Most employees must be paid one and onehalf times their regular hourly rate for all hours worked in excess of 40 hours in a given work week. For instance, in California, the initial amount of time an employee must work before receiving overtime pay is only eight hours.The FLSA states that all nonexempt employees are entitled to overtime pay for working over 40 hours in a workweek. The state overtime law in Massachusetts follows federal overtime laws in that it requires overtime for hours worked beyond 40 in a workweek. California: Nonexempt employees are eligible for overtime pay if they work more than eight hours a day, 40 hours a week, or six consecutive days. Overtime wages are 1.5 times an employee's regular pay rate for each hour worked over 40 in a workweek. In the U.S., the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) oversees federal overtime laws. Most employees must be paid 1.5 times their regular hourly rate for all hours worked in excess of 40 hours in a given work week. The standard overtime rate under California law is 1.5 times an employee's regular pay rate. Nonexempt workers must be paid overtime pay at a rate of not less than one and one-half times their regular rates of pay after 40 hours of work in a workweek.