Wave Payroll helps make it easy to record and pay overtime hours to help you stay compliant with employment standards. Below you’ll find an overview of overtime requirements and links to more information directly from government agencies. Remember to confirm which regulations apply to you, as different situations and industries may be subject to different rules, even in the same jurisdiction.
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Overtime in Canada
In Canada, employers must follow the employment standards of the jurisdiction where the work is performed regardless of the province of employment or residence unless they are a federally regulated employer. Federally regulated employers must follow the Canada Labour Code regardless of where work is performed.
As a quick reference, we’ve provided a summary of when overtime takes effect, how overtime is calculated, and how overtime is affected by a statutory holiday. Remember that each province is able to outline special situations and rules that apply to them. These are outlined in provincial labour standards, which are linked below in each province’s more information section.
Select a jurisdiction to learn more about overtime requirements.
Alberta
General overtime rules
Overtime applies after eight hours a day or 44 hours a week, whichever is greater. Some industries and professions have exceptions to these requirements. Verify if an exception applies to you in the government resource linked in the more information section below.
Overtime is calculated as rate times one and a half. Enter these hours into timesheets as overtime for overtime pay and insurable hours to be automatically calculated.
How do statutory holidays impact overtime?
A statutory holiday does not decrease the maximum hours an employee can work in a week before being eligible for overtime.
Statutory holiday hours are only included when calculating overtime eligibility if hours worked on the holiday are paid at less than one and a half times the employee’s regular wage rate.
More information
Learn more and confirm if any exceptions apply to your business in this government resource: Employment standards rules – Overtime hours and overtime pay
British Columbia
General overtime rules
Overtime applies after eight hours a day or 40 hours a week. Depending on how many hours an employee has worked, overtime has to be calculated as follows.
For any time worked over eight hours in a day, up to 12 hour (even if the employee does not work more than 40 hours in a week) or if the employee has worked over 40 hours in a week (even if they work less than eight hours a day) overtime is calculated as rate times one and a half. Enter these hours into timesheets as overtime for overtime pay and insurable hours to be automatically calculated.
For any time worked over 12 hours in a day overtime is calculated as rate times two. Enter these hours into timesheets as double time for overtime pay and insurable hours to be automatically calculated.
How do statutory holidays impact overtime?
Statutory holidays do not decrease the maximum hours an employee can work before receiving overtime.
Hours worked on a holiday are included when calculating overtime eligibility, but paid unworked statutory holiday hours are not included.
More information
Learn more and confirm if any exceptions apply to your business in this government resource:
Federally regulated employers
General overtime rules
Federally regulated employers are a group of workplaces and employers regulated specifically by the Canada Labour Code.
Overtime applies after the approved daily or weekly hours have been exceeded, as well as after an average of 40 hours in a week where the schedule consists of 2 or more weeks. Enter these hours into timesheets as overtime for overtime pay and insurable hours to be automatically calculated.
How do statutory holidays impact overtime?
In a week in which a statutory holiday occurs, overtime rules generally apply after 32 hours. Unworked paid statutory holiday hours are not included when calculating overtime eligibility.
More information
For more details on employees this is applied to and special situations refer to this government fact sheet: CRA hours of work.
Manitoba
General overtime rules
Overtime applies after eight hours a day or 40 hours a week. Some industries have an exception to the standard hours of work in Manitoba. Verify if an exception applies to you in the government resource linked in the more information section.
Overtime is calculated as rate times one and a half. Enter these hours into timesheets as overtime for overtime pay and insurable hours to be automatically calculated.
How do statutory holidays impact overtime?
Statutory holidays do not decrease the maximum hours an employee can work before receiving overtime, and paid unworked statutory holiday hours are counted towards the number of hours worked when determining overtime eligibility.
More information
Learn more and confirm if any exceptions apply to your business in this government resource: Employment standards – Overtime
New Brunswick
General overtime rules
Overtime applies after 44 hours a week.
Overtime is whichever is higher: regular rate or minimum wage times one and a half. Enter these hours into timesheets as overtime to ensure hours are accurately recorded. Using overtime in Wave calculates pay at regular rate times one and a half. If your employee’s regular rate is higher than minimum wage, and you pay overtime at the minimum rate required by New Brunswick, manually calculate the required pay and use the wage adjustment feature to deduct the difference between your calculation and regular rate times one and a half.
How do statutory holidays impact overtime?
Overtime does not decrease the maximum hours an employee can work before receiving overtime, and unworked paid statutory holiday hours are included when calculating eligibility for overtime.
More information
Learn more and confirm if any exceptions apply to your business in this government resource: Minimum wage, overtime and minimum reporting wage
Newfoundland
General overtime rules
Overtime applies after 40 hours of work per week.
Overtime is whichever is higher: regular rate or minimum wage times one and a half. Enter these hours into timesheets as overtime to ensure hours are accurately recorded. Using overtime in Wave calculates pay at regular rate times one and a half. If your employee’s regular rate is higher than minimum wage, and you pay overtime at the minimum rate required by Newfoundland and Labrador, manually calculate the required pay and use the wage adjustment feature to deduct the difference between your calculation and regular rate times one and a half.
How do statutory holidays impact overtime?
Statutory holidays do not decrease the maximum hours an employee can work before being eligible for overtime. Worked statutory holiday hours are included when calculating eligibility for overtime, but unworked paid statutory holiday hours are not.
More information
Learn more and confirm if any exceptions apply to your business in this government resource: Labour relations at work
Northwest Territories
General overtime rules
Overtime applies after eight hours of work a day or 40 hours of work per week.
Overtime is calculated as rate times one and a half. Enter these hours into timesheets as overtime for overtime pay and insurable hours to be automatically calculated.
How do statutory holidays impact overtime?
A statutory holiday reduces the maximum number of regular hours an employee can work before being eligible for overtime to 32 hours, A statutory holiday is not included when calculating eligibility for overtime.
More information
Learn more and confirm if any exceptions apply to your business in this government resource: Employment Standards Act
Nova Scotia
General overtime rules
Overtime applies after 48 hours a week.
Overtime is calculated as rate times one and a half. Enter these hours into timesheets as overtime for overtime pay and insurable hours to be automatically calculated.
How do statutory holidays impact overtime?
Statutory holidays do not decrease maximum hours an employee can work before receiving overtime. Statutory holiday hours worked are included when calculating eligibility for overtime (including for Remembrance Day), but paid unworked statutory holiday hours are not included. When the hours worked on the holiday are included in the overtime calculation, any hours over the weekly overtime threshold of 48 hours are calculated at 0.5 times the regular rate since the hours worked on the holiday would have already been paid at one and a half times the regular rate
More information
Learn more and confirm if any exceptions apply to your business in this government resource: Overtime pay.
Nunavut
General overtime rules
Overtime applies after eight hours a day or 40 hours a week.
Overtime is calculated as rate times one and a half. Enter these hours into timesheets as overtime for overtime pay and insurable hours to be automatically calculated.
How do statutory holidays impact overtime?
Statutory holidays reduce the maximum hours an employee can work in a week before receiving overtime to 32 hours. Statutory holiday hours worked are not included when calculating eligibility for overtime.
More information
Learn more and confirm if any exceptions apply to your business in this government resource: The employment standards act
Ontario
General overtime rules
Overtime applies after 44 hours a week.
Overtime is calculated as rate times one and a half. Enter these hours into timesheets as overtime for overtime pay and insurable hours to be automatically calculated.
How do statutory holidays impact overtime?
Statutory holidays do not decrease maximum hours an employee can work before being eligible for overtime, and are not included when calculating eligibility for overtime unless hours worked on the holiday are paid at the regular rate.
More information
Learn more and confirm if any exceptions apply to your business in this government resource: Overtime pay
Prince Edward Island
General overtime rules
Overtime applies after 48 hours a week.
Overtime is calculated as rate times one and a half. Enter these hours into timesheets as overtime for overtime pay and insurable hours to be automatically calculated.
How do statutory holidays impact overtime?
Statutory holidays do not decrease the maximum hours that worked can be worked before an employee is eligible for overtime. Statutory holidays hours are not included when calculating eligibility for overtime.
More information
Learn more and confirm if any exceptions apply to your business in this government resource: Overtime
Saskatchewan
General overtime rules
Overtime applies after 40 hours a week. Employees scheduled four 10-hour days also receive overtime after 10 hours a day, and employees scheduled five eight-hour days also receive overtime after eight hours a day.
Overtime is calculated as rate times one and a half. Enter these hours into timesheets as overtime for overtime pay and insurable hours to be automatically calculated.
How do statutory holidays impact overtime?
Statutory holidays reduce the maximum hours an employee can work in a week before receiving overtime to 32 hours. Statutory holiday hours worked are not included when calculating eligibility for overtime.
More information
Learn more and confirm if any exceptions apply to your business in this government resource: Overtime
Yukon
General overtime rules
Overtime applies after eight hours a day or 40 hours a week.
Overtime is calculated as rate times one and a half. Enter these hours into timesheets as overtime for overtime pay and insurable hours to be automatically calculated.
How do statutory holidays impact overtime?
Statutory holidays reduce the maximum hours an employee can work in a week before receiving overtime to 32 hours. Statutory holiday hours worked are not included when calculating eligibility for overtime.
More information
Learn more and confirm if any exceptions apply to your business in this government resource: The employment standards act
Overtime in the United States
In the United States, employers must follow the Federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), and may also be subject to state and/or local regulations. If state and/or local rules differ from FLSA, follow the rules that most benefit the employee.
Remember to check if your local government has overtime requirements.
General overtime rules from the Federal FLSA
- Covered nonexempt employees must receive overtime pay for hours worked over 40 per workweek.
- Overtime is calculated as rate times one and a half. Enter these hours into timesheets as overtime for overtime pay to be automatically calculated.
- There is no limit on the number of hours employees 16 years or older may work in any workweek.
- Employers only have to pay overtime for work on weekends, holidays, or regular days of rest if the number of hours worked during the workweek exceeds the maximum 40 hours.
More information
Exempt employees include two general types of professional employment, learned and creative. Learn more in this government resource: Overtime Pay
The following states have additional overtime requirements. Click a state to learn more.
Alaska
Under the Alaska Wage and Hour Act, nonexempt employees receive overtime pay if they meet one of the following requirements:
- Work more than 40 hours in a workweek
- Work more than eight hours in a day
The state law does not apply to employers who typically employ fewer than four employees. Alaska also has additional exemptions on top of the FLSA. The full list of exemptions under the Alaska Wage and Hour Act can be found in the link below.
If state rules differ from FLSA, follow the rules that most benefit the employee.
Learn more in this government resource: Minimum wage standard and overtime hours
Arkansas
Arkansas has additional exemptions for employers not federally regulated. For a full list of exemptions, check out the Minimum Wage and Overtime Rules here.
There are also special overtime provisions for certain employers like firefighters and residential care facilities.
Learn more in this government resource: Minimum wage and overtime – Arkansas Department of Labor and Licensing
California
California’s overtime law requires employers to provide overtime to nonexempt employees for any time worked beyond:
- 40 hours in a workweek
- Eight hours in a workday
- Six days in a workweek
Additionally, California has a double-time law.Employers must give employees double their regular pay for any hours worked beyond:
- 12 hours in workday
- Eight hours on the seventh consecutive day of work in a workweek
Enter these hours into timesheets as double time for overtime pay to be automatically calculated.
California lists both exceptions to the general overtime law and exemptions from overtime laws.
Learn more in this government resource: Overtime
Colorado
Colorado’s overtime law requires employers to provide overtime to nonexempt employees for any time worked beyond:
- 40 hours in a workweek
- 12 hours in a workday
- 12 consecutive hours without regard to the starting and ending time of the workday
Whichever of the three results in a higher calculation.
Learn more in this government resource: Overtime – Department of Labor & Employment
Hawaii
There may be cases where an exempt employee under the FLSA may be entitled to overtime under state law. More information here.
Learn more in this government resource: Wage Standards Division – Minimum Wage and Overtime
Illinois
- Illinois has the One Day Rest In Seven Act (ODRISA) that mandates a 24 hour rest period in each calendar week. This means employers cannot require overtime if it violates the ODRISA.
- Illinois allows the employer to define a workweek.
Learn more in this government resource: Minimum wage/overtime FAQ
Kansas
If you are not covered by the FLSA, you must follow Kansas’s overtime rules for nonexempt employees. This requires employers to provide overtime to employees for hours worked beyond 46 hours in a workweek.
Learn more in this government resource: Workplace laws and requirements FAQs
Kentucky
Workplace standards also dictate that if an employee must work 7 days in any week, the employee is entitled to overtime pay for the seventh day worked of one and a half times the regular rate of pay. This does not apply to employees who aren’t permitted to work more than 40 hours in a week. Kentucky workplace poster
Learn more in this government resource: Wages and Hours – Labor Cabinet – Kentucky
Maine
Maine limits mandatory overtime to no more than 80 hours in a consecutive two week period, with some exceptions.
Learn more in this government resource: MDOL: Summary of labor laws
Maryland
Maryland’s Wage and Hour Law has additional exceptions:
- Bowling establishments, and institutions providing on-premise care (other than hospitals) to the sick, the aged, or individuals with disabilities for all work over 48 hrs. per week
- Agricultural workers for all work over 60 hrs. per week
Learn more in this government resource: Maryland Minimum Wage and Overtime Law – Employment Standards Service – Division of Labor and Industry
Michigan
If not federally regulated, Michigan’s overtime law applies to employers with two or more employees.
Learn more in this government resource: Bureau of Employment Relations – Wage and Hour Division
Minnesota
If you are not covered by the FLSA, you may still be subject to Minnesota’s Fair Labor Standards Act requiring all employers to provide overtime to employees for hours worked beyond 48 hours in a workweek.
Learn more in this government resource: A guide to Minnesota's overtime laws
Montana
Montana has some additional exemptions that apply if a business is not federally regulated.
Learn more in this government resource: Montana wage and hour labor law reference guide
Nevada
Nevada’s state overtime requirements depend on the rate of pay an employee receives.
- If the employee makes less than one and one-half times the minimum wage per hour, the employee must receive the overtime rate if more than 8 hours are worked in a 24 hour period (unless the employee agreed to work four, 10-hour shifts).
- Otherwise, overtime is owed if the employee work more than 40 hours in a workweek.
Learn more in this government resource: Frequently asked questions
New Jersey
New Jersey has an exemption for some motor bus company employees.
Learn more in this government resource: Wage and hour compliance – Laws and regulations
New York
Employees who are exempt from overtime under the FLSA may be covered by the state law.
New York’s state overtime law requires overtime pay at a rate of one and a half times the state minimum wage for hours worked beyond 40 for these FLSA-exempt individuals.
Learn more in this government resource: Get details on labor standards
North Dakota
North Dakota has additional exemptions.
Learn more in this government resource: ND minimum wage and work conditions summary
Oregon
Oregon has additional requirements for workers under the age of 18, as well as for some manufacturing employees.
Learn more in this government resource: Overtime for employers: State of Oregon
Pennsylvania
State law may cover workers exempt from overtime under the FLSA, such as certain employees in computer-related occupations.
Learn more in this government resource: Overtime rules in Pennsylvania
Vermont
If not federally regulated, Vermont’s overtime law applies to employers with two or more employees.
Learn more in this government resource: A summary of Vermont wage and hour laws
Washington
Washington has additional overtime requirements, including special rules for certain public works projects. Additionally, while most employers can mandate overtime, this is not allowed for registered or licensed practical nurses.
Cities within Washington may have additional rules, for example Seattle employees’ right to refuse hours if not originally scheduled.
Learn more in this government resource: Overtime and exemptions
West Virginia
Follow FLSA guidelines. If not covered, follow state guidelines if the following apply:
- The business does not qualify for federal “enterprise” coverage
- Eighty percent of the company’s employees do not qualify individually for federal overtime coverage based on work duties considered as interstate commerce activity
- The business has the required six nonexempt employees working in a permanent business location
West Virginia’s state overtime law requires overtime wages to nonexempt employees for any hours worked beyond 40.
Learn more in this government resource: West Virginia Division of Labor state overtime requirements
Wisconsin
Wisconsin has additional rules for minors. Employees 16 or 17 years of age are to receive overtime for hours worked beyond 10 in a day, or 40 in a workweek, whichever is greater.
Learn more in this government resource: Hours of work and overtime - Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development