The rule in Michigan
In Michigan, 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: “Applies to employers of 2 or more employees.”
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 Michigan
- Using an out-of-date minimum wage. Michigan moved to $12.48 on 21 February 2025, $13.73 on 1 January 2026 and $15.00 on 1 January 2027, with the tipped rate at $5.49 from January 2026.
- Handing out comp time instead of overtime pay. Michigan allows it only where the employee asked for it in writing and is not required to, at 1.5 hours per overtime hour and capped at 240 hours.
- Skipping earned sick time. Since 21 February 2025 Michigan workers earn an hour for every 30 worked, with use capped at 72 hours a year, or 40 hours at employers with 10 or fewer employees.
Other Michigan pay rules worth knowing
- Final paycheck if fired: By your next regularly scheduled payday. The date depends on your pay schedule, not on when you were let go.
- Unused PTO: Michigan treats vacation as a fringe benefit, not wages: it is owed only under a written contract or written policy, and must then be paid on those terms.
- Late final pay: The state must order the unpaid wages and fringe benefits plus a penalty of 10% a year, running from when the employer is notified of your complaint until it pays. Where the violation is flagrant or repeated it may also order up to twice the wages and benefits as exemplary damages (MCL 408.488).
Michigan final paycheck law and deadline calculator →
Michigan 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 Michigan 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 Michigan have its own overtime law?
Yes. The Michigan wage law requires time and a half after 40 hours in a workweek — the same threshold as the federal Fair Labor Standards Act, with no daily rule. Where both laws apply you get whichever is more generous, so in practice the 40-hour weekly rule governs. Applies to employers of 2 or more employees.
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
- 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.
- Ask your employer in writing to correct the pay. Email beats a conversation because it creates a dated record.
- File a wage claim — File a written complaint with the Michigan LEO Wage and Hour Division within 12 months of the violation — 30 days for a retaliation complaint. The department must issue a determination within 90 days. 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.
Spotted something wrong? Report an error.
Other states that also follow the 40-hour weekly rule with nothing added: Alabama, Arizona and Delaware.
Work across a state line? Indiana overtime rules and Ohio overtime rules.