Colorado Overtime Calculator: the complete guide
Colorado's overtime rule, set out in the Colorado Overtime and Minimum Pay Standards (COMPS) Order at 7 CCR 1103-1, pays 1.5x an employee's regular rate for the greatest of three separate triggers: hours worked over 12 in a single workday, hours worked over 12 consecutive hours (regardless of when the workday officially starts or ends), or hours worked over 40 in the workweek. Only the single largest of the three figures is paid; Colorado does not stack them.
Colorado's 12-hour daily threshold is higher than California's 8-hour threshold, which means shorter long days (say, 9 or 10 hours) generally trigger no daily overtime in Colorado at all — the weekly 40-hour rule ends up doing most of the work for typical schedules, with the 12-hour triggers mattering mainly for unusually long shifts.
The three triggers and the 'greatest of' rule
This calculator computes all three Colorado triggers for a given week and applies only the single greatest one: total hours over 12 in any one workday, summed across the week; hours worked beyond 12 consecutive hours in a single stretch; and hours over 40 for the workweek as a whole. Whichever of those three produces the largest number of overtime hours is what gets paid at 1.5x; the other two are not added on top.
An employee earning $20.00/hr works 13, 8, 8, 8, and 8 hours across five days (45 hours total for the week). The daily trigger: only the 13-hour day exceeds 12 hours, producing 1 hour of daily overtime. The weekly trigger: 45 total hours exceeds 40 by 5 hours. The greatest of the two (1 vs. 5) is 5 hours. The employee is owed 40 straight-time hours (40 x $20.00 = $800.00) plus 5 overtime hours at 1.5x (5 x $30.00 = $150.00). Total for the week: $800.00 + $150.00 = $950.00 — not $800.00 + $150.00 + an extra $30.00 for the 1 daily-overtime hour, which would double-count that single hour.
Why the triggers are not stacked
Colorado's COMPS Order is explicit that these three overtime methods are alternative, not cumulative: an hour that has already been counted toward the 40-hour weekly threshold cannot also be separately counted toward the 12-hour daily threshold. This calculator applies that rule by computing each trigger's hour count independently and then taking the single largest figure, which is the same approach the Colorado Department of Labor and Employment (CDLE) describes in its own guidance.
Colorado's minimum wage and local ordinances
Colorado's state minimum wage is $15.16/hr, adjusted for inflation (CPI) every January 1 under the state constitution (Colo. Const. art. XVIII Sec. 15), with a $12.14/hr tipped cash wage and a $3.02/hr tip credit. Denver, Boulder, and Edgewater have each set their own local minimum wage above the state rate, and the higher local figure controls for work physically performed in those jurisdictions, similar to how Seattle and Emeryville operate relative to Washington and California's statewide rates.
A Colorado server earning the $12.14/hr tipped cash wage works a 30-hour week and earns $80.00 in tips. Cash wages: 30 x $12.14 = $364.20. Plus tips: $364.20 + $80.00 = $444.20, or about $14.81/hr — above the $15.16/hr full minimum wage threshold only if you also count the maximum $3.02/hr tip credit correctly; if actual tips fall short of bringing total pay to at least $15.16/hr for every hour, the employer must make up the difference.
Exemptions and the regular rate
The COMPS Order carves out its own executive, administrative, and professional exemptions, which track the federal categories closely but are evaluated under Colorado's own salary and duties tests; some industries (certain agricultural and property-management roles, for example) have narrower, industry-specific exemptions as well. As under federal law, a nondiscretionary bonus must be folded into the regular rate before the 1.5x multiplier is applied to whichever overtime trigger wins the 'greatest of' comparison.
Recordkeeping and your rights
Because Colorado's 'greatest of three' comparison depends on precise daily hours, consecutive-hours stretches, and the weekly total, keep your own log of exact start and stop times for each day, along with your pay stubs and any written schedule. The Colorado Department of Labor and Employment's Division of Labor Standards and Statistics investigates unpaid wage claims separately from the federal Wage and Hour Division, so a claim can often be pursued through either or both routes.
If you work in Denver, Boulder, or Edgewater, note your work location for each shift as well, since it determines whether the higher local minimum wage or the statewide $15.16/hr figure sets your regular-rate baseline for that day.
Common mistakes
Stacking daily and weekly overtime instead of taking the greatest. Paying the 1-hour daily trigger and the 5-hour weekly trigger together in the example above would overpay by treating 6 hours as overtime when Colorado law caps it at the greater figure, 5 hours.
Using California's 8-hour daily threshold instead of Colorado's 12-hour one. Treating a 10-hour Colorado workday as triggering 2 hours of daily overtime (as California would) is incorrect; Colorado's daily trigger doesn't activate until a day exceeds 12 hours, so a 10-hour day produces 0 daily-overtime hours under Colorado law.
Applying the state minimum wage instead of a higher local Denver or Boulder rate. Paying $15.16/hr to an employee working in Denver, where the local minimum wage is higher than the state figure, understates their legally required pay for every hour worked in the city.
Ignoring a nondiscretionary bonus in the regular rate. Applying 1.5x to a bare $20.00/hr base rate instead of a bonus-adjusted regular rate understates overtime pay the same way it would under federal law, on every overtime hour in the affected week.
Colorado's three overtime triggers
| Trigger | Threshold |
|---|---|
| Daily | Hours over 12 in a single workday |
| Consecutive | Hours over 12 consecutive hours worked |
| Weekly | Hours over 40 in the workweek |
| Rule applied | Pay 1.5x on the single greatest trigger only, never stacked |
How to file a claim
If your Colorado paycheck doesn't reflect the greatest-of-three calculation above, raise it first with your employer or payroll department, since applying the wrong daily threshold (8 hours instead of 12) or stacking triggers are common, correctable errors. If that doesn't resolve it, you can file a wage complaint with the Colorado Department of Labor and Employment (CDLE), Division of Labor Standards and Statistics, which investigates unpaid wage and overtime claims at no cost. Colorado Department of Labor and Employment (CDLE), Division of Labor Standards and Statistics.
Frequently asked questions
- Does Colorado pay daily and weekly overtime together?
- No. Colorado's COMPS Order requires paying 1.5x on only the single greatest of three triggers — over 12 hours in a day, over 12 consecutive hours, or over 40 hours in the workweek — never stacking two or three of them together. Only the largest resulting hour count is paid at the overtime rate.
- Is Colorado's daily overtime threshold the same as California's?
- No. Colorado's daily trigger activates at 12 hours in a workday, while California's activates at 8 hours, a meaningful difference for anyone working 9-, 10-, or 11-hour shifts, which trigger daily overtime in California but not in Colorado. Colorado's weekly 40-hour rule ends up governing most moderately long schedules that fall short of the 12-hour daily mark.
- What is Colorado's minimum wage in 2026?
- Colorado's state minimum wage is $15.16/hr, adjusted every January 1 for inflation under a constitutional formula, with a $12.14/hr cash wage and $3.02/hr tip credit available for tipped employees. Denver, Boulder, and Edgewater have set their own higher local minimum wages that apply instead of the state figure for work performed within those cities.
- What does 'over 12 consecutive hours' mean if it's different from the daily total?
- It targets hours worked in one unbroken stretch that might span across a defined workday boundary, rather than the calendar workday alone, protecting employees whose shift straddles midnight or an unusual schedule. In practice, for most standard single-shift schedules confined to one calendar day, the consecutive-hours trigger and the 12-hour daily trigger produce the same result.
- Are there industry-specific overtime exemptions in Colorado?
- Yes. The COMPS Order includes exemptions for certain agricultural workers, property managers living on-site, and a handful of other narrowly defined occupations, in addition to the standard executive, administrative, and professional exemptions. These are evaluated under Colorado's own salary and duties tests, which do not automatically match the federal FLSA tests.
- How does a bonus change my Colorado overtime rate?
- A nondiscretionary bonus must be folded into your regular rate before the 1.5x overtime multiplier is applied, the same requirement that exists under federal law. Skipping this step and applying 1.5x to your bare hourly rate understates every overtime hour paid in a week where a qualifying bonus was earned.
- Does a Denver-area job use the Denver minimum wage or the Colorado minimum wage?
- Work physically performed within Denver, Boulder, or Edgewater is covered by that city's own higher minimum wage ordinance, not the lower statewide $15.16/hr figure, because the higher of the two floors always applies. Where the employer is headquartered does not matter; where the work is actually performed does.
- What should I do if I think my Colorado overtime was calculated wrong?
- Recompute all three triggers yourself (daily, consecutive, and weekly) and confirm only the greatest one was paid, then raise any discrepancy with your employer in writing first. If it isn't resolved, the Colorado Department of Labor and Employment's Division of Labor Standards and Statistics investigates wage complaints for free and can order back pay for the shortfall.