Texas Overtime Laws: When You Are Owed Time-and-a-Half

Overtime is one of the areas covered in Texas employment law. Because Texas has no overtime statute of its own, the rules that decide whether you are owed time-and-a-half come almost entirely from federal law. This article explains when overtime is owed, who is exempt, how the rate is figured, and how unpaid overtime is recovered.

Texas follows the federal overtime rule

Under 29 U.S.C. § 207, employees covered by the FLSA must receive overtime pay of at least one and one-half times their regular rate for hours worked beyond 40 in a workweek. The U.S. Department of Labor defines a workweek as a fixed, regularly recurring period of 168 hours, or seven consecutive 24-hour days. It does not have to match the calendar week, and hours cannot be averaged across two or more weeks.

Overtime is triggered by the 40-hour weekly threshold, not by long single days. The FLSA does not require extra pay for work on weekends, holidays, or for more than eight hours in a day, unless those hours push the weekly total above 40. An employer can pay a higher rate by choice or by contract, but 1.5 times the regular rate over 40 hours is the federal floor.

Texas has no state overtime law

Texas adds nothing on top of the federal rule. The state’s own wage statutes, the Texas Payday Law and the Texas Minimum Wage Act, govern when and how wages are paid and the state minimum wage, not a separate overtime requirement. Overtime for Texas workers is governed entirely by the FLSA and enforced by the U.S. Department of Labor.

Because there is no Texas overtime statute, private employers in Texas cannot substitute paid time off, often called comp time, for overtime wages. Overtime earned by a private-sector worker must be paid in money.

Who is exempt from overtime

Not every worker is entitled to overtime. The FLSA exempts certain “white-collar” employees who meet both a salary test and a duties test. According to DOL Fact Sheet #17A, an employee generally must be paid on a salary basis of at least $684 per week (as of 2026) and have primary duties that are executive, administrative, professional, computer, or outside-sales in nature.

A few points decide most exemption questions:

• A job title alone does not make someone exempt. The actual duties and salary control.
• Being paid a salary is not enough by itself. A salaried worker who does not meet the duties test is still owed overtime.
• Highly compensated employees earning at least $107,432 per year, including $684 per week on a salary basis, are exempt under Fact Sheet #17A if they regularly perform at least one exempt duty.
• Manual laborers, along with police, firefighters, and other first responders, are entitled to overtime regardless of how much they earn.

How time-and-a-half is calculated

Overtime is based on the “regular rate,” which includes most forms of pay, such as hourly wages, nondiscretionary bonuses, and commissions, not just the base hourly wage. For an hourly worker the math is direct: the regular hourly rate multiplied by 1.5 for each hour over 40. For a salaried nonexempt worker, the regular rate is found by dividing weekly pay by the hours it is meant to cover.

1. Find the regular rate

   Add up all pay for the workweek, including wages plus nondiscretionary bonuses and commissions, then divide by the total hours actually worked that week. The FLSA excludes a few items, such as discretionary bonuses and gifts.

2. Multiply overtime hours by 1.5

   For each hour over 40, the employee is owed one and one-half times the regular rate. In the Department of Labor’s example, a $405 salary meant for a 45-hour week produces a $9.00 regular rate, so each of the five overtime hours earns an extra $4.50.

3. Add overtime to straight-time pay

   The overtime premium is added to the straight-time earnings for that week and paid on the regular payday for the pay period in which the hours were worked.

Comp time and public employees

Comp time, meaning paid time off given instead of overtime wages, is allowed only for government employers. 29 U.S.C. § 207(o) lets state and local public agencies award compensatory time at 1.5 hours per overtime hour instead of cash, within limits. Texas state and local agencies use this option for many public workers. Private-sector employers in Texas cannot use comp time in place of paying overtime.

How to recover unpaid overtime

An employee who was not paid required overtime has two main federal avenues. The first is a complaint to the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division, which can investigate and recover back wages. The second is a private lawsuit under the FLSA, which can recover unpaid overtime and, in many cases, an equal amount as liquidated damages.

Timing matters. Under 29 U.S.C. § 255, an FLSA claim generally must be brought within two years of the violation, or within three years if the employer’s violation was willful. For unpaid wages generally, the Texas Payday Law also lets an employee file a wage claim with the Texas Workforce Commission.

Overtime disputes often overlap with other wage-and-hour questions, such as whether time counted under Texas break laws was properly paid. The FLSA also forbids firing a worker for asserting overtime rights, and a discharge of that kind can support a separate claim for wrongful termination in Texas. A worker whose job ends after a pay dispute may also need to apply for unemployment benefits in Texas while the wage claim is pending.