Overtime in California
Daily overtime
California is one of the four states with a daily overtime threshold. Hours over eight in a single workday are paid at one and a half times the regular rate, and hours over twelve in a single workday are paid at double the regular rate. The day stands on its own: a twelve-hour Tuesday produces four hours of overtime even if the week never reaches forty.
Weekly overtime
Hours over forty in a workweek are paid at one and a half times the regular rate, the same threshold as federal law. Because California also counts overtime daily, the two rules must not pay for the same hour twice.
The seventh consecutive day
California is the only state with a seventh-day rule. On the seventh consecutive day worked in a single workweek, the first eight hours are paid at one and a half times the regular rate and every hour beyond eight is paid at double time — even if the week totals fewer than forty hours.
The trap worth knowing: five ten-hour days in California is fifty hours — forty regular and ten overtime, not twenty. The daily rule gives two overtime hours a day, which uses up the hours the weekly over-40 rule would otherwise catch. Counting both would be pyramiding, and it is not allowed. The calculator above applies the weekly threshold only to hours still regular after the daily rules have run.
How often you must be paid
Wages must be paid at least twice during each calendar month, on days designated in advance. The statute fixes the dates: work done between the 1st and the 15th must be paid between the 16th and the 26th of the same month, and work done between the 16th and the end of the month must be paid between the 1st and the 10th of the following month. Employers on a weekly, biweekly or semimonthly cycle that does not match those windows must pay within seven calendar days of the close of the payroll period. Employees in a bona fide executive, administrative or professional role may be paid once a month, on or before the 26th, for the whole month.
When your last paycheck is due
This is the question people search for most, and in several states the answer depends on whether you left or were let go. In California:
- If you were fired or laid off: Immediately, at the time of termination.
- If you quit: Within 72 hours — or immediately, if you gave at least 72 hours’ notice.
California is the fastest state in the country on final pay, and the only one where a discharged employee is owed the money the same day. If you are fired or laid off, all wages earned and unpaid — including accrued unused vacation — are due immediately at the time of termination. If you quit with at least 72 hours’ notice, they are due on your last day. If you quit without that notice, they are due within 72 hours of quitting.
If the employer wilfully fails to pay on time, the wages continue as a penalty at your daily rate for every day the money is late, up to a maximum of thirty days.
Meal and rest breaks
An unpaid meal period of at least thirty minutes is required when a shift runs more than five hours, and it must begin no later than the end of the fifth hour of work. A second thirty-minute meal period is required when a shift runs more than ten hours, beginning no later than the end of the tenth hour. The first meal period may be waived by mutual consent if the day is six hours or less; the second may be waived if the day is twelve hours or less and the first was actually taken.
A paid rest period of ten minutes is required for every four hours worked, or major fraction of four hours, scheduled as near as practicable to the middle of the work period. Rest breaks are counted as hours worked and cannot be waived by agreement.
A missed meal period or a missed rest period each cost the employer one additional hour of pay at your regular rate, per workday — so a day on which both were missed carries two extra hours.
The California minimum wage
The statewide minimum is $16.90 an hour from 1 January 2026, for employers of every size. A large number of California cities and counties set a higher local minimum, and separate, higher statutory rates apply to covered fast-food and health-care employees — so the statewide figure is a floor, not necessarily your rate.
Figure checked 26 July 2026, effective 1 January 2026. Minimum wages move on a schedule and local ordinances move on their own — if you are reading this well after that date, check the agency link below before relying on the number.
If you have not been paid
Claims are filed with the Labor Commissioner’s Office online, by email, by post or in person at a district office. Filing is free, no lawyer is needed, and California’s wage laws protect workers regardless of immigration status.
Deadline: Three years for unpaid minimum wage, overtime, and missed meal or rest period premiums; two years on an oral agreement to pay above minimum wage; four years on a written contract.
California Labor Commissioner’s Office (DLSE)
What this page does not cover
- Whether the rules apply to you at all. Overtime and break rules apply to non-exempt employees. If you are genuinely exempt, or an independent contractor, most of this page is not about you — and misclassification is common enough that being called exempt is not the same as being exempt.
- Local ordinances. Cities and counties set their own minimum wages, paid sick leave and, in some places, scheduling rules. Only the state-level position is described here.
- Industry-specific rules. Agriculture, transport, health care, public employment and several other sectors carry their own wage orders and exemptions that override the general position.
- Your contract or union agreement, which can promise more than the law requires — never less.
- This is not legal advice. It is a cited summary of published law, written to be checked. The agency above answers questions for free.
Common questions
Does California have daily overtime?
Yes. California pays time and a half for hours over eight in a workday and double time for hours over twelve, on top of the usual over-40 weekly rule. It is one of only four states with a daily threshold, alongside Alaska, Nevada and Colorado.
If I work five ten-hour days in California, how much overtime is that?
Ten hours, not twenty. The daily rule gives two overtime hours a day, which is ten across the week, leaving forty regular hours. The weekly over-40 rule then has nothing left to apply to, because those hours have already been paid as overtime. Counting both would be pyramiding, which the rules do not allow.
When is my final paycheck due in California if I quit?
Within 72 hours of quitting. If you gave at least 72 hours of notice, it is due on your last day of work. If you were fired or laid off instead, it is due immediately at the time of termination.
What happens if my employer pays my final cheque late in California?
If the failure was wilful, the unpaid wages continue as a penalty at your daily rate for each day the payment is late, up to thirty days. That is separate from the wages themselves, which are still owed.
What is the minimum wage in California in 2026?
The statewide minimum is $16.90 an hour from 1 January 2026. Many California cities and counties require more, and covered fast-food and health-care employees have their own higher rates, so check your city as well as the state.