Federal labor law sets the floor; states stack stricter rules on top. This reference covers the federal default plus every US state that has meaningfully different rules around overtime, meal breaks, rest breaks, and predictive scheduling.

⚠️ This is a reference, not legal advice
Labor law changes constantly. We update this article a few times a year, but for a specific compliance question — especially around new ordinances or industry-specific rules — talk to an employment attorney in your state.

Federal default (FLSA)

  • Overtime: 1.5× regular rate for hours over 40 in a single workweek (the 7-day period is fixed by you).
  • Minimum wage: $7.25/hour federal; many states higher.
  • Meal breaks: Not required. If given (and shorter than 30 min), must be paid.
  • Rest breaks: Not required.
  • Recordkeeping: Hours worked, wages paid — retain 3 years.

States with stricter overtime

California

  • Daily OT: 1.5× over 8 hours, 2× over 12 hours.
  • Seventh-day OT: 1.5× for first 8 hours on the 7th consecutive workday, 2× after that.
  • Plus the federal 40h/week rule.

Alaska, Nevada

  • Daily OT: 1.5× over 8 hours per day for non-exempt employees in certain industries.

Colorado

  • Daily OT: 1.5× over 12 hours in a day OR 12 consecutive hours.
  • 40h/week rule applies.

Meal break requirements

California

  • 30-minute unpaid meal break required after 5 hours.
  • Second 30-minute meal break required after 10 hours.
  • Missed-break premium: 1 hour of pay per day where the break wasn't taken.

Washington, Oregon, Colorado, Illinois

  • 30-minute meal break after 5 hours worked.

New York

  • 30-minute meal break for shifts longer than 6 hours that span 11am–2pm.
  • Factory workers: 60 minutes between 11am–2pm.
  • Shifts starting before 11am and ending after 7pm: additional 20-minute break between 5pm–7pm.

Massachusetts, Connecticut, Maine, Maryland, Nebraska, Tennessee, West Virginia, Vermont

  • 30-minute meal break after 6 hours.

States with no state meal-break requirement

Texas, Florida, Arizona, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Georgia, Michigan, Indiana, Iowa, Idaho, Wyoming, and most southern states — federal default applies (i.e. no requirement).

Rest break requirements

California, Washington, Oregon, Nevada, Colorado, Vermont

  • 10-minute paid rest break for every 4 hours worked (or major fraction thereof).

Kentucky, Minnesota

  • Reasonable time for an employee to use the restroom — no fixed minimum.

All other states

  • No state rest break requirement.

Predictive scheduling (Fair Workweek) laws

These laws require advance notice of schedules and predictability pay for last-minute changes. See Fair Workweek and predictability pay for details on what triggers payment.

Active jurisdictions (2026)

  • New York City — retail and fast-food chains
  • Seattle, WA — retail and food service, 500+ employees globally
  • Oregon (statewide) — retail/hospitality/food service, 500+ employees
  • Chicago, IL — most industries, 100+ employees, building services, healthcare, hotels, manufacturing, restaurants, retail, warehouse
  • Philadelphia, PA — retail, hospitality, food service, 250+ employees
  • Los Angeles, CA — retail, 300+ employees
  • Berkeley, Emeryville, San Francisco (CA) — local formula retail and food
  • Evanston, IL — local version

Pending / proposed

Washington state (statewide), Massachusetts, and Connecticut all have predictive scheduling bills under consideration. We'll update this list when laws pass — and the compliance engine auto-picks up new presets without you having to do anything.

Tip credit (tipped minimum wage)

States that allow tip credit (employee paid less than minimum wage, tips making up the difference)

Most US states allow this. Federal sub-minimum: $2.13/hour as long as tips bring total to $7.25/hour.

States that prohibit tip credit (full minimum wage regardless of tips)

  • Alaska
  • California
  • Minnesota
  • Montana
  • Nevada
  • Oregon
  • Washington

States with stricter notice requirements for tip credit

NY, NJ, RI, and several others require specific written notice to the employee about the tip credit structure. The notice has to be on file. If you're in a tip-credit state with notice requirements, generate one from Tip Pooling → Settings → Tip credit notice.

Minimum wage

This changes yearly. As of 2026, headline state minimums (full minimum, not tipped):

  • $16+: California ($16.50), Washington ($16.66), Connecticut ($16.35), New York ($16.50 — varies by region within NY), New Jersey ($15.49), Massachusetts ($15.00 — but local cities higher)
  • $13–$15: Oregon ($14.70 / $13.70 by region), Maryland ($15.00), Colorado ($14.81), Arizona ($14.70), Maine ($14.65), Illinois ($14.00), Vermont ($13.67), Florida ($14.00, scheduled increases), Rhode Island ($15.00)
  • Federal default ($7.25): Most southern states (TX, AL, MS, LA, GA, SC, TN, NC, VA), plus a few midwestern (IN, IA, OK, ND, NH)

Many cities have higher local minimums (Seattle $20.76, San Francisco $19.18, NYC $16.50, DC $17.50). The compliance engine uses location addresses to pick up the right one.

Recordkeeping

Federal FLSA requires retaining payroll and timekeeping records for 3 years. Some states require longer:

  • California, Washington, Oregon — 3 years (matches federal but with stricter content requirements).
  • New York — 6 years for wage records.
  • OSHA (workplace injury) — 5 years.

We retain everything you do in ShyftForce indefinitely while your account is active. If you cancel, the wage-records retention plan keeps the legally-required records for the relevant period.

💡 One more thing
Federal rules are floors, not ceilings. When state and federal rules conflict, you follow the one that's MORE generous to the employee. If California requires 1.5× over 8 hours/day but federal only requires it over 40 hours/week, you pay California's rule.