs and commissions; exempt salaried staff need at least $684 a week ($35,568) plus a duties test; comp time instead of overtime is illegal for private employers.
Hawaii State Law Mirrors FLSA
Statute / Agency: HRS § 387-3
State rule: Time-and-a-half after 40 hours; Hawaii exempts employees guaranteed at least $2,000 a month regardless of duties (a higher bar than the federal $684), and the FLSA still applies to them.
Federal floor: time-and-a-half after 40 hours in the workweek for non-exempt employees; the regular rate includes nondiscretionary bonuses, spiffs and commissions; exempt salaried staff need at least $684 a week ($35,568) plus a duties test; comp time instead of overtime is illegal for private employers.
Idaho Federal FLSA Only
State rule: No state overtime statute; the FLSA governs. Idaho’s minimum wage law has no overtime provision; the FLSA governs.
Federal floor: time-and-a-half after 40 hours in the workweek for non-exempt employees; the regular rate includes nondiscretionary bonuses, spiffs and commissions; exempt salaried staff need at least $684 a week ($35,568) plus a duties test; comp time instead of overtime is illegal for private employers.
Illinois State Law Mirrors FLSA
Statute / Agency: 820 ILCS 105/4a
State rule: Time-and-a-half after 40 hours under the Minimum Wage Law; exempt threshold follows federal law but Illinois applies the FLSA duties tests as of March 2003, so some later federal narrowing doesn’t apply. The One Day Rest in Seven Act requires a day off each week and a 20-minute meal break per 7.5-hour shift.
Trades note: Penalties for unpaid overtime are 5% per month plus fees; Chicago’s Fair Workweek ordinance doesn’t cover trades but its paid leave ordinance does.
Federal floor: time-and-a-half after 40 hours in the workweek for non-exempt employees; the regular rate includes nondiscretionary bonuses, spiffs and commissions; exempt salaried staff need at least $684 a week ($35,568) plus a duties test; comp time instead of overtime is illegal for private employers.
Indiana State Law Mirrors FLSA
Statute / Agency: Ind. Code § 22-2-2-4
State rule: Time-and-a-half after 40 hours, with exemptions parallel to the FLSA; the state law reaches employers with two or more employees that the FLSA may not cover.
Federal floor: time-and-a-half after 40 hours in the workweek for non-exempt employees; the regular rate includes nondiscretionary bonuses, spiffs and commissions; exempt salaried staff need at least $684 a week ($35,568) plus a duties test; comp time instead of overtime is illegal for private employers.
Iowa Federal FLSA Only
State rule: No state overtime statute; the FLSA governs. Iowa’s wage payment law has no overtime provision; the FLSA governs.
Federal floor: time-and-a-half after 40 hours in the workweek for non-exempt employees; the regular rate includes nondiscretionary bonuses, spiffs and commissions; exempt salaried staff need at least $684 a week ($35,568) plus a duties test; comp time instead of overtime is illegal for private employers.
Kansas 46-Hour Week (Non-FLSA Employers)
Statute / Agency: K.S.A. § 44-1204
State rule: Kansas requires time-and-a-half after 46 hours in a week, but only for employers not covered by the FLSA (under $500,000 in annual sales and no interstate commerce). Nearly every trades shop is FLSA-covered, so the federal 40-hour rule applies in practice; the 46-hour rule catches only the smallest local operations.
Federal floor: time-and-a-half after 40 hours in the workweek for non-exempt employees; the regular rate includes nondiscretionary bonuses, spiffs and commissions; exempt salaried staff need at least $684 a week ($35,568) plus a duties test; comp time instead of overtime is illegal for private employers.
Kentucky 7th-Day Overtime
Statute / Agency: KRS § 337.285
State rule: Time-and-a-half after 40 hours, plus time-and-a-half for all hours worked on the seventh consecutive day of the workweek if the employee worked every day of that week. Kentucky also requires a reasonable meal period between the third and fifth hour and a paid 10-minute rest break every 4 hours.
Exempt salary: Follows the federal $684. Penalties: liquidated damages equal to the unpaid overtime plus attorney fees.
Federal floor: time-and-a-half after 40 hours in the workweek for non-exempt employees; the regular rate includes nondiscretionary bonuses, spiffs and commissions; exempt salaried staff need at least $684 a week ($35,568) plus a duties test; comp time instead of overtime is illegal for private employers.
Louisiana Federal FLSA Only
State rule: No state overtime statute; the FLSA governs. Louisiana has no overtime statute; the FLSA governs.
Federal floor: time-and-a-half after 40 hours in the workweek for non-exempt employees; the regular rate includes nondiscretionary bonuses, spiffs and commissions; exempt salaried staff need at least $684 a week ($35,568) plus a duties test; comp time instead of overtime is illegal for private employers.
Maine Higher Exempt Threshold
Statute / Agency: 26 M.R.S. § 664(3), 663(3)(K)
State rule: Time-and-a-half after 40 hours, with Maine’s own cap on mandatory overtime (80 hours in two weeks, with exceptions for essential services and emergencies, which includes utility and repair work).
Exempt salary: 3,000 times the state minimum hourly wage: $871.16 a week ($45,300) in 2026, rising with the minimum wage each January. Exempt employees must also meet the federal duties tests.
Federal floor: time-and-a-half after 40 hours in the workweek for non-exempt employees; the regular rate includes nondiscretionary bonuses, spiffs and commissions; exempt salaried staff need at least $684 a week ($35,568) plus a duties test; comp time instead of overtime is illegal for private employers.
Maryland State Law Mirrors FLSA
Statute / Agency: Md. Lab. & Empl. § 3-415, 3-420
State rule: Time-and-a-half after 40 hours; Maryland applies overtime to some employees the FLSA exempts (certain mechanics and salespeople at non-dealership employers), and the exempt threshold follows federal law. Penalties up to treble damages.
Federal floor: time-and-a-half after 40 hours in the workweek for non-exempt employees; the regular rate includes nondiscretionary bonuses, spiffs and commissions; exempt salaried staff need at least $684 a week ($35,568) plus a duties test; comp time instead of overtime is illegal for private employers.
Massachusetts State Law Mirrors FLSA
Statute / Agency: M.G.L. c. 151, § 1A
State rule: Time-and-a-half after 40 hours; the state list of exempt occupations differs from the FLSA’s, and the premium-pay requirement for Sunday and holiday retail work ended January 1, 2023. Unpaid overtime carries mandatory treble damages under c. 149 § 150.
Trades note: Massachusetts applies its own exempt-salary test only through the federal threshold, but its treble-damages rule makes misclassifying a service manager the most expensive overtime mistake in the country.
Federal floor: time-and-a-half after 40 hours in the workweek for non-exempt employees; the regular rate includes nondiscretionary bonuses, spiffs and commissions; exempt salaried staff need at least $684 a week ($35,568) plus a duties test; comp time instead of overtime is illegal for private employers.
Michigan State Law Mirrors FLSA
Statute / Agency: MCL § 408.934a
State rule: Time-and-a-half after 40 hours under the Improved Workforce Opportunity Wage Act, for employers with two or more employees; exempt threshold follows federal law. Michigan allows compensatory time in limited circumstances with a written agreement, one of the few states that does.
Federal floor: time-and-a-half after 40 hours in the workweek for non-exempt employees; the regular rate includes nondiscretionary bonuses, spiffs and commissions; exempt salaried staff need at least $684 a week ($35,568) plus a duties test; comp time instead of overtime is illegal for private employers.
Minnesota 48-Hour Week (State Law)
Statute / Agency: Minn. Stat. § 177.25
State rule: Minnesota’s Fair Labor Standards Act requires time-and-a-half after 48 hours in a week. Because the federal FLSA requires it after 40, FLSA-covered employers (almost all trades shops) pay after 40; the 48-hour rule matters only for the smallest employers outside federal coverage and for a few state-only exemptions.
Exempt salary: Follows the federal $684, but Minnesota’s duties tests differ (they’re written separately in Minn. Stat. § 177.23). Minneapolis and Saint Paul have no separate overtime rules.
Federal floor: time-and-a-half after 40 hours in the workweek for non-exempt employees; the regular rate includes nondiscretionary bonuses, spiffs and commissions; exempt salaried staff need at least $684 a week ($35,568) plus a duties test; comp time instead of overtime is illegal for private employers.
Mississippi Federal FLSA Only
State rule: No state overtime statute; the FLSA governs. Mississippi has no overtime statute or wage-and-hour agency; the FLSA governs.
Federal floor: time-and-a-half after 40 hours in the workweek for non-exempt employees; the regular rate includes nondiscretionary bonuses, spiffs and commissions; exempt salaried staff need at least $684 a week ($35,568) plus a duties test; comp time instead of overtime is illegal for private employers.
Missouri State Law Mirrors FLSA
Statute / Agency: RSMo § 290.505
State rule: Time-and-a-half after 40 hours for employers covered by the state minimum wage law (retail and service businesses with annual gross sales over $500,000); exempt threshold follows federal law.
Federal floor: time-and-a-half after 40 hours in the workweek for non-exempt employees; the regular rate includes nondiscretionary bonuses, spiffs and commissions; exempt salaried staff need at least $684 a week ($35,568) plus a duties test; comp time instead of overtime is illegal for private employers.
Montana State Law Mirrors FLSA
Statute / Agency: MCA § 39-3-405
State rule: Time-and-a-half after 40 hours; Montana’s exemptions track the FLSA’s, and the state has no tip credit. The Wrongful Discharge from Employment Act is the bigger Montana wrinkle for employers.
Federal floor: time-and-a-half after 40 hours in the workweek for non-exempt employees; the regular rate includes nondiscretionary bonuses, spiffs and commissions; exempt salaried staff need at least $684 a week ($35,568) plus a duties test; comp time instead of overtime is illegal for private employers.
Nebraska Federal FLSA Only
State rule: No state overtime statute; the FLSA governs. Nebraska’s Wage and Hour Act sets a minimum wage but has no overtime provision; the FLSA governs.
Federal floor: time-and-a-half after 40 hours in the workweek for non-exempt employees; the regular rate includes nondiscretionary bonuses, spiffs and commissions; exempt salaried staff need at least $684 a week ($35,568) plus a duties test; comp time instead of overtime is illegal for private employers.
Nevada Daily OT After 8 (Lower-Paid Workers)
Statute / Agency: NRS 608.018; Nev. Const. art. 15, § 16
State rule: Time-and-a-half after 40 hours for everyone, and after 8 hours in any 24-hour period for employees paid less than 1.5 times the state minimum wage ($18.00 an hour at the 2026 $12 minimum). A tech earning $18 or more gets weekly overtime only; a helper at $16 gets daily overtime. Employees may agree in writing to a four-10 schedule.
Exempt salary: Follows the federal $684 and duties tests. Nevada has no tip credit.
Federal floor: time-and-a-half after 40 hours in the workweek for non-exempt employees; the regular rate includes nondiscretionary bonuses, spiffs and commissions; exempt salaried staff need at least $684 a week ($35,568) plus a duties test; comp time instead of overtime is illegal for private employers.
New Hampshire State Law Mirrors FLSA
Statute / Agency: RSA 279:21(VIII)
State rule: Time-and-a-half after 40 hours for employers covered by the state minimum wage law; exempt threshold follows federal law.
Federal floor: time-and-a-half after 40 hours in the workweek for non-exempt employees; the regular rate includes nondiscretionary bonuses, spiffs and commissions; exempt salaried staff need at least $684 a week ($35,568) plus a duties test; comp time instead of overtime is illegal for private employers.
New Jersey State Law Mirrors FLSA
Statute / Agency: N.J.S.A. 34:11-56a4
State rule: Time-and-a-half after 40 hours; New Jersey’s exemptions parallel the FLSA’s, the exempt threshold follows federal law, and the 2019 Wage Theft Act allows liquidated damages of 200% with a six-year lookback.
Federal floor: time-and-a-half after 40 hours in the workweek for non-exempt employees; the regular rate includes nondiscretionary bonuses, spiffs and commissions; exempt salaried staff need at least $684 a week ($35,568) plus a duties test; comp time instead of overtime is illegal for private employers.
New Mexico State Law Mirrors FLSA
Statute / Agency: NMSA § 50-4-22(D)
State rule: Time-and-a-half after 40 hours; New Mexico’s law covers some employees the FLSA exempts, and the exempt threshold follows federal law. Albuquerque, Santa Fe and Las Cruces set higher minimum wages that raise the regular rate.
Federal floor: time-and-a-half after 40 hours in the workweek for non-exempt employees; the regular rate includes nondiscretionary bonuses, spiffs and commissions; exempt salaried staff need at least $684 a week ($35,568) plus a duties test; comp time instead of overtime is illegal for private employers.
New York Higher Exempt Threshold
Statute / Agency: N.Y. Labor Law § 650 et seq.; 12 NYCRR 142
State rule: Time-and-a-half after 40 hours, with a twist: employees the FLSA exempts (for example, certain mechanics) still get overtime at 1.5 times the state minimum wage. Residential (live-in) employees get overtime after 44 hours. Spread-of-hours pay (an extra hour at minimum wage) applies when a day spans more than 10 hours, including split shifts.
Exempt salary (executive and administrative): $1,275 a week ($66,300) in New York City, Long Island and Westchester and $1,199.10 ($62,353) in the rest of the state for 2026. Professional employees follow the federal $684. A salaried dispatcher or service manager under these numbers is owed overtime; see exempt salary thresholds for service managers.
Federal floor: time-and-a-half after 40 hours in the workweek for non-exempt employees; the regular rate includes nondiscretionary bonuses, spiffs and commissions; exempt salaried staff need at least $684 a week ($35,568) plus a duties test; comp time instead of overtime is illegal for private employers.
North Carolina State Law Mirrors FLSA
Statute / Agency: N.C.G.S. § 95-25.4
State rule: Time-and-a-half after 40 hours under the Wage and Hour Act, mirroring the FLSA; exempt threshold follows federal law. Unpaid overtime carries double damages.
Federal floor: time-and-a-half after 40 hours in the workweek for non-exempt employees; the regular rate includes nondiscretionary bonuses, spiffs and commissions; exempt salaried staff need at least $684 a week ($35,568) plus a duties test; comp time instead of overtime is illegal for private employers.
North Dakota State Law Mirrors FLSA
Statute / Agency: N.D. Admin. Code 46-02-07-02
State rule: Time-and-a-half after 40 hours by Department of Labor rule, with exemptions parallel to the FLSA; exempt threshold follows federal law.
Federal floor: time-and-a-half after 40 hours in the workweek for non-exempt employees; the regular rate includes nondiscretionary bonuses, spiffs and commissions; exempt salaried staff need at least $684 a week ($35,568) plus a duties test; comp time instead of overtime is illegal for private employers.
Ohio State Law Mirrors FLSA
Statute / Agency: ORC § 4111.03
State rule: Time-and-a-half after 40 hours for employers with gross receipts over about $394,000 (indexed with the minimum wage); exemptions and the exempt threshold track the FLSA. Ohio’s 2022 amendments adopted the federal Portal-to-Portal Act rules on travel and pre- and post-shift time.
Federal floor: time-and-a-half after 40 hours in the workweek for non-exempt employees; the regular rate includes nondiscretionary bonuses, spiffs and commissions; exempt salaried staff need at least $684 a week ($35,568) plus a duties test; comp time instead of overtime is illegal for private employers.
Oklahoma Federal FLSA Only
State rule: No state overtime statute; the FLSA governs. Oklahoma has no overtime statute; the FLSA governs.
Federal floor: time-and-a-half after 40 hours in the workweek for non-exempt employees; the regular rate includes nondiscretionary bonuses, spiffs and commissions; exempt salaried staff need at least $684 a week ($35,568) plus a duties test; comp time instead of overtime is illegal for private employers.
Oregon State Law Mirrors FLSA
Statute / Agency: ORS 653.261; ORS 652.020
State rule: Time-and-a-half after 40 hours for most employees; daily overtime after 10 hours applies only in manufacturing, mills and factories, not to field service. Exempt threshold follows federal law but Oregon applies its own duties tests. BOLI requires a 30-minute meal period and paid 10-minute rest breaks.
Federal floor: time-and-a-half after 40 hours in the workweek for non-exempt employees; the regular rate includes nondiscretionary bonuses, spiffs and commissions; exempt salaried staff need at least $684 a week ($35,568) plus a duties test; comp time instead of overtime is illegal for private employers.
Pennsylvania State Law Mirrors FLSA
Statute / Agency: 43 P.S. § 333.104(c); 34 Pa. Code ch. 231
State rule: Time-and-a-half after 40 hours under the Minimum Wage Act. Pennsylvania’s 2020 rule raising the exempt threshold was repealed in 2021, so the federal $684 applies, but Pennsylvania doesn’t recognize the FLSA’s fluctuating workweek method or the computer-employee and highly-compensated exemptions, and it requires the regular rate for salaried non-exempt employees to be computed on a 40-hour basis (Chevalier, 2019).
Federal floor: time-and-a-half after 40 hours in the workweek for non-exempt employees; the regular rate includes nondiscretionary bonuses, spiffs and commissions; exempt salaried staff need at least $684 a week ($35,568) plus a duties test; comp time instead of overtime is illegal for private employers.
Rhode Island State Law Mirrors FLSA
Statute / Agency: R.I. Gen. Laws § 28-12-4.1
State rule: Time-and-a-half after 40 hours; Rhode Island still requires time-and-a-half for Sunday and holiday work in retail, not trades. Exempt threshold follows federal law.
Federal floor: time-and-a-half after 40 hours in the workweek for non-exempt employees; the regular rate includes nondiscretionary bonuses, spiffs and commissions; exempt salaried staff need at least $684 a week ($35,568) plus a duties test; comp time instead of overtime is illegal for private employers.
South Carolina Federal FLSA Only
State rule: No state overtime statute; the FLSA governs. South Carolina has no overtime statute; the FLSA governs, and LLR handles only wage-payment complaints.
Federal floor: time-and-a-half after 40 hours in the workweek for non-exempt employees; the regular rate includes nondiscretionary bonuses, spiffs and commissions; exempt salaried staff need at least $684 a week ($35,568) plus a duties test; comp time instead of overtime is illegal for private employers.
South Dakota Federal FLSA Only
State rule: No state overtime statute; the FLSA governs. South Dakota has no overtime statute; the FLSA governs.
Federal floor: time-and-a-half after 40 hours in the workweek for non-exempt employees; the regular rate includes nondiscretionary bonuses, spiffs and commissions; exempt salaried staff need at least $684 a week ($35,568) plus a duties test; comp time instead of overtime is illegal for private employers.
Tennessee Federal FLSA Only
State rule: No state overtime statute; the FLSA governs. Tennessee has no overtime statute; the FLSA governs.
Federal floor: time-and-a-half after 40 hours in the workweek for non-exempt employees; the regular rate includes nondiscretionary bonuses, spiffs and commissions; exempt salaried staff need at least $684 a week ($35,568) plus a duties test; comp time instead of overtime is illegal for private employers.
Texas Federal FLSA Only
State rule: No state overtime statute; the FLSA governs. Texas has no overtime statute; the FLSA governs. The Texas Payday Law lets TWC collect unpaid overtime that’s owed under federal law, but the 40-hour rule and $684 threshold are federal.
Trades note: Texas has no daily overtime, no meal or rest break law for adults, and no state exempt threshold; the state’s only hours rule is the one day of rest in seven for retail employees. See our Texas guide.
Federal floor: time-and-a-half after 40 hours in the workweek for non-exempt employees; the regular rate includes nondiscretionary bonuses, spiffs and commissions; exempt salaried staff need at least $684 a week ($35,568) plus a duties test; comp time instead of overtime is illegal for private employers.
Utah Federal FLSA Only
State rule: No state overtime statute; the FLSA governs. Utah has no overtime statute; the FLSA governs.
Federal floor: time-and-a-half after 40 hours in the workweek for non-exempt employees; the regular rate includes nondiscretionary bonuses, spiffs and commissions; exempt salaried staff need at least $684 a week ($35,568) plus a duties test; comp time instead of overtime is illegal for private employers.
Vermont State Law Mirrors FLSA
Statute / Agency: 21 V.S.A. § 384(b)
State rule: Time-and-a-half after 40 hours for employers with two or more employees; Vermont exempts some retail and service establishments the FLSA covers (so the FLSA still applies there). Exempt threshold follows federal law.
Federal floor: time-and-a-half after 40 hours in the workweek for non-exempt employees; the regular rate includes nondiscretionary bonuses, spiffs and commissions; exempt salaried staff need at least $684 a week ($35,568) plus a duties test; comp time instead of overtime is illegal for private employers.
Virginia State Law Mirrors FLSA
Statute / Agency: Va. Code § 40.1-29.2
State rule: Time-and-a-half after 40 hours. The 2021 Virginia Overtime Wage Act briefly created state-specific rules (and a three-year lookback), but the 2022 amendments realigned it with the FLSA while keeping a state cause of action. Exempt threshold follows federal law.
Federal floor: time-and-a-half after 40 hours in the workweek for non-exempt employees; the regular rate includes nondiscretionary bonuses, spiffs and commissions; exempt salaried staff need at least $684 a week ($35,568) plus a duties test; comp time instead of overtime is illegal for private employers.
Washington Highest Exempt Threshold
Statute / Agency: RCW 49.46.130; WAC 296-128-545
State rule: Time-and-a-half after 40 hours (no daily overtime), with state-specific exemptions and a ban on mandatory overtime for some health care workers. Washington requires paid 10-minute rest breaks every 4 hours and a 30-minute meal period after 5 hours.
Exempt salary: The highest in the country: $1,541.70 a week ($80,168) for employers with 50 or fewer employees (2.25 times the minimum wage) and $1,713 ($89,076) for 51 or more (2.5 times) in 2026, rising to $1,595.70 and $1,773 in 2027. Exempt computer professionals paid hourly need $59.96 an hour in 2026. Most salaried dispatchers and many service managers in Washington are non-exempt.
Federal floor: time-and-a-half after 40 hours in the workweek for non-exempt employees; the regular rate includes nondiscretionary bonuses, spiffs and commissions; exempt salaried staff need at least $684 a week ($35,568) plus a duties test; comp time instead of overtime is illegal for private employers.
West Virginia State Law Mirrors FLSA
Statute / Agency: W. Va. Code § 21-5C-3
State rule: Time-and-a-half after 40 hours for employers with six or more employees at one location that aren’t FLSA-covered; FLSA-covered shops follow federal law. Exempt threshold follows federal law.
Federal floor: time-and-a-half after 40 hours in the workweek for non-exempt employees; the regular rate includes nondiscretionary bonuses, spiffs and commissions; exempt salaried staff need at least $684 a week ($35,568) plus a duties test; comp time instead of overtime is illegal for private employers.
Wisconsin State Law Mirrors FLSA
Statute / Agency: Wis. Stat. § 103.02; DWD 274
State rule: Time-and-a-half after 40 hours; Wisconsin’s exemptions are in DWD 274 and don’t include every federal exemption. Exempt threshold follows the federal $684 but Wisconsin uses its own (older) duties tests.
Federal floor: time-and-a-half after 40 hours in the workweek for non-exempt employees; the regular rate includes nondiscretionary bonuses, spiffs and commissions; exempt salaried staff need at least $684 a week ($35,568) plus a duties test; comp time instead of overtime is illegal for private employers.
Wyoming Federal FLSA Only
State rule: No state overtime statute; the FLSA governs. Wyoming has no overtime statute; the FLSA governs.
Federal floor: time-and-a-half after 40 hours in the workweek for non-exempt employees; the regular rate includes nondiscretionary bonuses, spiffs and commissions; exempt salaried staff need at least $684 a week ($35,568) plus a duties test; comp time instead of overtime is illegal for private employers.
State rules and 2026 thresholds from state statutes, wage orders and labor department guidance as of October 2026; federal rules from the FLSA, 29 CFR Parts 541, 778 and 785. Exempt thresholds tied to minimum wages change each January 1 (and July 1 in Alaska). Collective bargaining agreements and public-works prevailing wage rules add their own overtime terms not covered here.
Running the Business
- The paperwork around overtime: no tax on overtime for trade techs (what the deduction means for your crew), W-2 Box 12 code TT (how to report it), and exempt salary thresholds for service managers (who you can salary).
- Misclassification: a 1099 helper owed overtime is the most common wage claim in the trades; see the 1099 helper trap and California AB5 for trades.
- The rest of the payroll calendar: final paycheck laws by state, paid sick leave laws by state and minimum wage increases by state.
- Deductions: tax deductions for trades business owners covers the owner side of overtime costs.
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FAQ
Which states require daily overtime?
Four, plus a seventh-day rule. California pays time-and-a-half after 8 hours in a day and double time after 12 (plus seventh-consecutive-day premiums). Alaska pays after 8 hours a day for employers with four or more employees. Colorado pays after 12 hours in a day or 12 consecutive hours. Nevada pays after 8 hours in a 24-hour period, but only for employees earning less than 1.5 times the minimum wage ($18 an hour in 2026). Kentucky requires time-and-a-half for all hours on the seventh consecutive day of a workweek. Oregon’s daily rule applies only to manufacturing.
What is the exempt salary threshold in 2026?
Federally, $684 a week ($35,568); the 2024 rule raising it to $1,128 was vacated. Six states set higher floors: Washington $1,541.70 a week for employers with 50 or fewer employees and $1,713 for 51 or more; California $1,352; New York $1,275 downstate and $1,199.10 upstate (executive and administrative exemptions); Colorado $1,111.23; Alaska $1,040 ($1,120 from July 1, 2026); Maine $871.16. Salary alone never makes someone exempt; the duties test must also be met.
Can I salary my service manager or dispatcher to avoid overtime?
Only if two things are true: the salary meets the floor in the state where they work, and their primary duty is managing (supervising two or more full-time employees with hiring or firing authority) or office administration involving independent judgment. A manager who runs service calls most of the week isn’t exempt at any salary, and a dispatcher who follows the board rarely is. In Washington, California, New York and Colorado the salary floor alone disqualifies most of these roles.
Is drive time paid for service technicians?
Travel between jobs during the day is always paid. The drive from home to the first job and from the last job home is an unpaid commute under federal law, even in a company vehicle, provided the vehicle use is within the normal commuting area and covered by an agreement; stopping at the shop first to load parts starts the paid day there. California counts the commute as hours worked when the employer requires the company vehicle and restricts its use. Time on an on-call run, including the drive from home, is paid.
Do spiffs and bonuses count toward overtime?
Yes, if they’re promised in advance. Nondiscretionary bonuses, sales spiffs, commissions on upsells and shift differentials are part of the regular rate, so the overtime rate is 1.5 times (weekly pay including those amounts divided by hours worked), not 1.5 times the base hourly rate. Only truly discretionary bonuses (decided after the fact, not promised) stay out. Paying overtime on base rate alone is the most common back-pay finding in field service audits.
Can I pay a technician a day rate instead of hourly?
Yes, but the day rate doesn’t eliminate overtime. After 40 hours in the week the employee is owed half-time on the regular rate (weekly day-rate pay divided by actual hours) for each overtime hour, and the Supreme Court held in Helix Energy v. Hewitt (2023) that a day rate is not a salary for exemption purposes no matter how high it is. Track hours even for day-rate crews.
Can I give comp time instead of overtime pay?
Not as a private employer. The FLSA bars banking overtime hours for time off in a later week; that option exists only for government employers. You can rearrange hours within the same workweek (send a tech home Friday after a long Monday) in weekly-overtime states, but not in California, Alaska, Colorado or Nevada, where the daily premium is already owed. Michigan allows limited comp-time arrangements under a written agreement, one of the few states that does.
Does the ’no tax on overtime’ deduction cover state daily overtime?
No. The 2025 federal deduction (up to $12,500, or $25,000 on a joint return, for 2025 through 2028) applies to the premium portion of overtime required by the federal FLSA, meaning hours over 40 in a week. California’s daily overtime, Alaska’s eighth hour, Colorado’s twelfth and Nevada’s daily premium don’t qualify unless those hours are also over 40 for the week. Employers report the qualified amount in W-2 Box 12 with code TT, so payroll must separate federal from state-only overtime.
What are the penalties for unpaid overtime?
Federally, the back wages plus an equal amount as liquidated damages and attorney fees, with a two-year lookback (three if willful). States add their own: mandatory treble damages in Massachusetts, 200% liquidated damages in New Jersey, treble in Maryland and Virginia (knowing), double in Connecticut, North Carolina and Washington, 5% per month in Illinois, and California’s waiting-time and wage-statement penalties on top. Misclassifying a crew of five for three years routinely produces six-figure settlements.
Which states have no overtime law at all?
Seventeen: Alabama, Arizona, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Iowa, Louisiana, Mississippi, Nebraska, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah and Wyoming. The federal FLSA applies in all of them, so the 40-hour rule and $684 threshold still govern; what’s missing is a state agency to enforce it and any state-level penalty. Employees there file with the U.S. Department of Labor or in federal court.
Bottom Line
Pay time-and-a-half after 40 on the regular rate (spiffs included), add daily overtime in California, Alaska, Colorado and Nevada and the seventh-day rule in Kentucky, and check every salaried employee against the state floor where they work, not the federal $684. Count drive time between jobs and any trip that starts at the shop. Never bank comp time, never average weeks, and never pay a tech a day rate and call him exempt.
Then track federal and state overtime separately in payroll, because the 2025 deduction and the new W-2 code only cover the federal part. The shops that got overtime right for years are the ones with a timekeeping system that knows where the truck was.
