Virginia Overtime Calculator: the complete guide
Virginia's overtime rule under the Virginia Overtime Wage Act (VOWA, Va. Code Sec. 40.1-29.2) aligns with the federal FLSA formula: 1.5x an employee's regular rate for hours worked over 40 in a workweek, with no daily-overtime trigger. Virginia's law is worth knowing on its own terms because it creates an independent state cause of action for unpaid overtime, separate from a federal FLSA claim, which matters for filing deadlines and available remedies even though the underlying math is the same.
This page covers the standard weekly overtime calculation, Virginia's minimum wage and its multi-year scheduled increases, and the exemption rules that determine who is entitled to overtime.
How overtime works in Virginia
A non-exempt Virginia employee is owed 1.5x their regular rate for hours worked over 40 in a single workweek, with no state daily-overtime rule. A single long shift, on its own, produces no overtime under Virginia law unless the week's total hours exceed 40.
An employee earning $20.00/hr works 45 hours in one workweek. The first 40 hours are straight time: 40 x $20.00 = $800.00. The remaining 5 hours are overtime at 1.5x: 5 x $30.00 = $150.00. Total pay for the week: $800.00 + $150.00 = $950.00.
Virginia's minimum wage and its multi-year schedule
Virginia's minimum wage is $12.77/hr as of January 1, 2026, set under Va. Code Sec. 40.1-28.10, with two more scheduled increases already legislated: $13.75/hr on January 1, 2027, and $15.00/hr on January 1, 2028, following 2026 legislation (HB1/SB1). This gives Virginia one of the more predictable multi-year minimum wage schedules among this calculator's launch states, useful for budgeting ahead of each step rather than being surprised by it.
Virginia allows a tip credit of up to $10.64/hr, with a $2.13/hr minimum cash wage for tipped employees — one of the largest tip credits among the states covered here, meaning the cash-wage floor for tipped workers stays low even as the overall minimum wage rises over the next two years.
Why the Virginia Overtime Wage Act matters even though the math matches federal law
Because VOWA creates its own state-law claim for unpaid overtime, a Virginia employee who is shorted on overtime pay can bring a claim under state law, federal law, or both, and the specific procedural rules (filing deadlines, available damages) can differ between the two routes. This is mainly a legal-strategy distinction rather than a math distinction: the overtime rate calculation itself is the same 1.5x-over-40 formula either way.
Exemptions and the regular rate
Virginia generally follows the federal FLSA's exemption categories for executive, administrative, and professional employees, paid a true salary of at least $684/week who also meet a duties test, without adding a significant set of its own additional state-specific overtime exemptions. As under federal law, a nondiscretionary bonus must be folded into the regular rate before the 1.5x overtime multiplier applies, a common issue in Virginia's substantial government-contracting and logistics workforce around Northern Virginia and Hampton Roads.
Working two roles at different pay rates for the same employer
Virginia's government-contracting and logistics employers commonly schedule the same worker into two different roles in one workweek, each with its own hourly rate — a general-support role and a specialized-clearance role, for instance. Federal law, which governs this calculation in Virginia alongside VOWA, does not allow 1.5x to be applied to whichever single rate happened to be in effect during the overtime hours. Instead, both rates are blended into one weighted-average regular rate for the week, and overtime is calculated from that blended figure.
As an alternative to the weighted-average method, federal regulations (29 CFR Sec. 778.419) allow an employer and employee to agree in advance, before the work is performed, that overtime hours will be paid at 1.5x the specific rate for whichever job the employee was actually doing during those overtime hours, rather than the blended average. This pre-agreement method is not automatic; without a genuine advance agreement meeting the regulation's requirements, the weighted-average method is the default, and an employer cannot retroactively pick whichever method produces a lower bill after the fact.
An employee works 30 hours at $20.00/hr in one role and 20 hours at $15.00/hr in a second role for the same employer, 50 hours total for the week. Straight-time earnings: (30 x $20.00) + (20 x $15.00) = $600.00 + $300.00 = $900.00. The weighted-average regular rate is $900.00 / 50 = $18.00/hr. Since straight-time pay already covers the base rate for every hour, only an extra 0.5x the regular rate is owed for the 10 overtime hours: 10 x ($18.00 x 0.5) = $90.00. Total pay for the week: $900.00 + $90.00 = $990.00.
Recordkeeping and your rights
Keep your pay stubs, any written schedule, and your own log of daily hours worked in each role, since a multi-role regular-rate dispute, or an outdated minimum wage figure during Virginia's multi-year increase schedule, is resolved almost entirely on that documentation. The Virginia Department of Labor and Industry investigates both VOWA and federal wage claims, so a claim can often be pursued through either or both routes.
Common mistakes
Using an outdated minimum wage figure during Virginia's multi-year increase schedule. Continuing to apply the $12.77/hr rate after January 1, 2027, when it rises to $13.75/hr, or after January 1, 2028, when it rises to $15.00/hr, understates the required minimum wage during each new period.
Assuming Virginia has a daily-overtime rule. Treating a single 12-hour Virginia shift as automatically triggering overtime, the way California would, is incorrect; Virginia uses the federal weekly-only 40-hour rule.
Miscalculating the tipped cash-wage-plus-tip-credit total. Stopping at the $2.13/hr cash wage without confirming tips bring total pay to at least the full state minimum wage for every hour worked can leave a tipped employee's pay below Virginia's actual floor.
Ignoring a nondiscretionary bonus in the overtime rate. Applying 1.5x to a bare hourly rate while an earned production or retention bonus goes unaccounted for understates every overtime hour paid that week.
Virginia's scheduled minimum wage increases
| Effective date | Minimum wage |
|---|---|
| January 1, 2026 | $12.77/hr |
| January 1, 2027 | $13.75/hr (legislated, HB1/SB1) |
| January 1, 2028 | $15.00/hr (legislated, HB1/SB1) |
| Overtime rule (throughout) | 1.5x over 40 hours/week, VOWA aligned with federal formula |
How to file a claim
If your Virginia paycheck doesn't reflect the correct minimum wage or overtime calculation, raise it first with your employer or payroll department, since applying an outdated rate during Virginia's multi-year increase schedule is a common and correctable error. If that doesn't resolve it, you can file a wage claim with the Virginia Department of Labor and Industry (DOLI), which investigates unpaid overtime under both VOWA and federal law at no cost. Virginia Department of Labor and Industry (DOLI).
Frequently asked questions
- Does Virginia have its own overtime rate different from the federal rate?
- The rate itself is the same 1.5x-over-40-hours formula as the federal FLSA, but Virginia's own Overtime Wage Act (VOWA) creates an independent state-law claim for unpaid overtime, separate from a federal FLSA claim. This matters for legal strategy and filing deadlines more than for the underlying math, which is identical either way.
- What is Virginia's minimum wage in 2026?
- Virginia's minimum wage is $12.77/hr as of January 1, 2026, with two more legislated increases already scheduled: $13.75/hr on January 1, 2027, and $15.00/hr on January 1, 2028. This multi-year schedule was set by 2026 legislation (HB1/SB1).
- Is there daily overtime in Virginia?
- No. Virginia follows the federal weekly-only rule: a single long shift produces no overtime by itself unless the week's total hours exceed 40. Only the 40-hour weekly threshold triggers overtime under Virginia law.
- What is Virginia's tipped minimum wage?
- Virginia allows one of the largest tip credits among this calculator's states, up to $10.64/hr, meaning tipped employees can be paid a cash wage as low as $2.13/hr as long as tips bring their total pay to at least the full state minimum wage for every hour worked. That cash-wage floor stays at $2.13/hr even as the overall minimum wage rises through 2028.
- Can I bring a Virginia overtime claim instead of a federal one?
- Yes. The Virginia Overtime Wage Act (VOWA) gives Virginia employees an independent state-law route to recover unpaid overtime, in addition to the federal FLSA route, and the two have some differences in filing deadlines and available damages. An employment attorney or the Virginia Department of Labor and Industry can help determine which route (or both) best fits a specific situation.
- How does a bonus affect Virginia overtime pay?
- A nondiscretionary bonus must be folded into the regular rate before the 1.5x overtime multiplier is applied, the same requirement as under federal law generally, and this is a common issue in Virginia's government-contracting and logistics sectors where retention bonuses are routine. Skipping this step understates every overtime hour paid in a week where such a bonus was earned.
- Who is exempt from overtime in Virginia?
- Virginia generally follows the federal FLSA's exemption categories, most commonly executive, administrative, and professional employees paid a true salary of at least $684/week who also meet a duties test. Virginia has not added a significant set of its own additional overtime exemptions beyond the federal list.
- Where do I file an unpaid overtime claim in Virginia?
- You can file a wage claim with the Virginia Department of Labor and Industry (DOLI), which investigates unpaid overtime under both VOWA and federal law at no cost. Keep your pay stubs and your own hours log to support the claim.