FLSA overtime basics

The federal overtime floor is simple to say and easy to misapply: 1.5× the regular rate after 40 hours in a workweek, for covered nonexempt employees.

The 40-hour workweek

The Fair Labor Standards Act applies overtime on a workweek basis. A workweek is a fixed, regularly recurring period of 168 hours — seven consecutive 24-hour periods. It does not have to start Sunday. Different groups of employees can have different workweeks. Hours from two weeks cannot be averaged to avoid overtime.

There is no federal cap on hours for employees age 16 and older. Overtime earned in a workweek is ordinarily due on the regular payday for that pay period.

Time-and-a-half, not a weekend bonus

Covered nonexempt employees must receive at least one and one-half times their regular rate for hours worked over 40. The FLSA does not require overtime just because the work fell on a Saturday, Sunday, holiday, or sixth day — unless those hours also push the workweek over 40, or a contract or state law says otherwise.

Federal law also does not require daily overtime after 8 hours. Several states do. If you need a daily split, start with the California note and the state notes table.

Regular rate is not always the hourly wage

Overtime is 1.5× the regular rate, not always the number on a job posting. The regular rate is generally total includable pay for the workweek divided by hours actually worked. Nondiscretionary bonuses, commissions, and some shift differentials can raise it. True overtime premiums and certain gifts or discretionary bonuses may be excluded.

OTPayUS does not rebuild a legal regular rate. It multiplies the hourly figure you type. If a production bonus paid this week, the overtime line on a real paycheck can be higher than this card. DOL Fact Sheet #56A is the official regular-rate overview.

Salaried nonexempt employees still get overtime

A weekly salary does not cancel FLSA overtime unless the employee is exempt. If someone is paid a fixed salary for a 45-hour week, the regular rate is that salary divided by 45. The five overtime hours then owe an extra half-time premium. See the salary example on Fact Sheet #23.

Comp time in private employment

Private-sector employers generally cannot replace FLSA overtime pay with future time off. Public agencies have a separate compensatory-time rule. If a private employer offers “take Friday off instead of OT pay,” that is usually not a substitute for cash overtime due under the Act.

What to do with the calculator

Use the overtime pay calculator when you already know regular hours and OT hours. Enter double-time only if a separate rule requires it. Then read exempt vs nonexempt before treating a salary as a reason to skip the 1.5× line.