A more thorough explanation:

An eight-hour law is a regulation that establishes eight hours as the standard workday for certain jobs. It typically requires employers to pay a higher rate for any work done beyond eight hours. This law is often included in wage-and-hour laws, which govern the minimum wages and maximum working hours for employees.

The federal Fair Labor Standards Act is an example of an eight-hour law. It sets the standard workday for covered employees at eight hours and requires employers to pay overtime for any work done beyond that time. For instance, if an employee works for ten hours in a day, the employer must pay them for two hours of overtime at a higher rate than their regular pay.

Another example of an eight-hour law is the California Labor Code, which requires employers to pay overtime for any work done beyond eight hours in a day or forty hours in a week. This law also mandates double pay for any work done beyond twelve hours in a day.

These examples illustrate how eight-hour laws work to protect employees from overworking and ensure they are fairly compensated for any extra time they put in beyond the standard workday.