West · CO
Colorado labor laws for hourly employees
Overtime, meal and rest breaks, and how often wages must be paid in Colorado, summarised for the person running the time clock. Reviewed September 2026; general information, not legal advice.
Colorado at a glance
Daily overtime
1.5× after 12 hours in a workday, or after 12 consecutive hours regardless of the workday.
Weekly overtime
1.5× after 40 hours in a workweek.
7th consecutive day
No seventh-day premium. Hours on a seventh day count toward the weekly threshold like any other.
Meal breaks
A 30-minute meal period for shifts over 5 hours; unpaid only if the employee is fully relieved of duty.
Rest breaks
A paid 10-minute rest period for every 4 hours worked or major fraction of it.
Pay frequency
Regular paydays no more than a month (or 30 days) apart.
Also worth knowing in Colorado
- Colorado's COMPS Order sets the rules; 9forty5 ships a Colorado daily-overtime preset.
- Whichever of the three calculations pays more applies - over 40 in a week, over 12 in a workday, or over 12 consecutive hours - so all three are computed and compared rather than chosen between.
How 9forty5 applies Colorado's rules
9forty5 ships a Colorado daily-overtime preset. Select it in a site's Time & Pay settings and the daily threshold are applied as each day is worked, pair of punches by pair of punches, alongside the weekly rule. An hour is paid at one premium, never two.
Meal breaks are punched, unpaid by default, so the break record is what actually happened. Pay periods, punch rounding and holidays are per site, and the approved period exports to payroll with regular, overtime and double time in their own columns.
The federal floor
Overtime. The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) requires 1.5× the regular rate of pay after 40 hours in a workweek for non-exempt employees. Federal law has no daily overtime.
Breaks. Federal law does not require breaks. When an employer offers short breaks (usually 5 to 20 minutes) they must be paid; a bona fide meal period of 30 minutes or more where the employee is fully relieved may be unpaid.
Recordkeeping. Employers must keep accurate records of hours worked each day and each week, wages paid, and the basis of pay. Payroll records are kept for 3 years and the time cards behind them for 2 years.
Rounding. Rounding punches to the nearest 5, 6 or 15 minutes is allowed only when it is neutral over time and does not systematically favor the employer.
Colorado questions
Yes. A 30-minute meal period for shifts over 5 hours; unpaid only if the employee is fully relieved of duty. Federal law adds that a meal period may be unpaid only when it is 30 minutes or more and the employee is fully relieved of duty.
Regular paydays no more than a month (or 30 days) apart.
9forty5 ships a Colorado daily-overtime preset. Choose it in the site's Time & Pay settings and daily thresholds are applied as each day is worked, in addition to the weekly rule.
Other states in the West
This page is general information summarised from the U.S. Department of Labor's state tables and Colorado's labor agency, reviewed September 2026. It describes the usual rule for private-sector, non-exempt adult employees; industries, employer sizes and job types have exceptions, and rules change. It is not legal advice. Confirm current requirements with your state labor office or an employment attorney before relying on it.
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