What is overtime under federal law?
For non-exempt employees, pay of at least one and a half times the regular rate for hours worked over 40 in a workweek.
The FLSA has no daily overtime: a 12-hour day is not overtime federally if the week stays at or under 40 hours. It also does not require extra pay for weekends or holidays as such. Some states add stricter rules, the best known being California's daily overtime.
Only hours actually worked count toward 40; paid holidays, vacation and sick time usually do not.
Example: 44 hours at $20/hour: 40 × $20 = $800 regular + 4 × $30 = $120 overtime = $920.
Sources
Related terms
- FLSA workweekUnder the federal Fair Labor Standards Act, a fixed and regularly recurring period of 168 hours (seven consecutive 24-hour periods) used to count overtime.
- Regular rate of payThe hourly rate overtime is based on: all pay for the workweek's work divided by the hours worked, not just the base hourly wage.
- California daily overtimeCalifornia's rule that non-exempt employees earn 1.5× pay after 8 hours in a workday and 2× after 12, plus special rates on the seventh consecutive day of a workweek.
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