The rule in Alaska
In Alaska, hours over 8 in a single workday are paid at 1.5 times your regular rate. Regular hours over 40 in a workweek are overtime too — but an hour already paid as daily overtime is not counted again toward the 40.
The US Department of Labor's state table adds: “Daily and weekly premium do not apply to employers with fewer than 4 employees. Under a voluntary flexible work hour plan approved by the Alaska DOL, a 10-hour day / 40-hour week may be used with premium after 10 hours.”
How daily overtime works
Each workday is checked on its own first. A 10-hour Monday carries 2 overtime hours (if the daily rule covers you), even in a week where you work only 26 hours in total.
Then the week is checked. Once your regular hours pass 40, every further hour that week is overtime as well.
Does the daily rule apply to you?
The daily rule in Alaska covers you when:
- Your employer has 4 or more employees. Employers with fewer than 4 are exempt from the state daily and weekly premium.
- Your employer has no voluntary flexible work hour plan approved by the Alaska DOL. Under such a plan, the premium starts after 10 hours in a day within a 40-hour week.
If it does not cover you, the calculator above still applies the weekly 40-hour rule — untick “The daily rule applies to me”.
What counts toward your regular rate
Overtime is 1.5 times your regular rate of pay: everything you earned for the week at straight time, divided by every hour you worked.
Counts
- Your hourly pay for every hour worked, at each rate you worked
- Non-discretionary bonuses — attendance, production, safety, or any bonus promised in advance
- Commissions
- Shift differentials for nights, weekends or hazardous work
Does not count
- Discretionary bonuses and gifts, where both the fact and the amount were up to the employer
- Expense reimbursements
- Pay for time not worked: vacation, holidays, sick days
A worked example
Common mistakes employers make in Alaska
- Small employers claiming the under-4-employee exemption when they have 4 employees. The exemption only covers employers with fewer than 4.
Alaska overtime: common questions
Does my employer have to pay overtime if they didn't approve it?
Yes. Time your employer knew you were working, or allowed you to work, counts as hours worked, whether or not anyone approved it in advance. An employer can discipline you for breaking an overtime policy, but it still has to pay overtime for those hours — in Alaska as everywhere else under federal law.
Does my bonus change my overtime rate?
Yes, if the bonus is non-discretionary — promised for attendance, production, safety or hitting a target. It is added to your straight-time pay and divided by all the hours you worked, and your overtime is 1.5 times that higher rate. Discretionary gifts, expense reimbursements and paid time off are left out.
Do I get overtime if I work 10 hours but only 30 hours that week?
Yes, if the daily rule covers you. In Alaska, hours over 8 in a workday are overtime whatever the weekly total, so a 10-hour day earns 2 overtime hours even in a 30-hour week. A calculator that applies only the federal rule would show none, because it looks at the week alone.
What is double time and when does it start?
Double time is pay at twice your regular rate. Alaska has no double-time rule, so it is owed only if your employer's policy or your contract promises it. Long shifts in Alaska are paid at time and a half — after 8 hours in a day if the daily rule covers you, and after 40 hours in the week regardless.
Does the daily rule apply to me?
Only if your employer has 4 or more employees. Businesses with fewer than 4 are exempt from Alaska's daily and weekly premium, although federal law can still require overtime after 40 hours a week. If your employer runs a flexible work hour plan approved by the Alaska DOL, the daily threshold is 10 hours instead of 8.
If you think you were underpaid
- Keep your own record of the hours you worked: a timesheet from this page, photos of the posted schedule, messages about shifts.
- Ask your employer in writing to correct the pay. Email beats a conversation because it creates a dated record.
- File a wage claim — with the Alaska labor department, or with the US Department of Labor's Wage and Hour Division for federal overtime. It is free, and you do not need a lawyer.
- Federal overtime claims must generally be brought within 2 years of the underpayment, or 3 years if the violation was willful.
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Three other states also pay daily overtime: California, Colorado and Nevada.