Nevada overtime law, set out in NRS 608.018, requires an employer to pay 1.5 times an employee’s regular wage rate in two situations: whenever a covered employee works more than 40 hours in a scheduled week, and — for employees paid less than 1.5 times the minimum wage — whenever they work more than 8 hours in a workday. Under the Labor Commissioner’s 2025 bulletin, that daily-overtime threshold is $18.00 per hour: employees earning less than $18.00 get both daily and weekly overtime, while employees earning $18.00 or more get weekly overtime only.

What is the weekly overtime rule?

The weekly rule looks like the familiar federal one. NRS 608.018(2) requires 1.5 times the regular wage rate whenever an employee — paid at any rate — works more than 40 hours in any scheduled week of work, unless an exemption applies. The statute expressly incorporates the federal “regular rate” regulations issued under the Fair Labor Standards Act for calculating what the overtime rate is based on, so bonuses, commissions and similar payments are handled the same way they are under federal law.

Nevada uses the “scheduled week of work” as the measuring period. Overtime is figured against that fixed workweek, not against a pay period — a point that matters for employees paid semimonthly, where pay periods and workweeks rarely line up.

What is Nevada’s daily overtime rule?

This is the part of Nevada law that surprises people. NRS 608.018(1) requires overtime pay whenever an employee “who receives compensation for employment at a rate less than 1 1/2 times the minimum rate” works more than 8 hours in any workday. The Labor Commissioner’s annual daily-overtime bulletin explains the same rule as applying to more than 8 hours of work in a 24-hour period, and translates the wage cutoff into dollars.

With the minimum wage at $12.00, the arithmetic is:

  • Earning less than $18.00 per hour → entitled to 1.5× pay for hours beyond 8 in a workday and beyond 40 in a week.
  • Earning $18.00 per hour or more → entitled to 1.5× pay only for hours beyond 40 in a week.

Because the threshold is defined as 1.5 times the minimum wage, it moves automatically if the minimum wage ever rises; the Labor Commissioner republishes the dollar figure in its annual bulletin. The current bulletin, effective July 1, 2025, states that employees who earn less than $18.00 per hour are eligible for daily overtime.

One consequence of the daily rule: a lower-wage employee who works, for example, two 12-hour shifts in a week is owed 8 hours of overtime pay even though the weekly total (24 hours) is nowhere near 40.

What is the 4-day, 10-hour schedule exception?

Daily overtime has a single scheduling escape hatch written into NRS 608.018(1)(b): the 8-hour trigger does not apply if, by mutual agreement, the employee works a scheduled 10 hours per day for 4 calendar days within a scheduled week of work. This is how Nevada accommodates the popular “4×10” compressed workweek — a lower-wage employee on an agreed 4×10 schedule earns straight time for those 10-hour days.

The exception is specific: it requires mutual agreement and a scheduled 4×10 arrangement. It does not create a general power to average hours across days, and it has no effect on the weekly rule — hours past 40 in the week still earn overtime. The Labor Commissioner’s FAQ adds a practical warning drawn from the statute’s wording: deviations from the agreed 4×10 schedule can cause overtime to accrue.

Are salaried employees automatically exempt from overtime?

No. Being paid a salary, by itself, exempts no one. The Labor Commissioner’s FAQ states that “salary employees are not automatically exempt from overtime and must meet an overtime exemption” under NRS 608.018 and the federal Fair Labor Standards Act. The relevant exemption for most salaried office roles is the bona fide executive, administrative or professional category in NRS 608.018(3)(d) — a test that looks at the employee’s actual duties, not the label or the pay method. A salaried employee who fits no exemption keeps the protection of both overtime rules, including the daily rule where the rate of compensation falls below the $18.00 threshold.

Who is exempt from Nevada overtime?

NRS 608.018(3) lists the employees and businesses to which neither the daily nor the weekly requirement applies:

  • Employees not covered by the minimum wage provisions of Article 15, Section 16 of the Nevada Constitution;
  • Outside buyers;
  • Retail or service employees paid mostly by commission, if their regular rate exceeds 1.5 times the minimum wage and more than half their pay for a representative period (at least one month) comes from commissions;
  • Employees in bona fide executive, administrative or professional capacities;
  • Employees covered by collective bargaining agreements that provide otherwise for overtime;
  • Drivers, drivers’ helpers, loaders and mechanics for motor carriers subject to the federal Motor Carrier Act;
  • Railroad and air carrier employees;
  • Local-delivery drivers and helpers paid on a trip-rate or similar delivery plan;
  • Taxicab and limousine drivers;
  • Agricultural employees;
  • Employees of business enterprises with gross sales under $250,000 per year;
  • Salespeople and mechanics primarily engaged in selling or servicing automobiles, trucks or farm equipment;
  • Mechanics or workers for hours covered by the prevailing-wage and overtime provisions of NRS 338.020, Nevada’s public works chapter;
  • Live-in domestic workers and domestic service employees who agree in writing to be exempt.

The statute adds that regulations governing overtime for home care employees adopted under NRS 608.670 prevail over the general rules. Because Nevada’s exemption list is its own — it resembles, but does not copy, the federal list — an employee can be exempt under one law and non-exempt under the other; the FLSA applies alongside NRS 608.018 for most Nevada employers.

How does overtime interact with the rest of a paycheck?

Overtime is calculated on the regular wage rate, which is at least the minimum wage — $12.00 per hour — for covered employees. NRS 608.016 separately requires pay for each hour worked, and the meal and rest rules in NRS 608.019 determine which break minutes count as paid work time, explained in Nevada’s break laws. Earned overtime is “wages,” so it is subject to the same payday deadlines and the same final-paycheck rules as regular pay.

What does the law provide when overtime goes unpaid?

Unpaid overtime is unpaid wages. The Labor Commissioner enforces NRS 608.018 and publishes wage claim forms an employee may file; the office can investigate, order payment and impose statutory penalties. Nevada law also allows civil actions for unpaid wages in the courts, and NRS 608.140 provides for an award of attorney’s fees in a successful suit for wages earned and due. The complete guide to Nevada labor laws describes the enforcement landscape in more detail.