The rule in Missouri
In Missouri, 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: “Premium required after 52 hours in seasonal amusement or recreation businesses. Exempts retail or service businesses with gross annual sales under $500,000.”
Seasonal amusement and recreation
Premium required after 52 hours in seasonal amusement or recreation businesses. Exempts retail or service businesses with gross annual sales under $500,000.
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 Missouri
- Applying the 52-hour threshold outside a qualifying seasonal amusement or recreation business. Every other covered job is owed overtime after 40 hours.
- Treating the $500,000 small-business exemption as the end of it. It lifts the state rule for retail and service employers under that figure, but federal law can still cover the employee directly.
- Asking an employee to accept straight time instead of overtime. Missouri's labor department says the right cannot be waived, and the state cannot force payment — under $5,000 the route is small claims court.
Other Missouri pay rules worth knowing
- Final paycheck if fired: Immediately — final wages are due on your last day.
- If you quit: Missouri law sets no deadline for final pay when you quit. If your wages are not paid by your next regular payday, they can be collected in court.
- Unused PTO: Missouri does not require vacation, holiday or severance pay. They are owed at separation only where a contract or employer policy promises them.
- Late final pay: If you were discharged and asked in writing for your pay, and it does not reach you within 7 days, your wages continue from the date of discharge until paid, for up to 60 days (RSMo 290.110).
Missouri final paycheck law and deadline calculator →
Missouri 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 Missouri 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 Missouri's 52-hour rule apply to me?
Only if your employer is a seasonal amusement or recreation business that meets the federal test, such as a park open part of the year. In that case Missouri requires time and a half after 52 hours in a week. Every other covered Missouri job earns overtime once the week passes 40 hours.
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 — Missouri's Department of Labor cannot collect final wages for you. Send the employer a certified-mail request, then sue — small claims court handles amounts under $5,000. 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 add their own exception to the 40-hour rule: Connecticut, Hawaii and Kansas.
Work across a state line? Illinois overtime rules and Kentucky overtime rules.