Labor Commissioner Michael Tanchek announced a change to Nevada’s daily overtime requirement that will take effect this summer.

As of July 1st, 2009, the employees who receive qualified health benefits from their employers and earn less than $9.825 per hour and employees earning less than $11.325 per hour who do not receive qualified health benefits must be paid overtime whenever they work more than 8 hours in a 24-hour period.  These changes do not affect employees who are exempt from overtime under Nevada state law.

Because Nevada is one of only six states with a daily overtime requirement in addition to the more familiar requirement to pay overtime for more than 40 hours in a workweek, many employers do not realize they need to pay daily overtime.

These increases are a result of the annual adjustments to Nevada’s minimum wages required by the 2006 amendment to the Nevada Constitution.

“What sets Nevada apart from the other states is that our daily overtime requirement is tied to the minimum wage,” Tanchek said, “As the minimum wage goes up, so does the daily overtime requirement.  As a result, some employers who are not currently paying daily overtime will have to do so once the new threshold rates go into effect on July first.”

Future increases in the minimum wage resulting from changes in the federal minimum wage or the consumer price index will also increase the daily overtime rates.

More information regarding overtime and a copy of the annual bulletin is available through the Labor Commissioner’s office:  (702) 486-2650, Las Vegas; (775) 687-

4850, Carson City; or on the Internet at http://www.laborcommissioner.com.