The FLSA requires that employers pay most employees in the United States at least the federal minimum wage for each hour they work. It also requires that they receive overtime pay at a rate of at least time and one-half their regular rate for each hour weighted overtime they work over 40 in a workweek. Some employees are paid hourly, while other employees are paid on a different basis, such as salary, commission, or piece rate.
Mistake #5: Calculating on a Bi-Weekly Rather Than Weekly Basis
Use Timeero’s California Overtime Calculator to verify regular rates, overtime, and double-time pay. Generally, employees have no legal basis to refuse working overtime in California. However, there are exceptions under certain specific Wage Orders or a company policy or union contract addressing the subject. Employees may also have to be accommodated in terms of refusing overtime hours due to disabilities and religious needs.
Nondiscretionary Bonuses
This exemption acknowledges the unique financial and operational challenges of seasonal businesses. Employees earning $107,432 or more annually are exempt if they perform at least one duty of an executive, administrative, or professional employee. Employees involved in interstate commerce—such as shipping, receiving, producing, or handling goods across state lines—are covered regardless of the business’s revenue. This also applies to workers handling credit card transactions or processing documents related to interstate commerce. Even support staff, like janitors and guards, are covered if their roles are essential to interstate operations.
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While blended overtime calculations might be simpler than some other complex payroll calculations, consider this for several employees, employee types, and wages. Manual errors could lead to compliance issues and put major strain on employee relationships. However, if they work 10 hours each day for four days and then 5 hours on the fifth day, the additional https://www.bookstime.com/ 5 hours are considered overtime, paid at 1.5 times the regular rate.
Overtime Laws by State — Comprehensive Guide for 2025
- However, this is true only if the collective bargaining agreement has different overtime provisions than those outlined in California law.
- No, employees cannot waive their right to overtime compensation in California.
- When a California employee works more than four hours, they must sign the daily sign-off form in the app before clocking out.
- However, states like Alaska, California, Colorado, and Nevada determine limits on the number of hours an employee can work in a day before becoming eligible for overtime.
- Since Bill worked 13 hours on Tuesday, he should get eight hours of regular pay plus four hours of 1.5x overtime pay plus one hour of 2x overtime pay.
- You would compute the employee’s four hours of overtime as a receptionist using their hourly pay rate of $10.
Similarly, payments for unused paid leave (also known as paid leave buy-backs) or payments when the employee works instead of taking leave or a paid holiday, are not required to be included in the regular rate. There’s a slight rule change for employees paid weekly, biweekly, or semimonthly. Overtime wages can still be paid on their next payday, but if this is not possible you may delay their overtime payments. Payments can not be held for more than seven days following the end of their payroll period. For almost all nonexempt private sector California employees who are not covered by collective bargaining agreements, California laws for overtime pay are based primarily on the number of hours worked in a day. However, you must also account for weekly totals when calculating California overtime.
When calculating overtime pay in California, you must use the employee’s “regular rate” of pay — which isn’t always simply an employee’s normal hourly amount. The regular rate must include nearly all forms of pay received by that employee (but certain payments, such as expense reimbursements and discretionary bonuses, are excluded). The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) establishes minimum wage, overtime pay, recordkeeping, and youth employment standards affecting employees in the private sector and in Federal, State, and local governments. Covered nonexempt workers are entitled to a minimum wage of not less than $7.25 per hour effective July 24, 2009. Overtime pay at a rate not less than one and one-half times the regular rate of pay is required after 40 hours of work in a workweek. You can determine an employee’s overtime wages by finding the weighted average overtime.
What Is FLSA Overtime Pay?
If an employer does not define a workweek, then it defaults to the calendar week – Sunday through Saturday. Washington law does not require overtime for hours worked over 8 hours in a day, with the exception of certain public works projects. States like California have specific protections, such as the one-day rest rule, which prohibits employers from requiring employees to work more than six consecutive days in a workweek. For reclassified employees, factor in estimated overtime hours when determining their hourly rate to avoid budget surprises.
Dart Container Corp. total pay calculations
Blended overtime is calculated just like regular overtime, https://gad-capital.com/closing-entries-explanation-process-and-example/ but with an extra consideration. If you find yourself consistently paying out overtime hours even in the face of manageable workloads, something is probably wrong. Check out the free webinar below to figure out how to keep your labor costs low by drilling down on where you are overspending on overtime. Column three lists each state’s weekly overtime threshold as well as the rate at which overtime is paid. States with notable exceptions or unique labor laws have links to their respective Department of Labor pages. Calculating weighted overtime is easier to understand with an example in front of you, but adding in nondiscretionary bonuses and commissions can complicate matters.


