The two models
Weekly overtime is the federal model: you earn overtime only when your total for the workweek passes 40 hours. Nothing about a single day matters — a 14-hour Monday is fine as long as the week stays at or under 40. Most states use this model and nothing more.
Daily overtime adds a second trigger: you earn overtime when a single day passes a threshold, usually 8 hours, regardless of the weekly total. A few states layer this on top of the weekly rule.
The worked example that shows the gap
Imagine four 10-hour shifts, then three days off — 40 hours for the week.
- In a weekly-only state (say, Texas or Florida), the week totals 40, so there is zero overtime.
- In a daily-overtime state like California or Alaska, each 10-hour day produces 2 overtime hours — 8 hours of overtime for the same schedule.
At a $20 regular rate, that is $80 in overtime premium the weekly-only worker never sees. Same hours, same effort, different state, different check.
Which states use daily overtime
- California — the most detailed: 1.5x after 8 hours, 2x after 12 hours, and a seventh-consecutive-day rule. The hours are never double-counted against the weekly 40. California overtime calculator.
- Alaska — 1.5x after 8 hours a day or 40 a week, whichever yields more; a small-employer exemption applies under 4 employees. Alaska overtime calculator.
- Nevada — daily overtime for employees paid less than 1.5x the state minimum wage.
- Colorado — overtime after 12 hours in a day under the state wage order, in addition to the 40-hour week.
Everywhere else, the weekly 40-hour rule is the whole story — see your state's page from the states directory.
Why "whichever is greater" is not "both"
A common worry in daily-overtime states is being shortchanged by double-counting. The rule is designed the other way: you get the greater of the daily and weekly calculations, and an hour already paid as daily overtime is removed before the weekly 40-hour threshold is tested. The California and Alaska calculators implement this non-stacking logic explicitly and show the arithmetic, which is where a lot of generic calculators get it wrong.