Do I pay my employees based on overtime worked in one day or in one week?

For almost all nonexempt private sector California employees who are not covered by collective bargaining agreements, overtime pay is based both on the number of hours worked in a workday and the number of hours worked in a workweek.

Only hours worked at straight time apply to the weekly 40-hour limit. This prevents "pyramiding" of overtime, where an employee earns overtime on top of overtime already paid. Once an employee has been paid overtime for over eight hours in a day, those overtime hours do not count toward the weekly 40-hour limit.

Employers should be aware that different overtime rules apply to agricultural laborers.