- more than 40 hours a week, or
- more than 8 hours in a day (if they normally earn less than 1½ times the Nevada minimum wage)
In general, blue-collar workers are eligible for this “time and a half” overtime pay while white-collar workers are often not. Other professions that are exempt from getting “time and a half” overtime pay include:
- Certain employees of transportation companies
- Automobile salespeople and mechanics
- Farmworkers
- Employees of businesses with a gross sales volume of less than $250,000 annually
- Certain employees in a retail or service business
Employees who are owed overtime pay may be able to resolve the matter privately with the employer. Otherwise, they may consider
- filing a wage and hour claim with the Nevada Office of the Labor Commissioner and/or
- bringing an overtime lawsuit in civil court.
In this article, our Las Vegas Nevada employment law attorneys discuss:
- 1. What are Nevada’s overtime pay wage laws?
- 2. Which workers are not entitled to overtime pay?
- 3. How do I bring a claim for overtime pay?
Many workers in Nevada are entitled to “time and a half” overtime pay for working more than 40 hours a week.
1. What are Nevada’s overtime pay wage laws?
In general, Nevada employers are required to pay employees for every hour they work.1 If an employee works more than 40 hours a week, the overtime rate is one and a half times the employee’s regular rate — called “time and a half” pay.2
Example: Jan gets $12 an hour as a restaurant hostess. One week she works 41 hours. Since she worked one hour of overtime, her boss should pay her 1.5 times her hourly salary for that extra hour ($18).
Nevada’s overtime requirements are that employers to pay a rate of 1.5 times the employee’s regular rate if:
- the employee works more than 8 hours in a workday, and
- the employee’s regular pay rate is less than 1.5 times Nevada’s minimum wage rate 3
Example: Mark is hired to work for one day as a temp at a factory. His wage is $20 an hour. That day he ends up working 9 hours, so he is entitled to an hour of overtime wages for that day. But since Mark’s wage of $20 an hour is in excess of 1.5 times Nevada’s minimum hourly wage, his daily overtime rate is the same as his regular hourly rate: $20 an hour.
Nevada’s current minimum wage is $12.00 per hour, and the minimum overtime rate is $18.00 per hour.
Note that employees who agree to work four 10-hour shifts are not entitled to “time and a half” overtime wages pay even though they worked more than 8 hours a 24-hour period.
Finally, note that employees who work 40 hours a week or less are generally not entitled to “time and a half” overtime pay, even if they worked on weekends or holidays.4
The minimum Nevada wage was scheduled to increase until it reached $12 by July 1, 2024. (Nevada Assembly Bill 456 (2019).)
2. Which workers are not entitled to overtime pay?
Not all employees are entitled to “time and a half” overtime pay under Nevada overtime laws. Ten examples of employees who are exempt from Nevada’s “time and a half” laws include:
- Professional, administrative, or executive employees
- Employees covered by a collective bargaining agreement which provides for overtime
- Railroad or airline employees
- Certain motor carrier employees, including drivers, loaders, and mechanics
- Taxi, limo, or delivery drivers
- Automobile salespeople and mechanics
- Farmworkers
- Employees of businesses with a gross sales volume of less than a quarter million dollars annually
- Domestic servants who live where they work and agree in writing to forgo overtime pay
- Employees in a retail or service business if:
-
- their regular rate is more than 1.5 times the minimum wage, and
- more than half their compensation comes from commission5
The broadest category of “overtime exemption” workers is “professional, administrative, or executive employees.” Examples of these types of employees who are not entitled to “time and a half” overtime under Nevada law includes:
- medical doctors
- lawyers
- architects
- teachers
- secretaries
Certainly, whether a job qualifies as “executive, professional, or administrative” may not be obvious. “Blue collar workers” and manual laborers generally do not qualify as “executive, professional, or administrative” and therefore are entitled to “time and a half” pay under overtime rules. Common examples of these overtime-eligible professions are:
- carpenters,
- electricians,
- mechanics,
- plumbers,
- iron workers,
- craftsmen,
- operating engineers,
- longshoremen,
- construction workers
- police officers,
- detectives,
- deputy sheriffs,
- state troopers,
- highway patrol officers,
- investigators,
- inspectors,
- correctional officers,
- parole or probation officers,
- park rangers,
- paramedics,
- emergency medical technicians,
- ambulance personnel, rescue workers,
- hazardous materials workers, and
- firefighters
Note that the above-listed employees are entitled to “time and a half” overtime pay even if they make substantial salaries or have a high rank.
Also note that employees may contract with their employers to make their own agreements regarding overtime pay that is different than Nevada law. As long as the contract is legal, then it should take precedence over Nevada’s overtime laws.6
Learn about the misclassification of employees as independent contractors in Nevada and the misclassification of non-exempt employees as exempt in Nevada.
3. How do I bring a claim for overtime pay?
Workers who were not paid proper overtime wages can file a claim with the Nevada Office of the Labor Commissioner. However, the worker first has to make a “good faith effort” to try to settle the matter with the employer. This may include having a meeting and/or writing a letter.7
If the employer refuses to pay, then the employee may submit a claim for wages form online. Employers are encouraged to attach as many supporting files as possible, including:
- time logs,
- check stubs, and
- receipts
Claimants should also include the names and contact information of any witnesses that can attest to the claimant working overtime.
The Labor Commissioner may then hold a hearing, which is similar to a mini-trial. The Labor Commissioner may also hand down binding decisions that could be upheld and enforced in state court.
Note that workers have the option of suing employers in court instead of filing a claim with the Labor Commissioner. Depending on the case, it may be more cost-effective and quick to rely on the Labor Commissioner instead of the courts. An employment law attorney can help the worker decide which route would be best for his/her situation.8
Work in California? See our article on California overtime laws.
Legal References
- NRS 608.016 Payment for each hour of work; trial or break-in period not excepted.
Except as otherwise provided in NRS 608.0195 and 608.215, an employer shall pay to the employee wages for each hour the employee works. An employer shall not require an employee to work without wages during a trial or break-in period. - NRS 608.018 Compensation for overtime: Requirement; exceptions. 1. An employer shall pay 1 1/2 times an employee’s regular wage rate whenever an employee who receives compensation for employment at a rate less than 1 1/2 times the minimum rate prescribed pursuant to NRS 608.250 works: (a) More than 40 hours in any scheduled week of work; or (b) More than 8 hours in any workday unless by mutual agreement the employee works a scheduled 10 hours per day for 4 calendar days within any scheduled week of work. 2. An employer shall pay 1 1/2 times an employee’s regular wage rate whenever an employee who receives compensation for employment at a rate not less than 1 1/2 times the minimum rate prescribed pursuant to NRS 608.250 works more than 40 hours in any scheduled week of work. 3. The provisions of subsections 1 and 2 do not apply to: (a) Except as otherwise provided in paragraphs (o) and (p), employees who are not covered by the minimum wage provisions of NRS 608.250; (b) Outside buyers; (c) Employees in a retail or service business if their regular rate is more than 1 1/2 times the minimum wage, and more than half their compensation for a representative period comes from commissions on goods or services, with the representative period being, to the extent allowed pursuant to federal law, not less than 1 month; (d) Employees who are employed in bona fide executive, administrative or professional capacities; (e) Employees covered by collective bargaining agreements which provide otherwise for overtime; (f) Drivers, drivers’ helpers, loaders and mechanics for motor carriers subject to the Motor Carrier Act of 1935, as amended; (g) Employees of a railroad; (h) Employees of a carrier by air; (i) Drivers or drivers’ helpers making local deliveries and paid on a trip-rate basis or other delivery payment plan; (j) Drivers of taxicabs or limousines; (k) Agricultural employees; (l) Employees of business enterprises having a gross sales volume of less than $250,000 per year; (m) Any salesperson or mechanic primarily engaged in selling or servicing automobiles, trucks or farm equipment; (n) A mechanic or worker for any hours to which the provisions of subsection 3 or 4 of NRS 338.020 apply; (o) A domestic worker who resides in the household where he or she works if the domestic worker and his or her employer agree in writing to exempt the domestic worker from the requirements of subsections 1 and 2; and (p) A domestic service employee who resides in the household where he or she works if the domestic service employee and his or her employer agree in writing to exempt the domestic service employee from the requirements of subsections 1 and 2. 4. As used in this section, “domestic worker” has the meaning ascribed to it in NRS 613.620.
- Id.; see 29 CFR § 778.107 General standard for overtime pay. The general overtime pay standard in section 7(a) requires that overtime must be compensated at a rate not less than one and one-half times the regular rate at which the employee is actually employed. The regular rate of pay at which the employee is employed may in no event be less than the statutory minimum. (The statutory minimum is the specified minimum wage applicable under section 6 of the Act, except in the case of workers specially provided for in section 14 and workers in Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, and American Samoa who are covered by wage orders issued pursuant to section 8 of the Act.) If the employee’s regular rate of pay is higher than the statutory minimum, his overtime compensation must be computed at a rate not less than one and one-half times such higher rate. Under certain conditions prescribed in section 7 (f), (g), and (j), the Act provides limited exceptions to the application of the general standard of section 7(a) for computing overtime pay based on the regular rate. With respect to these, see §§778.400 through 778.421 and 778.601 and part 548 of this chapter. The Act also provides, in section 7(b), (i), (k) and (m) and in section 13, certain partial and total exemptions from the application of section 7(a) to certain employees and under certain conditions. Regulations and interpretations concerning these exemptions are outside the scope of this part 778 and reference should be made to other applicable parts of this chapter. 29 CFR § 778.102 Application of overtime provisions generally. Since there is no absolute limitation in the Act (apart from the child labor provisions and regulations thereunder) on the number of hours that an employee may work in any workweek, he may work as many hours a week as he and his employer see fit, so long as the required overtime compensation is paid him for hours worked in excess of the maximum workweek prescribed by section 7(a). The Act does not generally require, however, that an employee be paid overtime compensation for hours in excess of eight per day, or for work on Saturdays, Sundays, holidays or regular days of rest. If no more than the maximum number of hours prescribed in the Act are actually worked in the workweek, overtime compensation pursuant to section 7(a) need not be paid. Nothing in the Act, however, will relieve an employer of any obligation he may have assumed by contract or of any obligation imposed by other Federal or State law to limit overtime hours of work or to pay premium rates for work in excess of a daily standard or for work on Saturdays, Sundays, holidays, or other periods outside of or in excess of the normal or regular workweek or workday. (The effect of making such payments is discussed in §§778.201 through 778.207 and 778.219.)
- NRS 608.018
- Id.
- NRS 608.0116; see 29 CFR § 541.3 Scope of the section 13(a)(1) exemptions. (a) The section 13(a)(1) exemptions and the regulations in this part do not apply to manual laborers or other “blue collar” workers who perform work involving repetitive operations with their hands, physical skill and energy. Such nonexempt “blue collar” employees gain the skills and knowledge required for performance of their routine manual and physical work through apprenticeships and on-the-job training, not through the prolonged course of specialized intellectual instruction required for exempt learned professional employees such as medical doctors, architects and archeologists. Thus, for example, non-management production-line employees and non-management employees in maintenance, construction and similar occupations such as carpenters, electricians, mechanics, plumbers, iron workers, craftsmen, operating engineers, longshoremen, construction workers and laborers are entitled to minimum wage and overtime premium pay under the Fair Labor Standards Act (flsa), and are not exempt under the regulations in this part no matter how highly paid they might be. (b) (1) The section 13(a)(1) exemptions and the regulations in this part also do not apply to police officers, detectives, deputy sheriffs, state troopers, highway patrol officers, investigators, inspectors, correctional officers, parole or probation officers, park rangers, fire fighters, paramedics, emergency medical technicians, ambulance personnel, rescue workers, hazardous materials workers and similar employees, regardless of rank or pay level, who perform work such as preventing, controlling or extinguishing fires of any type; rescuing fire, crime or accident victims; preventing or detecting crimes; conducting investigations or inspections for violations of law; performing surveillance; pursuing, restraining and apprehending suspects; detaining or supervising suspected and convicted criminals, including those on probation or parole; interviewing witnesses; interrogating and fingerprinting suspects; preparing investigative reports; or other similar work. (2) Such employees do not qualify as exempt executive employees because their primary duty is not management of the enterprise in which the employee is employed or a customarily recognized department or subdivision thereof as required under § 541.100. Thus, for example, a police officer or fire fighter whose primary duty is to investigate crimes or fight fires is not exempt under section 13(a)(1) of the Act merely because the police officer or fire fighter also directs the work of other employees in the conduct of an investigation or fighting a fire. (3) Such employees do not qualify as exempt administrative employees because their primary duty is not the performance of work directly related to the management or general business operations of the employer or the employer’s customers as required under § 541.200. (4) Such employees do not qualify as exempt professionals because their primary duty is not the performance of work requiring knowledge of an advanced type in a field of science or learning customarily acquired by a prolonged course of specialized intellectual instruction or the performance of work requiring invention, imagination, originality or talent in a recognized field of artistic or creative endeavor as required under § 541.300. Although some police officers, fire fighters, paramedics, emergency medical technicians and similar employees have college degrees, a specialized academic degree is not a standard prerequisite for employment in such occupations. Yuki Noguchi, 1.3 Million More Workers Eligible For Overtime Pay, But Some Say Rules Fall Short, NPR (September 24, 2019)(“Current federal law says most workers making about $23,660 a year are entitled to overtime pay. In other words, in order to be considered “salaried,” most workers need to make at least that. Starting Jan. 1 [2020], that minimum salary threshold will be raised to $35,568.”). See also Department of Labor.
- See MDC Rests. v. Eighth Judicial Dist. Court, (2018) 134 Nev. Adv. Rep. 41, 419 P.3d 148.
- See Dunn v. Carson City, (1972) 88 Nev. 451, 499 P.2d 653 (“If appellants have earned the right to compensation, that right is not defeated because their superiors failed to see that compensation was provided promptly, or because appellants’ superiors may have failed to advise appellants of their right to compensation, or because their superiors may have intended that appellants never be compensated at all.”). See also A Cab, LLC v. Murray (2021) 501 P.3d 961. See also City of Henderson v. Wolfgram (2021) 501 P.3d 422. Martel v. HG Staffing, LLC (2022) 138 Nev. Adv. Op. 56 (“First, a two-year limitations period applies to appellants’ wage claims. Second, a collective bargaining agreement (CBA) is valid so long as the employer and the union objectively manifest their assent to the agreement. Third, claims under NRS 608.040, which penalizes employers for failing to timely pay earned wages to former employees, cannot be utilized to recover wages that are time-barred under other statutes. And fourth, an employer that is a party to a CBA is exempt from Nevada’s overtime statute, NRS 608.018, when the CBA provides overtime in a manner different from the statute.”)