Connecticut Overtime Pay Calculator

Connecticut law requires 1.5x pay for hours worked beyond 40 in a workweek, set out in Conn. Gen. Stat. §31-76c, which tracks the federal FLSA standard rather than adding a daily threshold. There is no requirement to pay overtime simply because a shift runs long on a given day, only when the weekly total actually exceeds 40 hours. That said, Connecticut's overtime protections apply to a broader class of workers in some respects than federal law does, since the state's minimum wage and overtime statutes have their own independent coverage tests under the Connecticut Department of Labor's regulations.

Connecticut's 2026 minimum wage of $16.94/hour, tied to the state's cost-of-living indexing formula enacted in 2019, produces a minimum overtime rate of $25.41/hour, among the highest in the country. As with federal law, the regular rate used for overtime must include non-discretionary bonuses, commissions, and shift differentials, a detail that matters in Connecticut's insurance, healthcare, and manufacturing sectors where incentive pay structures are common.

Connecticut has historically maintained 'Sunday and holiday work' premium pay rules for certain retail and mercantile employees under older statutes, though enforcement and applicability have narrowed over time; workers in retail should check whether their specific job classification still falls under any surviving premium pay requirement beyond the standard overtime rule.

Connecticut's exempt salary threshold generally follows the federal FLSA figure, but the state applies its own duties tests through Connecticut Department of Labor regulations, and Connecticut courts have sometimes construed exemptions more narrowly than federal courts do, meaning a worker classified as an exempt administrative employee under a loose reading of federal law may not qualify under Connecticut's interpretation.

Tipped employees, common in Connecticut's Fairfield County and coastal restaurant industry, must have overtime calculated on the full state minimum wage, not the reduced tipped cash wage, and Connecticut's tip credit rules are stricter than federal law about which duties count as 'tipped work' versus non-tipped side work that can disqualify use of the tip credit for that time. Home healthcare and companionship workers, a large and growing segment of Connecticut's workforce given its aging population, also have specific carve-outs and partial exemptions that require careful case-by-case review.

The Connecticut Department of Labor's Wage and Workplace Standards Division investigates unpaid overtime complaints and can order payment of back wages. Workers may also sue directly in Connecticut Superior Court, and successful claims can recover double damages under Conn. Gen. Stat. §31-72 when the employer's nonpayment lacked a good-faith basis, a remedy that goes beyond the federal FLSA's standard liquidated damages structure.

The general lookback period is 2 years from when wages were due, though claims involving fraud or willful misconduct may reach back further. Given Connecticut's potential for double damages plus attorney's fees, workers with a strong claim often find state court a more favorable venue than pursuing the matter solely under federal law.