Definition: The laws that regulate how to compensate employees for working in
excess of a standard workweek
Excluding certain industry-specific exceptions, federal and
state law requires that the nonexempt employees be paid when they
work overtime. Nonexempt employees must be paid one-and-a-half
times their normal rate of pay for hours worked in excess of 40
hours during a workweek. A workweek is defined as seven consecutive
24-hour periods. Although a workweek can begin on any day, it must
be fixed for that employee and can't be changed so as to evade
applicable overtime laws.
Most states have their own overtime laws, and if they're more
favorable to employees, those are the ones you must follow. For
example, under California law, employees who work more than eight
hours during a single day are entitled to overtime, even if they
don't work more than 40 hours during a given workweek (the federal
requirement).
Remember, nonexempt employees can be salaried as well as hourly.
So don't make the mistake of assuming that just because an employee
is salaried, he or she is exempt from overtime.