Labor Code §510 – Daily and Weekly Overtime Pay

California Labor Code §510 requires employers to pay non-exempt employees one and one-half times their regular rate for work over 8 hours in a workday, over 40 hours in a workweek, and for the first 8 hours on the seventh day of work in a workweek, and double their regular rate for work over 12 hours in a day or over 8 hours on that seventh day. It is the reason California overtime is calculated day by day, not just week by week as under federal law.

The daily rule is where many paychecks go wrong. A worker earning $24 an hour who works four 10-hour days, with no valid alternative workweek schedule in place, earns no weekly overtime (40 hours), but is still owed 8 hours of daily overtime, worth $96 more than straight time each week ($12 premium × 8 hours). Over a year of 50 weeks, that is $4,800.

This page explains what §510 says, who it covers, the main exceptions, how to calculate what you are owed, remedies, deadlines and where to file. For step-by-step help recovering unpaid overtime, see our guide on how to claim unpaid overtime in California.

What Labor Code §510 says

Subdivision (a) begins: “Eight hours of labor constitutes a day’s work.” It then sets three tiers of pay:

• Time and a half (at least 1.5 × your regular rate of pay) for any work over 8 hours in one workday, any work over 40 hours in one workweek, and the first 8 hours worked on the seventh day of work in one workweek.
• Double time (at least 2 × your regular rate) for any work over 12 hours in one day, and any work over 8 hours on the seventh day of a workweek.
• No stacking. The statute says an employer does not have to “combine more than one rate of overtime compensation” for the same hour. Each overtime hour is paid at the highest rate that applies to it, once.

Subdivision (a) also says these rules do not apply to employees working under a valid alternative workweek schedule adopted under §511, an alternative schedule in a collective bargaining agreement under §514, or a schedule covered by §554. Subdivision (b) says commuting to your first work location in an employer-provided ridesharing vehicle is not part of the workday, and subdivision (c) says the section does not affect workers’ compensation liability.

By the numbers8 hours

Overtime triggers at a glance

Situation	Rate	Source
Hours 9 through 12 in a workday	1.5 × regular rate	Labor Code §510(a)
Hours over 12 in a workday	2 × regular rate	Labor Code §510(a)
Hours over 40 in a workweek (not already paid as daily overtime)	1.5 × regular rate	Labor Code §510(a)
First 8 hours on the seventh consecutive day worked in the workweek	1.5 × regular rate	Labor Code §510(a); Wage Order section 3
Hours over 8 on that seventh day	2 × regular rate	Labor Code §510(a)

A “workweek” is defined in Labor Code §500(b) as any seven consecutive days starting with the same calendar day each week, “a fixed and regularly recurring period of 168 hours.” Your employer sets when it starts, but it cannot shift the start day around to avoid overtime. Each workweek stands alone: hours cannot be averaged across two weeks.

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What counts as your “regular rate of pay”

Overtime is a multiple of your regular rate, which is not always your base hourly wage. Nondiscretionary payments for work, such as shift differentials and production or attendance bonuses, generally must be folded into the regular rate. The California Supreme Court confirmed in 2021 (Ferra v. Loews Hollywood Hotel, LLC) that the regular rate “encompasses all nondiscretionary payments, not just hourly wages.”

For salaried non-exempt employees, Labor Code §515(d) says the regular hourly rate is 1/40th of the weekly salary, and that a fixed salary pays only for regular, non-overtime hours, “notwithstanding any private agreement to the contrary.” A promise that your salary “covers all hours” does not cancel your overtime.

Who §510 covers, and the exceptions

Section 510 protects non-exempt employees in California, whether paid hourly, by salary, by the piece or by commission. The main exceptions:

• Exempt employees. Executive, administrative and professional employees who meet both the salary test ($70,304 a year in 2026) and the duties test under Labor Code §515 and the Wage Orders. See our page on misclassification as exempt.
• Alternative workweek schedules. A properly adopted and voted schedule under §511 (for example, four 10-hour days) can move the daily overtime threshold. If the election or paperwork was defective, regular daily overtime rules apply. See our guide to 12-hour shifts and alternative workweeks.
• Union contracts. Section 514 exempts employees under certain collective bargaining agreements that provide premium overtime pay and a regular rate at least 30% above minimum wage.
• Industry rules in the Wage Orders. Each of the 17 Wage Orders has its own section 3 on hours and overtime. For example, agricultural workers under Wage Order 14 have been entitled to overtime after 8 hours a day and 40 a week regardless of employer size since January 1, 2025, and drivers whose hours are regulated by federal or state hours-of-service rules are excluded from section 3 of Wage Order 9.

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Worked examples

💡 Example (hypothetical): Priya earns $24 an hour. Her workweek runs Sunday to Saturday. She works 10 hours a day Monday through Friday and 6 hours on Saturday, 56 hours in total. Daily overtime: 2 hours a day × 5 days = 10 hours. Her remaining straight-time hours are 40 (8 × 5) + 6 = 46, so 6 more hours are weekly overtime. She is owed 40 hours × $24 = $960, plus 16 overtime hours × $36 = $576, for a total of $1,536. If her employer paid straight time for all 56 hours ($1,344), it shorted her $192 for the week.

💡 Example (hypothetical): Luis earns $20 an hour and works 8 hours every day for seven days in a single workweek (56 hours). His first six days add up to 48 hours, so hours 41 to 48 (8 hours) are weekly overtime at $30. His seventh day’s 8 hours are seventh-day overtime at $30. He is owed 40 × $20 = $800, plus 16 × $30 = $480, for a total of $1,280. If he had worked 10 hours on the seventh day, the 2 hours over 8 would be double time at $40 each.

Try your own numbers with our wage and hour calculator.

By the numbersThree years

Remedies for unpaid overtime

• Unpaid overtime, interest, attorney’s fees and costs. Labor Code §1194 lets you sue for the unpaid balance of overtime “notwithstanding any agreement to work for a lesser wage,” with interest, reasonable attorney’s fees and costs. Interest on unpaid wages runs at 10% a year under Labor Code §218.6 and Civil Code §3289(b).
• No liquidated damages for overtime. Labor Code §1194.2 doubles unpaid minimum wages, but expressly does not authorize liquidated damages for unpaid overtime.
• Waiting time penalties. If you have left the job and overtime was willfully unpaid, up to 30 days of wages under Labor Code §203. See final paycheck rules.
• Wage statement penalties under Labor Code §226 when your pay stubs misstate hours or rates.
• Civil penalties under Labor Code §558 ($50 per underpaid employee per pay period initially, $100 for subsequent violations), recoverable by the Labor Commissioner or through PAGA.

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Deadlines

Overtime claims are generally subject to a three-year deadline under Code of Civil Procedure §338(a), and the Labor Commissioner’s Office lists overtime among its three-year claims. In court, a claim under the Unfair Competition Law can recover unpaid overtime as restitution for up to four years (Business and Professions Code §17208). Each payday starts its own clock, so delay costs you your oldest wages first.

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Where to file

Option	Best for	Law
Labor Commissioner wage claim	Individual claims; no filing fee	Labor Code §98
Superior court lawsuit	Larger claims, class actions, recovery of attorney’s fees	Labor Code §1194
PAGA notice and lawsuit	Civil penalties for you and co-workers	Labor Code §§558, 2699
Arbitration	If you signed an enforceable arbitration agreement	Your agreement

See Labor Commissioner claim versus lawyer for how to choose.

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Common employer tricks

• Paying only weekly overtime and ignoring daily overtime.
• Leaving shift differentials or bonuses out of the overtime rate.
• Calling a salaried worker “exempt” without meeting the salary and duties tests.
• Off-the-clock work: pre-shift security checks, after-hours texts and emails. See off-the-clock work.
• Splitting hours between two related companies or two pay periods to keep each under 40.

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Related Labor Code sections

• §500: definitions of workday and workweek.
• §511: alternative workweek schedules.
• §515: exemptions and the salaried non-exempt regular rate.
• §1194 and §1194.2: lawsuits for unpaid minimum wage and overtime.
• §558: civil penalties for violations of the overtime chapter.
• §226.7 and §512: meal and rest periods.

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Frequently asked questions

Does California require daily overtime?

Yes. Under Labor Code §510(a), non-exempt employees earn time and a half for hours over 8 in a workday, even if they work fewer than 40 hours that week, unless a valid alternative workweek schedule or other exception applies.

When do I get double time in California?

For hours over 12 in a single workday, and for hours over 8 on the seventh day of work in a workweek.

What is seventh-day overtime?

If you work all seven days of a workweek, the first 8 hours on the seventh day are paid at time and a half and any hours beyond 8 that day at double time. It applies to the seventh consecutive day worked in the same workweek, not any seven days in a row that straddle two workweeks.

Can my employer give me comp time instead of overtime pay?

Section 510 requires overtime to be “compensated at the rate of” one and one-half or two times your regular rate of pay. If you are a non-exempt private-sector employee and were given time off instead of overtime wages, talk to a lawyer about whether you are owed back pay.

Can I agree to work overtime at my regular rate?

No. Labor Code §1194 lets you recover unpaid overtime “notwithstanding any agreement to work for a lesser wage,” and §515(d) says a fixed salary for a non-exempt employee covers only regular hours, despite any private agreement.

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