When does overtime start in Iowa?

Iowa's verified weekly overtime threshold in the registry is 40 hours in a workweek for covered nonexempt employees. Some workers and employers may be exempt, and federal law may also apply.

Does Iowa have daily overtime?

Iowa's verified overtime registry does not list a statewide daily overtime trigger. The calculator therefore uses the weekly workweek rule and does not add overtime merely because one shift was longer than eight or twelve hours.

Can daily, weekly, or seventh-day premiums stack in Iowa?

No. This calculator assigns an hour the single highest applicable overtime premium. It does not pay both a daily and weekly premium on the same hour, which avoids double-counting while still preserving the more protective verified trigger.

What does this Iowa overtime calculator not decide?

It does not decide exempt status, whether the employer is covered by the FLSA or state law, how a bonus must be allocated across multiple workweeks, or whether a special industry rule, collective-bargaining agreement, public contract, or local ordinance changes the result.

Iowa Overtime Calculator | State Wage Tools

State

StateAll Iowa tools

Iowa has no independent state overtime law; covered workers use the federal FLSA overtime rule after 40 hours in a workweek, with the state source linked here confirming the state-law posture. — Source

Calculate Iowa overtime pay

The headline rule may not apply to every worker. Youth/training: $6.35/hr for first 90 days

Enter one workweek. The calculator uses straight-time pay for all hours, then adds only the extra overtime premium for hours that qualify.

Iowa overtime rule used by this calculator

Iowa has no independent state overtime law in the verified registry source, so covered workers use the federal FLSA weekly-40 overtime rule. The page cites the state source that establishes that posture instead of implying a separate state rule exists.

Basic formula

straight-time pay = total hours × hourly rate regular rate = (straight-time pay + includable pay) ÷ total hours overtime premium = premium hours × regular rate × (1.5 − 1) gross pay = straight-time pay + includable pay + overtime premium

Worked example

Iowa: weekly overtime only

45 hours at a single hourly rate weekly overtime hours = 45 − 40overtime premium = premium hours × regular rate × (1.5 − 1)

What this does not determine

Whether the worker is exempt from overtime under state law or the federal FLSA.
Whether the employer is covered by the FLSA, which matters especially when a state rule reaches only non-FLSA employers.
Multi-rate weighted-average regular-rate issues beyond the single additional-pay field.
Public works, prevailing wage, local ordinances, union contracts, agriculture, transportation, or other industry-specific rules.
Whether a bonus or commission must be allocated to a different workweek.

Sources and verification

This page reads the overtime threshold, multiplier, special daily/seventh-day flags, coverage cautions, and source URL from src/data/states.json. The visible source for this page is the verified registry source and the citation used in prose is Iowa Code § 91D.1. Automated tests cover the state's distinctive branch, weekly math, non-stacking of premium hours, and visible result rendering.

Iowa overtime law: FLSA incorporation, small-business exemption, and the preemption of local ordinances

Iowa's Minimum Wage Act — Iowa Code § 91D.1 — incorporates FLSA exemptions for overtime but does not create an independent state overtime rate or threshold. The state's overtime framework is effectively coextensive with federal law: time-and-a-half after 40 hours applies to employers and workers covered by the FLSA. Iowa Code § 91D.1(2)(b) exempts enterprises with gross annual sales under $300,000 from the state minimum wage act entirely — though those smaller employers may still be subject to federal FLSA if their workers are individually engaged in interstate commerce.

Iowa's SF 2197 (2017) expressly preempts all local minimum wage ordinances. Prior to that law, Johnson County (home of Iowa City) and Linn County (home of Cedar Rapids) had adopted local minimums above the state floor; SF 2197 nullified those ordinances. Iowa is one of the few states where local wage ordinances have been specifically legislated away rather than simply never enacted.

The Iowa Division of Labor, Labor Services Bureau (labor.iowa.gov) enforces Iowa's wage laws. Overtime disputes at FLSA-covered employers can also go to the U.S. DOL Wage and Hour Division. Iowa's Wage Payment Collection Law (Iowa Code ch. 91A) governs final paycheck disputes; the specific deadline for payment is governed by the payment schedule in place at the time of separation.

How does Iowa compare to its neighbors? Minnesota, to the north, has a $11.41 minimum wage (CPI-adjusted, effective January 1, 2026) and — unusually — a 48-hour weekly overtime threshold under Minn. Stat. § 177.25 for employers the FLSA does not cover. That means a small Minnesota employer not covered by FLSA owes overtime only after 48 hours, while the federal 40-hour rule applies to FLSA-covered employers. Iowa has no equivalent alternative threshold — it simply incorporates FLSA. Nebraska, to the west, reached $15.00/hr on January 1, 2026 through a 2022 voter initiative but similarly defers to FLSA for overtime.

Common questions

Does Iowa have a state overtime law separate from the FLSA?

Not really. Iowa Code § 91D.1 incorporates FLSA exemptions for overtime rather than creating an independent overtime provision. For covered employers and employees, Iowa's state law and the FLSA produce the same 40-hour threshold and 1.5× multiplier. The Iowa Division of Labor can enforce the state act, but it does not create a different rule.

Iowa had local minimum wage ordinances — do they affect overtime calculations?

No longer. Iowa's SF 2197 (2017) preempted all local minimum wage ordinances statewide, nullifying higher rates that Johnson County and Linn County had adopted. Iowa now has a single statewide minimum wage with no local variation. This differs from Illinois (where Chicago's $17.05/hr applies) or Washington (where several cities have higher rates).

Are small Iowa businesses with under $300,000 in sales exempt from state overtime?

They are exempt from Iowa Code § 91D.1 — the state act — but those employers may still be subject to federal FLSA individually if their workers are engaged in interstate commerce. If the employer falls outside both FLSA and the state act, workers at that employer have no statutory overtime right.

How does Minnesota's 48-hour overtime threshold compare to Iowa?

Minnesota Stat. § 177.25 sets a 48-hour weekly overtime threshold for employers the FLSA does not cover — meaning a non-FLSA Minnesota employer owes state overtime only after 48 hours. Iowa has no such alternative threshold; it simply follows FLSA's 40-hour standard. This distinction matters mainly for very small employers below the federal enterprise coverage test.