Nebraska Overtime Pay Calculator

Nebraska has no state overtime statute of its own that differs from the federal Fair Labor Standards Act — the state's wage and hour law addresses minimum wage but defers to the FLSA for overtime. That means the operative rule for virtually every Nebraska worker is the federal one: 1.5 times the regular rate for hours worked beyond 40 in a workweek, with no daily overtime regardless of how long a single shift runs.

Nebraska's minimum wage climbs to $13.50 an hour in 2026 under a voter-approved ballot measure that indexes future increases to inflation, which is notably higher than the federal $7.25 floor. This matters for overtime math because Nebraska's higher minimum wage sets a higher floor for the 'regular rate' calculation used to compute time-and-a-half, even for workers who are paid exactly minimum wage.

Employers with fewer than four employees are exempt from Nebraska's state minimum wage law, though they may still be covered by the FLSA if they meet federal enterprise coverage thresholds (generally $500,000 in annual sales) or if employees engage in interstate commerce.

The Nebraska Department of Labor handles wage complaints, but for overtime specifically — since Nebraska law itself doesn't set an overtime standard — most workers end up filing with the U.S. Department of Labor's Wage and Hour Division or pursuing a private lawsuit under the FLSA. State wage claims for unpaid wages generally must be brought within two years, or three years for willful violations, mirroring the federal statute of limitations.

A frequent trap in Nebraska involves meatpacking, agriculture, and trucking-adjacent jobs common in the state's economy. Agricultural workers are largely exempt from overtime under both federal and Nebraska law, and many transportation workers fall under the Motor Carrier Act exemption, which removes FLSA overtime protection for drivers whose work affects interstate commerce safety. Employers sometimes misapply these exemptions to warehouse or dispatch staff who don't actually meet the criteria.

Salaried employees classified as exempt executives or administrators must still clear the federal salary threshold — $684 per week as of the last DOL update, with proposed increases pending — and actually perform exempt-level duties. A salaried title alone does not remove overtime eligibility.

Because Nebraska doesn't layer additional overtime protections on top of the FLSA, the practical experience for most workers is identical to what they'd get in a state with no wage law at all — except for the higher state minimum wage, which indirectly boosts overtime pay for lower-wage workers. There's no daily overtime, no double-time requirement, and no special seventh-day rule.

Where Nebraska workers gain an edge is the minimum wage itself: at $13.50 an hour, a full-time minimum-wage worker earning overtime makes $20.25 an hour for extra hours, nearly triple the $10.88 that federal minimum-wage overtime would produce. Anyone paid close to minimum wage should double-check that raises to $13.50 were actually applied before overtime is calculated.