California Overtime Calculator
Enter your week of shifts to see California daily, weekly, double-time and 7th-day overtime, or an alternative workweek schedule.
Free · runs in your browser · nothing is uploaded
How to use the California overtime calculator
- Open What sets your overtime? and choose a pack. Its name, who it covers, who it does not cover, and links to the sources appear below the dropdown.
- Enter your Hourly rate to see pay. Leave it empty to see hours only.
- Enter a Fixed shift differential in dollars per hour if you earn one on every hour.
- Change Workweek starts on if your week does not begin on Sunday, which is the default.
- In Your shifts, fill in Date, Start, End, Unpaid break (min) and Shift type for each row.
- Use Add shift, Copy last shift to next day or Fill a week (Mon-Fri) to build rows faster, and Remove any row you do not need.
- Read the result card, then check Week by week and Shift by shift below the tool.
Shifts must fall within 28 days, with at most 60 rows. On first open the list holds a sample week, so change or clear it before you start. Rows with a missing date or time, or a break as long as the shift, are highlighted and skipped.
Switching the pack reruns the same shifts, so you can compare packs side by side. The page address stores your entries, so a copied link reopens the same calculation. Download CSV exports the rows with paid, regular and overtime hours and pay, and Print or save as PDF opens your browser’s print dialog.
How do you calculate overtime in California?
Under the default California pack, hours over 8 in one workday are paid at 1.5 times your regular rate, hours over 12 at 2 times, and hours over 40 in a workweek at 1.5 times, with each hour counted once. Total pay is every paid hour at your base rate plus the extra for each overtime piece.
- Work out paid hours for each shift: end time minus start time, minus the unpaid break. The tool counts to the minute with no rounding.
- Assign each shift to the day it starts and apply the daily limits: hours over 8 at 1.5x, hours over 12 at 2x.
- Apply the 7th-day rule: on the 7th consecutive workday of a workweek, the first 8 hours are 1.5x and any hours beyond 8 are 2x.
- Apply the weekly rule: hours over 40 in the workweek at 1.5x, skipping any hour already counted above.
- Price the pay: each paid hour at base rate plus differential, then add (multiplier minus 1) times the regular rate for each overtime hour.
Here is a 14-hour day at $20 an hour with no break:
| Piece of the shift | Hours | Multiplier | Pay |
|---|---|---|---|
| Regular (first 8 h) | 8 | 1x | $160.00 |
| Hours 9 to 12 | 4 | 1.5x | $120.00 |
| Hours 13 and 14 | 2 | 2x | $80.00 |
| Total | 14 | $360.00 |
The overtime extra is $80.00, which the result card shows as Overtime part of pay. A fixed shift differential raises the regular rate used for that extra, because California packs use the regular-rate method.
Does California have daily overtime?
Yes. The default California pack counts overtime by the day as well as by the week, with hours over 8 in one workday at 1.5 times and hours over 12 at 2 times. The alternative workweek and health care packs use different daily thresholds, as this table shows.
| Pack | Daily 1.5x starts after | Daily 2x starts after | Weekly 1.5x starts after |
|---|---|---|---|
| California default | 8 h | 12 h | 40 h |
| Alternative workweek (10-hour days) | 10 h | 12 h | 40 h |
| Health care alternative workweek (12-hour shifts) | no 1.5x daily step | 12 h | 40 h |
The default pack also applies the 7th-day rule. A shift belongs to the day it starts, so a late shift that crosses midnight counts toward its start day for daily limits.
More questions
What is the minimum wage in California?
The statewide minimum wage changes every 1 January; for 2026 the California Department of Industrial Relations lists $16.90 an hour, and many cities set a higher local rate. This calculator does not look it up, so enter your own hourly rate.
Are 12-hour shifts legal in California?
This tool does not decide whether a shift is legal. It shows how 12-hour shifts are paid under the health care 12-hour pack, which cites IWC Wage Order 5, where hours over 12 in a day are 2x. Under the default pack, those hours are also 2x after 8 hours at 1.5x. Ask your employer or a legal advisor about your situation.
What is the California overtime law?
California’s overtime rules come mainly from Labor Code 510, which sets daily and weekly overtime and the 7th-day rule for nonexempt employees, as the default pack applies them. Alternative schedules come under Labor Code 511. The pack is applied as written and does not decide whether a rule covers you.
How this tool works and where the numbers come from
Each shift is split into minutes and placed in its workweek or work period. The daily, weekly, seventh-day and period thresholds of the chosen rule pack are applied in the order the law sets, and shift differentials go into the regular rate (29 CFR 778.207). With a time zone, the real minutes across a clock change are counted.
Sources
- California Labor Code § 510: daily overtime over 8 hours, double time over 12, seventh day (as amended by Stats. 1999, ch. 134, effective 2000-01-01) · checked
- California Labor Code § 500: workday, workweek and alternative workweek schedule defined (added by Stats. 1999, ch. 134, effective 2000-01-01) · checked
- 29 U.S.C. § 207 (FLSA § 7): overtime after 40 hours a week; § 7(j) hospitals (8 and 80); § 7(k) fire and police work periods (U.S. Code, 2023 Edition) · checked
- California Labor Code § 511: alternative workweek schedules (up to 10-hour days without overtime) (as amended by Stats. 2012, ch. 46 (SB 1038), effective 2012-06-27) · checked
- IWC Wage Order 4 (professional, technical, clerical), section 3(B): alternative workweek schedules (effective 2002-01-01 as amended; sections 4(A) and 10(C) republished effective 2019-01-01) · checked
- IWC Wage Order 5 (public housekeeping incl. health care), section 3(B)(8): 12-hour health care alternative workweek (effective 2002-07-01 as amended; sections 4(A) and 10(C) republished effective 2019-01-01) · checked
- 29 CFR Part 785: hours worked (all time the employee is required or allowed to work) (eCFR current as of 2026-10-23) · checked
- 15 U.S.C. § 260a: daylight saving time from the second Sunday of March to the first Sunday of November (U.S. Code, 2023 Edition) · checked
- California DLSE: overtime FAQ · checked
- California DLSE: overtime exceptions FAQ (alternative workweeks) · checked
Frequently asked questions
What is overtime pay in California?
Overtime pay is extra pay for hours beyond the limits a California rule sets, such as hours over 8 in a workday or over 40 in a workweek. It generally applies to nonexempt employees. Whether a rule covers you depends on your job and any adopted schedule, so check the pack’s who-it-covers note.
What is time and a half?
Time and a half means hours paid at a multiplier of 1.5 on your regular rate. At $20 an hour, one overtime hour at 1.5x pays $30. Federal and California rules both use it for certain hours, though the qualifying hours differ.
What is double-time pay?
Double time is pay at 2 times your regular rate. In the default California pack, hours beyond 12 in one workday are paid at 2x, and the health care 12-hour pack uses the same 2x rate after 12 hours. At $20 an hour, one double-time hour pays $40.
What constitutes overtime?
Overtime is work beyond the hours a rule treats as normal. In the default California pack, that means hours over 8 in a workday, hours over 40 in a workweek, and the first 8 hours on a 7th consecutive workday. The tool places each hour in one piece so it is counted only once.
What is California Labor Code 511?
Labor Code 511 is the section the 10-hour alternative workweek pack cites. It allows an adopted schedule of 10-hour days within a 40-hour week. The pack covers only units that adopted such a schedule by secret ballot with a two-thirds vote.
What is the federal overtime rule?
The federal Fair Labor Standards Act requires non-exempt employees to receive at least 1.5 times their regular rate for hours above 40 in one workweek. It does not use daily limits. The federal 40-hour pack is on the overtime calculator page, not this one.
How do I handle unauthorized overtime?
Hours you actually work count as worked time even if a manager did not approve them, so enter them as shifts. The multiplier for those hours still follows the pack you chose. Raise any pay dispute with your employer or the agreement that covers you, since this tool cannot settle it.
Does overtime affect my annual salary?
For hourly workers, overtime pay adds to gross earnings in each week it occurs, so more overtime usually means a higher annual total. This tool estimates pay for the weeks you enter, not your full year. Salaried exempt staff may not earn overtime under these rules.
Related tools
- Overtime calculator: use it for the federal 40-hour pack and other overtime rule sets.
- Shift differential calculator: use it to work out pay for extra amounts paid for shift hours.
- Timesheet calculator: use it to total hours from start and end times for a timesheet.
- Holiday pay calculator: use it when a shift falls on a holiday and pay rules change.
- 12 hour shift schedule compared: use it to compare 12-hour rotations before you pick a schedule.
- How many work hours in a year: use it to see how weekly hours add up over a full year.
- Shift hours calculator: use it to find the length of a shift from start and end times.
- DuPont schedule calendar and pay: use it to see a DuPont rotation laid out as a calendar with pay.