The rule in Wyoming
In Wyoming, 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 overtime provision listed. 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
Common mistakes employers make in Wyoming
- Quoting Wyoming's $5.15 minimum wage. It bites only where the federal law does not reach the employer; nearly everyone is owed at least the federal rate.
- Applying the public works overtime rule to an ordinary job. Wyoming's daily eight-hour overtime rule covers public works projects, not private employment generally.
- Paying the training wage too long, or too widely. Wyoming's $4.25 rate covers only the first 90 consecutive days for workers under 20, and no one's hours or pay may be cut to make room for them.
Other Wyoming 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: Accrued vacation counts as wages in Wyoming unless the employer has a written policy forfeiting it at separation and you acknowledged that policy in writing. If either piece is missing, the vacation is owed.
- Late final pay: Wyoming adds no extra days of pay. If you sue and prove what you are owed, the court must award 18% a year interest from the date of discharge, plus a reasonable attorney fee and costs. A willful violation is also a misdemeanour carrying a $500 to $750 fine (Wyo. Stat. § 27-4-104(b), § 27-4-105).
Wyoming final paycheck law and deadline calculator →
Wyoming 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 Wyoming 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 Wyoming have its own overtime law?
No. Wyoming 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
- 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 Claim for Wages with the Wyoming Department of Workforce Services, Labor Standards, within 2 years. The department will not pursue more than about two months' wages per claim; larger amounts go to court. 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? Colorado overtime rules and Idaho overtime rules.