Working extra hours in California? Use our free California Overtime Calculator to estimate your overtime and double-time pay based on state labor laws, including a detailed breakdown of your regular, overtime, and double-time hours.
Free California Overtime Wage Calculator
This free tool is built by Connecteam, the platform for managing your team.
How to Use the California Overtime Calculator
- Enter your regular hourly rate in the input field.
- Select your pay period (weekly or bi-weekly).
- Input your daily working hours for each day of the week.
- Click calculate to see your total pay and hour breakdown.
California Overtime Calculator
Employee Information
Daily Working Hours
Results
Your Total Pay
$0.00
For this period
Regular Hours
$0.00
0h @ regular rate
Hour Breakdown
| Pay Type | Hours | Rate | Total Pay |
|---|---|---|---|
| Regular Hours | 0.00 | 1x | $0.00 |
| Overtime Hours (8-12h/day) | 0.00 | 1.5x | $0.00 |
| Double Time Hours (12h+/day) | 0.00 | 2x | $0.00 |
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This calculator provides estimates based on the information provided. Actual overtime pay may vary depending on your specific employment situation, industry, and other factors. Please consult with your HR department for official calculations.
What is Overtime Pay in California?
California has some of the most detailed overtime laws in the U.S., designed to protect employees who work long hours. Overtime pay is the increased hourly rate you earn when you work beyond the standard 8-hour workday or 40-hour workweek.
Unlike federal law, which only looks at weekly hours, California calculates overtime on both a daily and weekly basis. This ensures fair pay, prevents disputes, and keeps businesses compliant with state regulations. Understanding these rules is key for both workers and employers to make sure everyone gets paid what they’ve earned.
How to Calculate California Overtime
In California, your regular hourly rate is your base pay before multipliers. Overtime is calculated daily and weekly: hours 8 to 12 in a single day are paid at 1.5x your regular rate, and any hours over 12 are paid at 2x (double time). Additionally, any hours over 40 in a week are paid at 1.5x.
For example, if you earn $20 per hour and work a 10-hour day, you earn your regular rate for the first 8 hours ($160) and 1.5x your rate ($30/hour) for the 2 overtime hours ($60), making your total pay for that day $220.
Looking for a better solution to track overtime?
Manually tracking hours and overtime rules can quickly become complicated and lead to payroll errors. Connecteam removes the complexity with a unified employee management app. With Connecteam, you can track time accurately with GPS-enabled clock-ins, automatically apply California-specific daily and weekly overtime rules to your digital timesheets, and send accurate data straight to your payroll software. Try Connecteam for free today!
FAQs
Overtime in California starts after 8 hours in a single workday or 40 hours in a workweek.
- Any hours between 8 and 12 in a day are paid at 1.5x your regular rate.
- Any hours beyond 12 in a day are paid at 2x your regular rate.
Additionally, if you work seven consecutive days in a workweek, the first 8 hours on the 7th day are paid at 1.5x, and hours over 8 are paid at 2x.
It depends. In California, salaried employees are not automatically exempt from overtime.
If you’re a non-exempt salaried employee (for example, if your role doesn’t meet the executive, administrative, or professional exemption test), your salary can still be converted into an hourly rate for overtime calculations.
Exempt employees—typically managers, certain professionals, and higher-paid roles—do not receive overtime.
Double time (2x pay) applies in two main cases:
- When you work more than 12 hours in one day.
- When you work more than 8 hours on the seventh consecutive day in the same workweek.
This rule ensures employees who work long or consecutive shifts are fairly compensated for the extra time.
Not necessarily. In California, weekend work alone doesn’t trigger overtime.
Overtime is based on total hours worked, not the day of the week.
For example, if you work Saturday but stay under 8 hours that day and under 40 total hours for the week, you’re still paid at your regular rate.
Generally, private-sector employers in California cannot replace overtime pay with compensatory time off (“comp time”).
All overtime hours must be paid out in the same pay period they were earned. Public-sector employers (like government agencies) are sometimes allowed to offer comp time under specific agreements, but private businesses must pay cash overtime.