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Colorado overtime rules

Colorado pays overtime after 12 hours in a day — but only for some workers. Everyone else gets time and a half after 40 hours in a workweek.

Verified against the US Department of Labor.

Your week

Decimal (46.5) or hours and minutes (46:30).

Attendance, production, safety bonuses and shift differentials count. Gifts and reimbursements do not.

Colorado has daily overtimeAlso triggers on 12 consecutive hours. Provisions apply to retail and service, commercial support service, food and beverage, and health and medical industries.

What you are owed

Regular rate of payBase rate plus bonus, per hour
$25.26
Straight time40.00 hrs at the regular rate
$1,010.43
Overtime6.00 hrs at 1.5×
$227.35
Double timeNone this week
$0.00
Total gross$1,237.78
Your overtime rate is higher than your hourly rate$9.78 more Your regular rate of pay is $25.26, so your overtime rate is $37.89, not $33.00. Paying overtime at $33.00 would leave you $9.78 short this week.
Daily overtime applies hereColorado pays overtime after 12 hours in a day. Switch to “Day by day” above — your weekly total may hide overtime you are owed.

The rule in Colorado

In Colorado, hours over 12 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: “Also triggers on 12 consecutive hours. Provisions apply to retail and service, commercial support service, food and beverage, and health and medical industries.”

How daily overtime works

Each workday is checked on its own first. A 14-hour Monday carries 2 overtime hours (if the daily rule covers you), even in a week where you work only 30 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 Colorado covers you when:

  • You work in retail and service, commercial support service, food and beverage, or health and medical.
  • In those industries, overtime starts after 12 hours in a workday or after 12 consecutive hours.

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

Colorado, two 15-hour days.You worked 30 hours but only on two days. Under the federal rule you would have no overtime hours. Under Colorado's daily rule you have 6 — 3 each day over 12, if the rule covers you. At $22 an hour, that difference is $66.00 in one week.

Common mistakes employers make in Colorado

  • Counting overtime only by calendar day. Colorado's rule also triggers after 12 consecutive hours, even when a shift crosses midnight.

Colorado 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 Colorado 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?

Not from a 10-hour day. Colorado's daily threshold is 12 hours, so daily overtime starts on longer shifts: a 13-hour day earns 1 overtime hour even in a 30-hour week, if the daily rule covers you. 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. Colorado has no double-time rule, so it is owed only if your employer's policy or your contract promises it. Long shifts in Colorado are paid at time and a half — after 12 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 you work in one of the covered industries: retail and service, commercial support service, food and beverage, or health and medical. In those jobs, hours over 12 in a workday or after 12 consecutive hours are overtime. Outside them, Colorado overtime comes after 40 hours in a workweek.

If you think you were underpaid

  1. Keep your own record of the hours you worked: a timesheet from this page, photos of the posted schedule, messages about shifts.
  2. Ask your employer in writing to correct the pay. Email beats a conversation because it creates a dated record.
  3. File a wage claim — with the Colorado 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.
  4. Federal overtime claims must generally be brought within 2 years of the underpayment, or 3 years if the violation was willful.

Spotted something wrong? Report an error.

Three other states also pay daily overtime: Alaska, California and Nevada.