Overtime pay is an important part of Alaska’s labor laws, ensuring employees receive fair compensation for extra hours worked. This article covers key aspects of Alaska’s overtime laws, including pay rates, eligibility, compensatory time, overtime exemptions, and specific rules for nurses, piece-rate, and commission-based workers.
Alaska Overtime Laws Summary
| State overtime law | Overtime applies for all hours worked over 8 hours in a workday and 40 hours in a workweek |
| Overtime pay rate | 1.5 times the regular rate of pay for all overtime hours |
| Minimum overtime wage | $19.5 per hour for minimum wage workers |
| Compensatory time instead of overtime pay | Not allowed |
| Salary threshold for overtime exemption | $1040/week |
This Article Covers
- Overtime Pay Rates in Alaska
- Who is Entitled to Overtime in Alaska?
- Overtime Exemptions in Alaska
- Overtime for Salaried Employees in Alaska
- Overtime for Employees Paid by Piece Rate in Alaska
- Overtime for Employees Working at Two or More Rates in Alaska
- Overtime for Commissioned Employees in Alaska
- Overtime Limitations for Nurses in Alaska
- Can Employers Give Compensatory Time Instead of Overtime Pay in Alaska?
- Recordkeeping Requirements for Alaska Employers
Overtime Pay Rates in Alaska
Alaska has its own overtime rules that go beyond federal law. Employers with four or more employees must pay overtime if an employee works more than eight hours in a single day or more than 40 hours in a week.
The overtime pay rate in Alaska is 1.5 times the employee’s regular hourly wage. For example, if an employee earns $20 per hour, overtime pay would be $30 ($20 x 1.5) per hour.
Since Alaska’s minimum wage is $13 per hour, the minimum overtime wage in Alaska is $19.5 ($13 x 1.5) per hour.
What counts as hours worked in Alaska?
In Alaska, an employee’s hours worked include any time the employer directs, allows, or knows the employee is working, even if it is outside scheduled hours. That means if an employee stays late, comes in early, or does work at home, and the employer knows or is supposed to know about it, those hours must be treated as work time.
Employers are responsible for preventing unauthorized work if they don’t want it done, but if it happens, it still counts.
Additionally, on-call time counts as hours worked if an employee must remain on the employer’s premises (or so close that they can’t use the time for personal purposes).
All such hours must be accurately recorded and employees must be paid correctly, including overtime if those hours push them over daily or weekly limits.
What is a workday and workweek in Alaska?
In Alaska, employers have the flexibility to define what counts as a workday and workweek, but there are default rules if nothing is written into a contract or agreement.
A workday is any 24‑hour period that starts at a set time (for example, 9 a.m. to 9 a.m.). If the employer doesn’t specify otherwise, the default is midnight to midnight.
A workweek is seven consecutive workdays. If not specified by the employer, the default workweek is from Sunday to Saturday.
Who is Entitled to Overtime in Alaska?
In Alaska, most employees are entitled to overtime pay, no matter how they are paid (hourly, by piece rate, commission, or salary) unless they fall under a specific exemption.
Overtime starts when an employee works more than eight hours in a workday or more than 40 hours in a workweek, and it must be paid at 1.5 times the regular rate of pay.
There is also a special rule for employees working on a voluntary flexible work-hour plan in Alaska. In that case, overtime may apply after ten hours in a workday instead of eight.
Read more about your overtime rights in Alaska.
Overtime Exemptions in Alaska
Salaried employees with fixed wages regardless of hours worked can be exempt from overtime under Alaska law if they earn at least twice the minimum wage for a 40‑hour week, which is $1,040 (2 x $13 minimum hourly wage x 40 hours) per week.
An employee’s job duties must also fall into exempt categories under the federal FLSA for them to be exempt. These categories include executive, administrative, professional, computer, or outside sales employees.
Other employees exempted from receiving overtime pay under the Alaska Wage and Hour Act include:
- Employees of employers with fewer than four employees
- Certain agricultural and dairy workers involved in handling, packing, processing raw products, making cheese or butter
- Employees of small mining operations with 12 or fewer employees, limited to specific hours during the mining season
- Employees engaged in agriculture
- Workers at small newspapers (circulation under 1,000)
- Switchboard operators in public telephone exchanges with fewer than 750 stations
- Certain retail/service employees handling telegraphic, telephone, or radio communications in agencies whose monthly revenue is $500 or lower
- Seamen
- Forestry and logging workers, if the employer has 12 or fewer employees
- Outside buyers of poultry, eggs, cream, or milk
- Casual employees as defined by regulations from the Alaska Commissioner of Labor
- Hospital employees providing medical services
- Employees under an approved flexible work-hour plan as part of collective bargaining agreements, who can work up to ten-hour shifts without triggering overtime
- Line haul truck drivers on trips over 100 road miles one way, if their pay system includes overtime
- Certain community health aides
- Certain flat-rate mechanics under specific agreements
- Certain airline employees covered by written work-shift-trading agreements
- Flight crew members (pilots, copilots, flight engineers, flight attendants) employed by air carriers subject to the Railway Labor Act
Overtime for Salaried Employees in Alaska
Non-exempt salaried employees in Alaska must receive overtime pay when they work more than eight hours in a day or 40 hours in a week.
To calculate this, the employee’s salary must be converted into an hourly rate, and a written contract should clearly show their regular hourly rate, overtime rate, and the number of hours the salary is meant to cover.
If the contract doesn’t specify hours, the salary is considered to cover a standard eight‑hour day and 40‑hour week under Alaska law, and overtime is calculated beyond that.
For example, if an employee earns $600 per week and their contract specifies a standard 40‑hour workweek.
The employee’s regular hourly rate = $600 / 40 = $15/hour
Overtime rate = $15 × 1.5 = $22.50/hour
If the employee works 45 hours in a week, that’s five overtime hours.
Overtime pay = 5 × $22.50 = $112.50
Total weekly pay = $600 (salary) + $112.50 (overtime) = $712.50
Learn more about laws protecting salaried employees in Alaska.
Overtime Employees Paid by Piece Rate in Alaska
In Alaska, when an employee is paid based on a piece-rate system, their regular hourly rate of pay is calculated by adding up their total earnings from piece rates, bonuses, and other sources for the workweek.
This total amount is then divided by the total number of hours worked in that week to determine the employee’s regular hourly rate.
For overtime, the employee gets an extra half of their regular rate for each hour worked beyond 40 in the week, since straight-time pay is already included in the piece‑rate earnings.
Example:
If a worker earns $491 from piece work and $32 from waiting time (total $523) for 50 hours of work:
Regular rate = $523 / 50 = $10.46/hour
Overtime rate = half of that = $10.46 / 2 = $5.23/hour
Overtime pay for 10 (50 – 40) extra hours = 10 × $5.23 = $52.30
Total pay = $523 + $52.30 = $575.30
If an employee is paid by piece rate but also has a guaranteed minimum hourly wage, the employer must pay at least that guaranteed rate. In that case, the guaranteed hourly rate becomes the employee’s regular rate, and overtime is calculated from it.
Try our overtime pay calculator for seamless calculations.
Overtime for Employees Working at Two or More Rates in Alaska
When an employee works at two or more different jobs with different pay rates in the same week, their overtime pay in Alaska is calculated based on a weighted average of those rates.
The employers must add up all the earnings from each job for the week. Then, divide that total by the total hours worked across all jobs. This gives the employee’s regular hourly rate for that week.
Overtime is then calculated at 1.5 times this average rate for hours over eight in a day or 40 in a week.
Basically, for employees working at multiple pay rates, Alaska law requires employers to average all their earnings together to make sure overtime is calculated fairly.
Overtime for Commissioned Employees in Alaska
When an employee in Alaska receives a commission every week, it must be combined with their other earnings for that workweek. The total amount is then divided by the total number of hours worked in the week to determine the employee’s regular hourly rate for that week.
For example:
Weekly pay = $500 salary + $100 commission = $600
Hours worked = 50
Regular rate of pay = $600 / 50 = $12 per hour
Overtime is then paid at half that rate for each hour worked over the 40-hour workweek.
Overtime rate = $12 / 2 = $6 per hour
Overtime pay = 10 (50 – 40) overtime hours x $6 = $60
The amount will vary according to the hours worked, hourly rate, and commission earned.
Learn more about how to calculate overtime pay in Alaska.
Overtime Limitations for Nurses in Alaska
In Alaska, registered and licensed practical nurses in health care facilities cannot be forced to work more than 12 hours straight or 80 hours in a 14-day period, except in true emergencies or if they voluntarily agree. This safeguards both nurses’ well‑being and patient care.
These limits on overtime don’t apply if:
- There’s an unforeseen emergency (like a natural disaster, disease outbreak, or terrorism).
- The nurse is fulfilling an on‑call time agreed to in advance.
- The nurse voluntarily works overtime, as long as it’s safe and doesn’t exceed 14 consecutive hours.
- The nurse voluntarily works more than 80 hours in 14 days, but still gets a 12‑hour break after 14 hours.
- The nurse works one extra hour while the facility finds a replacement.
After a 12‑hour shift, nurses must get at least 12 hours off before returning.
Can Employers Give Compensatory Time Instead of Overtime Pay in Alaska?
Employers in Alaska are not allowed to substitute compensatory time for overtime pay. When employees work overtime hours, they must receive overtime wages through their paycheck. These overtime earnings must also be clearly listed on the employee’s pay stub.
Recordkeeping Requirements for Alaska Employers
Alaska employers must keep accurate records of all daily and weekly hours worked by every employee, including those employees who are salaried or exempt. Records must reflect the actual hours worked, instead of scheduled hours.
Employers can use a reliable time tracking software like Jibble to track hours worked per workday and workweek and generate automated timesheets for seamless overtime calculations.
Important Cautionary Note
This content is provided for informational purposes only. While we make every effort to ensure the accuracy of the information presented, we cannot guarantee that it is free of errors or omissions. Users are advised to independently verify any critical information and should not solely rely on the content provided.
