State Wage and Hour Laws That Go Beyond the FLSA: California, New York, Washington and More

The FLSA sets the federal floor, but states can and often do require more: higher minimum wages, daily overtime, meal and rest breaks, paid sick leave, higher exempt salary thresholds and longer record retention. When federal and state law differ, you must follow whichever gives the employee the greater protection. If you have employees in more than one state, you need to check each one.

This guide compares the federal baseline with the most important state differences, using California, New York and Washington as examples, and shows how to keep multi-state timekeeping organized. This is general information, not legal advice. Many of these rules change every year, so confirm current figures with the state labor department or counsel.

The federal baseline

The FLSA requires a minimum wage of $7.25/hour, overtime at 1.5 times the regular rate for hours over 40 in a workweek, and recordkeeping under 29 CFR Part 516. It has no federal daily overtime, no federal meal or rest break requirement and no federal paid sick leave or vacation requirement for most private employers.

That baseline is what many employers assume applies everywhere. In practice, a large share of the US workforce lives in a state or city with a higher minimum wage and extra rules. Our guide to FLSA timekeeping requirements covers the federal records.

A useful habit is to keep a one-page summary for each state with the date you last checked it. Rates and thresholds often change on January 1 or July 1, and an outdated summary is one of the most common causes of underpayment.

Higher minimum wages

Many states and cities set minimum wages above $7.25/hour, and some index them to inflation so the number changes each year. If your state or city rate is higher than the federal rate, you must pay the higher one. Because the figures change, check the current rate for each location before you set pay.

This matters for overtime too. The regular rate is based on what the employee is actually paid, so a higher state minimum raises the overtime rate automatically. For example, at $18.00/hour, the overtime rate is $18.00 x 1.5 = $27.00 per hour.

Daily overtime and double time

The federal rule looks only at the workweek, but some states count daily hours. California requires 1.5 times the regular rate for hours over 8 in a day and over 40 in a week, and 2 times the regular rate for hours over 12 in a day. On the seventh consecutive workday, the first 8 hours are paid at 1.5 times and hours beyond 8 at 2 times. Alaska and Nevada (for some workers) have daily overtime over 8 hours, and Colorado requires it over 12 hours in a day.

Example in California: an employee earning $25.00/hour works 10 hours on Monday and 4 hours on the other days, 26 hours in the week. Under federal law there is no overtime. Under California law, 2 of Monday's hours are overtime: 8 x $25.00 = $200.00, plus 2 x $37.50 = $75.00, plus 16 x $25.00 = $400.00, for $675.00.

The same employee can move between rules during a single week. A worker who travels from a state without daily overtime to one with it may be covered by different rules on different days, so location data attached to each time entry helps you apply the right rule.

Meal breaks, rest breaks and sick leave

Federal law does not require meal or rest breaks. California requires a 30-minute meal period before the end of the fifth hour of work and a 10-minute paid rest period for every 4 hours worked or major fraction. A missed break triggers a premium of one additional hour of pay at the regular rate per workday for each type of violation (Labor Code 226.7).

Paid sick leave is another major difference. Many states and cities require it, including California, New York, Washington, Oregon, Arizona, Colorado, Massachusetts, New Jersey and Illinois, but the accrual rules and the list of jurisdictions change, so verify the current list for your locations.

Exempt salary thresholds

The federal salary threshold for the white-collar exemptions is $684 per week ($35,568 per year). California, New York and Washington, among others, set higher thresholds, and several index them annually. An employee who meets the federal level but not the state one is nonexempt under state law. We discuss this in exempt vs. nonexempt employees.

Check the figure for every state in which you have employees, and calendar the date each year when the number changes.

For employers with a mix of exempt and nonexempt staff, the salary threshold is also a budgeting question. If a state threshold rises, you can raise salaries to keep the exemption, or reclassify the role as nonexempt and track hours, and the choice should be made before the effective date.

Recordkeeping and pay statements

The federal retention periods are 3 years for payroll records and 2 years for time cards. Many states require longer retention, more detailed wage statements, records of meal period punches or notice of pay rates. Some require that employees have access to their own records on request.

Since states differ, the safest approach is to keep complete records for the longest period any of your states requires, and to keep them in a format you can search by employee and date.

Managing multi-state and remote teams

A remote employee is generally covered by the law of the state where the work is performed, and city or county rules may apply as well. If you hire someone who moves to a new state, the rules that apply to that person can change on the day the move happens. Build a checklist for each state with the minimum wage, overtime rule, break rule, sick leave rule and exempt threshold.

When an issue involves a violation, the remedies can also be higher than federal ones. See wage and hour lawsuits and back pay for how liquidated damages work.

How SimpleWorkshift Helps Across States

SimpleWorkshift lets employees in any location clock in and out from the iOS or Android app or the web, with a GPS location on each entry, so you can see where work happened for teams in different states. You can set work schedules per employee and use automatic overtime calculations, including night shift differentials, as part of payroll closing.

Custom reports and dashboards show hours by employee, location and period, a time bank and PTO tracking help manage leave balances, and managers see exceptions in real time. Check your state rules for the details, then try the product free for 30 days at simpleworkshift.com. There are no contracts and you can cancel anytime.