How the California Overtime Calculator works
California pays overtime on both a daily and a weekly basis — one of the few states to do so. This calculator applies California Labor Code Section 510 and the IWC Wage Orders: it takes your regular hourly rate, the hours you work each day, and the number of days you work in the workweek, and returns exactly how many of those hours are paid at 1x (regular), 1.5x (overtime), and 2x (double time).
The daily rules
For each day worked, up to the first 8 hours are paid at the regular rate. Hours 9 through 12 are paid at 1.5x the regular rate. Any hours beyond 12 in that single day are paid at 2x the regular rate. This calculator assumes the same number of hours is worked on each day, which keeps the math transparent — enter your typical daily schedule to see the split.
The weekly rule
Separately, any hours worked beyond 40 in the workweek must be paid at 1.5x, even if no single day exceeded 8 hours (for example, seven 6-hour days totals 42 hours). To avoid double-counting, the calculator first applies the daily 8/12 rules to each day, then checks whether the hours still classified as "regular" exceed 40 for the week — if so, the excess is reclassified from regular to overtime.
The seventh-consecutive-day rule
If you work all 7 days of a single workweek, the first 8 hours on that 7th day are paid at 1.5x and any hours beyond 8 on that day are paid at 2x, regardless of how many hours were worked on the prior six days. Select "7 days" in the calculator to apply this rule automatically.
Worked example
At a $22/hour rate, working 10 hours a day for 6 days (60 hours that week): each of the 6 days has 8 regular hours and 2 overtime hours, for 48 regular hours and 12 overtime hours by the daily rule. Since 48 regular hours exceeds the 40-hour weekly cap, 8 of those hours are reclassified as overtime — leaving 40 regular hours and 20 overtime hours for the week. Pay is 40 × $22 = $880 regular plus 20 × $22 × 1.5 = $660 overtime, for $1,540 that week (before taxes and deductions).
Assumptions and scope
This calculator assumes a uniform number of hours per day and does not account for meal-period premiums, alternative workweek schedules adopted by a two-thirds employee vote, exempt-employee status, or union agreements with different overtime terms — all of which can change the result under California law. It computes gross overtime pay only; it does not withhold taxes or other deductions.