Texas Overtime Law: Daily Overtime, the 40-Hour Rule, and Exemptions

Texas does not have its own overtime law and does not require daily overtime. There is no Texas rule that pays time-and-a-half for working more than 8 hours in a single day. Instead, overtime in Texas is governed entirely by the federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), which requires covered, non-exempt employees to be paid at least 1.5 times their regular rate of pay for all hours worked over 40 in a single workweek. So if you work four 11-hour days (44 hours) in Texas, you are owed 4 hours of overtime because you crossed 40 for the week, not because any one day was long. A worker who puts in 10 or even 14 hours in a day but stays at or under 40 hours for the week is generally owed no overtime at all under Texas or federal law.

The 40-hour weekly rule is the only overtime rule in Texas

Unlike a handful of states (such as California, Alaska, and Nevada) that mandate daily overtime once you pass a certain number of hours in a day, Texas adds nothing on top of the federal baseline. Texas has no statute creating daily overtime, double-time, mandatory meal-break premiums, or a 7th-consecutive-day overtime rule. Whatever the FLSA requires is what Texas workers get, and whatever the FLSA does not require, Texas does not add.

Key points of the federal rule that applies in Texas:

• Threshold: Overtime is triggered by hours worked over 40 in a defined seven-day workweek.
• Rate: At least 1.5 times your "regular rate" of pay. The regular rate includes most non-discretionary bonuses, shift differentials, and commissions, not just your base hourly wage, so your overtime rate can be higher than 1.5x your stated hourly rate.
• Each workweek stands alone: An employer generally cannot average two weeks together. Working 30 hours one week and 50 the next still owes 10 hours of overtime in the 50-hour week.
• No daily trigger: Long single shifts do not create overtime by themselves.

Minimum wage in Texas and how it interacts with overtime

The Texas Minimum Wage Act (Texas Labor Code Chapter 62) does not set its own number; it adopts the federal minimum wage by reference. As of 2026, that federal minimum wage is $7.25 per hour, the same FLSA baseline that has been in effect since 2009. Because your overtime rate is calculated from your actual regular rate, a minimum-wage worker's overtime rate is at least $10.88 per hour (1.5 x $7.25). Some Texas cities and counties have living-wage rules for their own employees and contractors, and the federal figure can change, so confirm the current minimum wage with the Texas Workforce Commission or the U.S. Department of Labor before relying on a specific number.

Who is exempt from overtime in Texas

Because Texas follows the FLSA, the federal exemptions control who does not get overtime. The most common are the "white-collar" exemptions, which generally require all three of the following:

• Salary basis: You are paid a fixed salary that is not reduced based on the quantity or quality of your work.
• Salary level: Your salary meets the federal minimum salary threshold. This figure has been the subject of recent litigation and rulemaking, and a 2024 federal increase was struck down by a Texas federal court, so the applicable threshold can change. Do not assume a number, confirm the current salary threshold with the U.S. Department of Labor's Wage and Hour Division.
• Duties test: Your actual job duties fit an exempt category, executive, administrative, or professional. A job title alone never decides this; the real day-to-day duties do.

Other recognized exemptions include outside sales employees, certain computer professionals, and specific transportation workers covered by other federal rules. Independent contractors are not covered by overtime at all, but misclassification is common, and simply being labeled a "contractor" or paid on a 1099 does not make you one if you function as an employee.

A frequent Texas-specific point of confusion is the salaried non-exempt worker. Being paid a salary does not automatically eliminate overtime. If your duties do not meet an exemption, you are still owed overtime over 40 hours even if you are paid a flat salary.

Comp time: public versus private employers

Texas has a large public-sector workforce, and the rules differ there. Government employers (state agencies, counties, cities, school districts) may, under the FLSA, provide compensatory time off at 1.5 hours per overtime hour instead of cash overtime, within federal limits. Private employers in Texas generally cannot substitute comp time for cash overtime owed to non-exempt employees; offering "time off next week" instead of paying overtime is usually unlawful in the private sector.

How to recover unpaid overtime in Texas

Texas workers have more than one path, and they have different deadlines, so timing matters.

1. File an FLSA claim or lawsuit

The U.S. Department of Labor's Wage and Hour Division enforces federal overtime. You can file a complaint with that agency, or you can sue your employer directly in federal or state court. Under the FLSA, the statute of limitations is generally two years from the violation, extended to three years if the employer's violation was willful. Successful FLSA claims can recover the unpaid overtime plus an equal amount in liquidated (double) damages, along with attorney's fees.

2. File a Texas Payday Law wage claim with the TWC

The Texas Workforce Commission (TWC) administers the Texas Payday Law (Texas Labor Code Chapter 61), which covers wages that are owed, including agreed-upon overtime and earned wages an employer failed to pay. A Texas Payday Law wage claim generally must be filed with the TWC within 180 days of the date the unpaid wages were due. This is a much shorter window than the FLSA, so do not wait. The Payday Law process is administrative and does not require a lawyer, though the FLSA route often recovers more because of liquidated damages.

Protect your case

• Keep your own records: Save pay stubs, schedules, time records, texts, and emails about hours. You are not required to rely solely on the employer's records.
• Act quickly: The 180-day TWC deadline and the 2-to-3-year FLSA window both run against you.
• Retaliation is illegal: Both the FLSA and Texas law protect workers who assert wage rights; an employer cannot lawfully fire or punish you for filing a claim.

Where to verify

For state wage-claim procedures, deadlines, and the current minimum wage, use the Texas Workforce Commission (TWC), the state agency that handles the Texas Payday Law. For federal overtime rules, exemptions, and the current salary threshold, use the U.S. Department of Labor, Wage and Hour Division. Because Texas leans entirely on the FLSA, the federal source is usually the most authoritative for whether you are owed overtime, and the TWC is the route for fastest state-level wage recovery. For situations involving misclassification, complex regular-rate math, or large amounts, an employment attorney can advise on which path maximizes recovery.

Official Texas Sources

This page is based on Texas employment law. Rules and figures change — verify the current details directly with the official Texas sources below. This is general legal information, not legal advice.

• Texas Workforce Commission — official Texas agency.
• Texas Payday Law - Wage Claim (TWC Wage and Hour Department)
• Texas Labor Code, Chapter 61 - Payment of Wages (Texas Payday Law)

Federal law and local ordinances may also apply. Federal laws like the Fair Labor Standards Act set a national floor, and your city or county may add protections (such as a higher local minimum wage or paid sick leave). Check both alongside Texas state law.