West Virginia Overtime Pay Calculator

West Virginia has its own Minimum Wage and Maximum Hours Standards Act (W. Va. Code §21-5C), which sets the state minimum wage at $8.75/hour and generally requires overtime at 1.5 times the regular rate after 40 hours in a workweek — running in parallel with the federal FLSA rather than replacing it. Because West Virginia's minimum wage sits above the federal $7.25 floor, the overtime rate for most workers is $13.13/hour rather than the lower federal-only minimum.

One quirk of West Virginia's statute is that it applies specifically to employers with six or more employees at one location; smaller employers may fall outside the state overtime law but frequently remain covered by the federal FLSA anyway, since the FLSA's coverage threshold (based on interstate commerce and revenue, not employee count at a single site) is different and often broader. This creates situations where a small West Virginia business is technically exempt from the state law but still owes federal overtime.

The West Virginia Division of Labor investigates wage complaints, including unpaid overtime under the state Minimum Wage and Maximum Hours Standards Act, and can pursue collection of unpaid wages on a worker's behalf. Complaints can be filed directly with the Division, which has authority to assess damages including liquidated damages up to the amount of unpaid wages in cases of clear violations.

West Virginia workers generally have two years to bring a wage claim, though those instead relying on the federal FLSA get the standard two-to-three-year window depending on willfulness. Because West Virginia's coal, natural gas, and healthcare sectors involve significant shift work and on-call time, disputes often center on whether travel between job sites or safety-meeting time before a shift should count toward the 40-hour threshold — time that frequently should be compensated but often isn't tracked.

In West Virginia's coal and gas industries, workers are sometimes paid a day rate or job-based rate regardless of hours worked, with employers wrongly assuming this eliminates overtime obligations — day-rate pay does not exempt a worker from overtime; the regular rate is calculated by dividing total pay by total hours worked, and overtime is still owed for hours beyond 40. Healthcare workers in the state's hospital systems also commonly face disputes over unpaid time for shift-change reporting and mandatory training completed off the clock.

Compared to federal law, West Virginia's main addition is a state minimum wage modestly above the federal floor and a state agency willing to pursue smaller claims that might not attract federal attention, though the six-employee threshold for state law coverage means some very small employers escape the state statute while remaining subject to the FLSA.