What a week pays in Alaska
Take a 44-hour week with a 12-hour Monday, at $20 an hour. Under Alaska rules that is 38 regular hours and 6 hours of overtime, for $940.00.
Federal rules alone would pay $920.00, with 4 hours of overtime. The state rule adds $20.00 to the week.
Who the rule covers
Applies to employers with 4 or more employees in the regular course of business. Hours already paid as daily overtime are not counted again toward the 40-hour weekly total.
Employers with 4 or more employees only. Under a flexible work hour plan in a collective bargaining agreement, or a voluntary written plan approved by the Alaska Department of Labor and Workforce Development, daily overtime starts after 10 hours instead of 8.
- Under an approved flexible-hours plan, daily overtime starts after 10 hours instead of 8.
- Exempt from the state rule include agriculture and agricultural processing, seamen, hospital staff providing medical services and casual employees.
How federal law fits in
The FLSA applies in every state: a covered, non-exempt employee earns at least 1.5 times the regular rate for each hour over 40 in a workweek. Where a state rule and the federal rule both apply, the employee gets whichever pays more for each hour, never both. At $20.00 an hour, federal overtime is $30.00 an hour.
Overtime that only Alaska law requires does not count toward the federal deduction for qualified overtime; only the premium on hours over 40 in a week does. The no tax on overtime calculator works out that deduction.
Questions people ask
What is the overtime law in Alaska?
Alaska requires 1.5 times the regular rate for hours over 8 in a day and over 40 in a week at employers with four or more employees. Hours already paid as daily overtime are not counted again toward the weekly 40.
Does Alaska have daily overtime?
Yes. Over 8 hours in a workday at 1.5×, at employers with four or more employees.
Is double time required in Alaska?
No. Alaska law does not require double time. It is paid only when an employer policy or a union contract provides for it.
Can a Alaska employer average hours over two weeks?
Not for federal overtime. Each workweek stands alone under the FLSA, so 30 hours one week and 50 the next means 10 hours of overtime in the second week, even when both are paid together.