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Louisiana overtime rules

Louisiana has no overtime law of its own. Federal law applies: 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.

Good to know in LouisianaNo state minimum wage law. FLSA governs.

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.

The rule in Louisiana

In Louisiana, hours over 40 in a workweek are paid at 1.5 times your regular rate. There is no general daily limit, so a 12-hour day inside a 36-hour week earns no overtime.

The US Department of Labor's state table adds: “No state minimum wage law. FLSA governs.”

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

Louisiana, 46 hours with a $150 production bonus.Your overtime is not 1.5 × $22. The bonus is spread across all 46 hours first, lifting your regular rate to $25.26, which makes your overtime rate $37.89 instead of $33.00. Paying overtime at $33.00 would leave you $9.78 short for the week.

Common mistakes employers make in Louisiana

  • Sending an overtime complaint to the state. The Louisiana Workforce Commission routes overtime and minimum wage questions to the US Department of Labor, and enforces the state's final pay and paycheck deduction laws instead.
  • Forfeiting earned vacation at separation. Louisiana treats accrued vacation you were eligible to take as an amount then due, and a policy cannot take away vacation already earned.
  • Paying final wages on a payday more than 15 days away. Louisiana requires the next payday or 15 days after the separation, whichever comes first.

Other Louisiana pay rules worth knowing

  • Final paycheck if fired: By your next regular payday or within 15 calendar days of your last day, whichever comes first.
  • Unused PTO: Accrued vacation you were eligible to take, and have not used or been paid for, is owed at separation under your employer's vacation policy. A policy cannot make you forfeit vacation pay you actually earned.
  • Late final pay: An employer that fails to pay owes the lesser of 90 days' wages at your daily rate, or full wages from your demand for payment until it pays (La. R.S. 23:632). If the amount was disputed in good faith, only the wages and interest are owed.

Louisiana final paycheck law and deadline calculator →

Louisiana 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 Louisiana 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.

Does Louisiana have its own overtime law?

No. Louisiana has no state overtime provision, so the federal Fair Labor Standards Act sets the rule: time and a half after 40 hours in a workweek, with no daily limit. The federal law covers most employers — any business with $500,000 or more in annual sales, plus hospitals, schools and government agencies.

What is a workweek, and can my employer change it?

A workweek is a fixed, recurring block of seven consecutive 24-hour days, and it can start on any day and at any hour. Overtime is counted per workweek, never averaged across two, even when you are paid every two weeks. Your employer can change the start day, but only permanently and not to avoid paying overtime.

If you think you were underpaid

  1. Keep your own record of the hours you worked — the time card calculator totals them and exports a CSV — plus photos of the posted schedule and 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 — Louisiana has no state wage-claim program for final pay. Make a written demand, then sue in court within 3 years. 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.

Other states that also follow the 40-hour weekly rule with nothing added: Delaware, District of Columbia and Illinois.

Work across a state line? Texas overtime rules.