Nevada Overtime Laws: Daily and Weekly Rules Every Employer Must Know
Nevada overtime law is not the same as federal overtime law, and that difference catches a lot of employers off guard. While states like Texas, Florida, and Michigan simply follow the federal Fair Labor Standards Act with no additional state requirements, Nevada has its own overtime rules that go further. Nevada requires overtime pay for hours over 8 in a single workday for certain employees, in addition to the standard weekly overtime threshold. If you employ hourly workers in Nevada and you are only tracking the 40-hour weekly limit, you may be systematically underpaying overtime.
This guide covers Nevada's daily and weekly overtime requirements, how to determine which employees are subject to daily overtime, the 4/10 schedule exception, Nevada's minimum wage, common violations, and how to set up a time tracking system that catches daily overtime before payroll runs.
Important: This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. For guidance specific to your situation, consult an employment attorney licensed in Nevada.
Nevada Overtime: Two Rules, Not One
Most states have one overtime rule: pay 1.5 times the regular rate for hours over 40 in a workweek. Nevada has two.
Weekly overtime: 1.5 times the regular rate for all hours over 40 in a workweek. This applies to all non-exempt employees regardless of their pay rate.
Daily overtime: 1.5 times the regular rate for all hours over 8 in a single workday. This applies to employees whose regular rate of pay is less than 1.5 times the Nevada minimum wage.
Both rules operate independently. An employee can trigger daily overtime, weekly overtime, both in the same week, or neither. The two calculations do not offset each other.
Nevada Minimum Wage and the Daily Overtime Threshold
Nevada unified its minimum wage to a single rate of $12.00 per hour as of July 1, 2024. Prior to that date, Nevada had a two-tier system with different rates depending on whether the employer offered qualifying health benefits. That distinction no longer applies.
The daily overtime threshold is 1.5 times the Nevada minimum wage:
| Nevada Minimum Wage | Daily Overtime Threshold (1.5x) | Who Gets Daily Overtime |
|---|---|---|
| $12.00/hour | $18.00/hour | Employees earning less than $18.00/hour |
An employee earning $15.00 per hour is below $18.00, so daily overtime applies. An employee earning $20.00 per hour is above $18.00, so only weekly overtime applies.
This threshold changes when the minimum wage changes. If Nevada's minimum wage increases, the daily overtime threshold increases with it. Employers need to recalculate which employees are subject to daily overtime whenever the minimum wage changes, not just once when they set up payroll.
How Daily Overtime Works in Practice
Daily overtime in Nevada is triggered by a single workday exceeding 8 hours, regardless of what the rest of the week looks like. Here are examples showing how it plays out:
Example 1 - Daily only: An employee earning $14/hour works 9 hours Monday, 8 hours Tuesday through Thursday, and 7 hours Friday. Total: 40 hours. No weekly overtime. But Monday's 9th hour triggers daily overtime. The employer owes 1 hour at $21.00 ($14 x 1.5).
Example 2 - Weekly only: An employee earning $20/hour (above the daily threshold) works 8 hours Monday through Friday and 4 hours Saturday. Total: 44 hours. No daily overtime because all days are 8 hours or under. Weekly overtime applies to the 4 Saturday hours at $30.00 ($20 x 1.5).
Example 3 - Both: An employee earning $14/hour works 10 hours Monday, 10 hours Tuesday, 10 hours Wednesday, 10 hours Thursday, and 5 hours Friday. Total: 45 hours. Daily overtime applies to hours 9 and 10 on each of Monday through Thursday (8 hours at 1.5x). Weekly overtime applies to the 5 hours over 40. The employer calculates both and pays accordingly.
The 4/10 Schedule Exception
Nevada law includes an important exception for employees who voluntarily request a four-day, 10-hour workweek. Under this exception, an employee who works four 10-hour days does not trigger daily overtime on the 9th and 10th hours of each day.
The requirements for this exception are specific:
- The request must come from the employee, not the employer
- The request must be in writing
- The employee can revoke the request at any time
- The employer cannot require or pressure the employee to make this request
- Weekly overtime still applies if total hours exceed 40
4/10 schedule and weekly overtime: An employee on a 4/10 schedule working exactly 40 hours owes no overtime at all. If any day goes beyond 10 hours, daily overtime applies to those extra hours. If the week total exceeds 40, weekly overtime applies to the excess.
Who Is Exempt from Nevada Overtime
Nevada follows the federal FLSA exemptions for the most part, with some state-specific nuances.
White Collar Exemptions
Executive, administrative, and professional employees who meet both the federal salary test ($684 per week minimum) and the applicable duties test are exempt from both daily and weekly overtime in Nevada.
Nevada-Specific Considerations
| Category | Nevada Rule |
|---|---|
| Outside sales | Exempt per federal FLSA standards |
| Computer professionals | Exempt if meeting federal salary or hourly rate thresholds |
| Agricultural workers | Exempt from both daily and weekly overtime under Nevada law |
| Employees covered by CBA | Collective bargaining agreements that provide equivalent overtime protections may modify the daily overtime rule |
| Employees earning above 1.5x minimum wage | Exempt from daily overtime only, still subject to weekly overtime |
Nevada Labor Commissioner Enforcement
Nevada overtime violations can be pursued through two separate channels, giving employees more enforcement options than in purely federal-law states.
Nevada Labor Commissioner: Employees can file wage claims with the Nevada Labor Commissioner for unpaid overtime under state law. The Labor Commissioner can investigate, order back pay, and assess civil penalties against employers. Claims must generally be filed within two years of the violation.
Federal Department of Labor: FLSA violations can be reported to the Department of Labor separately. Federal claims allow for back pay plus liquidated damages equal to the unpaid amount.
A Nevada employer who fails to pay daily overtime faces potential claims under both systems. The state claim covers the Nevada-specific daily overtime rule. The federal claim covers weekly overtime violations. Both can proceed simultaneously.
Common Nevada Overtime Violations
Not Tracking Daily Hours Separately
The most common Nevada overtime violation is failing to track daily hours with enough precision to catch the 8-hour daily threshold. Employers who only calculate total weekly hours will miss daily overtime entirely. Every day needs to be tracked individually so the 9th hour on any given day triggers the correct rate.
Applying the 4/10 Exception Without Written Employee Request
Employers in Nevada who put employees on 4/10 schedules without obtaining a written voluntary request from the employee are in violation. The exception only applies when the employee requests it. An employer-imposed 4/10 schedule does not eliminate daily overtime obligations.
Not Updating the Daily Overtime Threshold When Minimum Wage Changes
The daily overtime threshold is tied to the minimum wage. When Nevada's minimum wage increased to $12.00 per hour, the daily overtime threshold moved to $18.00. Employers who did not update their payroll calculations at that point may have been miscalculating which employees are subject to daily overtime.
Hospitality and Casino Industry Misclassifications
Nevada's large hospitality and casino industry employs a significant portion of the state's workforce. Tipped employees, banquet staff, and casino floor workers are frequently subject to irregular hours where daily overtime triggers regularly. Misclassifying these workers or failing to count tip credit correctly in the regular rate calculation is a consistent source of wage violations in Nevada.
How Updoot Handles Nevada's Daily Overtime Rule
Updoot tracks exact hours by day, which is the foundation of Nevada overtime compliance. Because every punch records the precise clock-in and clock-out time for each shift, the system captures daily hours accurately without any manual compilation.
Per-Day Hour Tracking
Every employee's hours are tracked by day, not just by week. This means the 9th hour on any given workday is captured and flagged automatically. Nevada employers do not need to manually review each employee's daily totals to find daily overtime triggers.
Overtime Alerts Before Payroll Runs
Managers receive alerts when employees approach both the daily 8-hour threshold and the weekly 40-hour threshold. For Nevada employers, catching a 9-hour day before the week closes is as important as catching weekly overtime. Both alerts are built into the same system.
GPS-Verified Punches for Exact Time Records
Every clock-in and clock-out is GPS-verified to the exact minute. There is no rounding, no manual entry, and no gap in the audit trail. For Nevada employers facing a Labor Commissioner investigation, this is the record that demonstrates compliance or identifies exactly where a discrepancy occurred.
Payroll Reports with Daily and Weekly Overtime Separated
At the end of each pay period, Updoot generates a payroll report that breaks out regular hours, daily overtime hours, and weekly overtime hours by employee. Nevada employers get the complete picture needed to run an accurate payroll without manually reconstructing daily totals from punch records.
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