Colorado weekly overtime is 40 hours — but daily OT can override it.
The federal FLSA threshold also applies in Colorado: hours over 40 in a workweek earn 1.5× pay. But under COMPS Order #40, the daily and consecutive-hour triggers can produce a higher OT premium — and the higher one always controls.
Weekly Overtime — 40-Hour Trigger
Tracks running weekly hours toward the 40-hour federal/state weekly OT threshold. Calculates 1.5× pay automatically. When daily, weekly, and consecutive triggers all apply in the same week, surfaces the controlling computation.
What those rules do as a workweek crosses 40 hours.
The hero card shows the configuration: Avoid at 36 hours scheduled, Critical on payroll close, Flag on the timesheet. Here's what each one does at runtime.
When a worker's already-scheduled hours plus a pending shift would push past 36 hours, the manager sees a yellow indicator: "Adding this trends past weekly OT." The save proceeds. The exposure is logged.
On payroll close, any worker whose week exceeded 40 hours surfaces with a Critical indicator and the calculated premium. The close requires explicit confirmation that the OT was intentional and the rate is correct.
Hours past 40 in a workweek auto-tag as Weekly OT, distinct from any daily OT in the same week. Payroll sees both tags and applies the controlling premium.
We'll deploy weekly OT in your Teambridge.
Tell us about your workforce. We'll spin up Weekly Overtime — alongside the other 17 Colorado policies — in a sandbox tenant scoped to your roles, locations, and pay structure. You see your actual workforce running compliantly before you commit.
Forty hours in a fixed seven-day workweek.
Colorado's weekly OT rule mirrors the federal FLSA but stacks underneath the state's daily and consecutive-hour triggers. The highest-paying calculation always controls.
Defining the workweek
A workweek is any fixed, recurring 7-day period (168 consecutive hours). Employers may designate any starting day and time, but it must remain consistent. You cannot shift the workweek to avoid OT (e.g., starting it on Wednesday in a week with a heavy Tuesday).
No averaging across weeks
Each workweek stands alone. You cannot offset 50 hours one week with 30 the next to 'average' to 40. Penalties for willful violations under the Wage Act can reach 300% of unpaid wages.
Teambridge tracks the workweek, not the pay period.
Weekly OT calculation is independent of how often you pay. Teambridge watches the rolling workweek for every worker, in every location, and surfaces exposure before it becomes a recalculation.
The 36-hour line shows up early.
When a manager schedules a shift that would push a worker past 36 weekly hours, an Avoid indicator surfaces. The exposure is named: this addition trends toward weekly OT. Manager can proceed or redistribute.
Hours follow the worker.
If a worker has shifts at multiple of your locations, Teambridge aggregates the hours under one workweek total. The OT calculation considers everywhere the worker clocks, not just the one site.
Pay-period boundaries don't matter.
When a workweek crosses into a new pay period, Teambridge keeps the OT calculation tied to the workweek. The premium shows up on whichever paycheck contains the OT hours, not split incorrectly.
The highest premium wins.
On payroll close, Teambridge runs daily, weekly, and consecutive OT calculations in parallel. Whichever produces the highest pay applies. The comparison shows up in the close report — auditable for CDLE inspection.
Still evaluating? Get a free Colorado compliance audit.
Send us your existing Colorado scheduling and pay configuration. Our compliance team returns a written audit within 5 business days — every Colorado-specific exposure ranked by risk and back-pay liability.