How the Overtime Calculator Works

The seven entry boxes from Monday through Sunday are treated as one fixed workweek. Federal law defines a workweek as a fixed, regularly recurring period of 168 hours. It can begin on any day and at any hour, so an employer's actual workweek may not match the labels on the calculator.

If the employer's workweek begins at another time, place each shift's hours into the boxes in the same order as that workweek before comparing the result with payroll records. Hours from two workweeks should never be averaged together.

For most states, the calculator applies the federal starting point: time-and-a-half after 40 hours in the entered workweek. It applies daily triggers for the states and selected industries that are built into the tool, including California, Alaska, wage-eligible Nevada employees, Colorado and the optional Oregon manufacturing or processing rule.

To avoid paying the same hour twice, the calculator first classifies hours that qualify under a daily rule. It then applies the weekly threshold only to hours that are still regular. For Oregon's supported industry option, it compares daily and weekly overtime and uses the calculation with more premium hours. Colorado users separately enter hours caused by the 12-consecutive-hour trigger when a shift crosses workday boundaries.

For California, hours beyond 12 in a workday are classified as double time. When work is entered on all seven days, the calculator treats the entries as seven consecutive days in the displayed workweek: the first eight hours on day seven are time-and-a-half and later hours are double time.

The calculator also includes Kentucky's limited seventh-day rule when hours are entered on all seven days and the week exceeds 40 hours. These estimates do not determine whether a statutory exception, alternative workweek, collective bargaining provision or day-of-rest rule changes the result.

The calculator accepts one hourly rate. It multiplies regular hours by that rate, overtime hours by 1.5 times the rate and supported California double-time hours by 2 times the rate.

The legal regular rate can be broader than the wage shown on a pay stub. Multiple hourly rates generally require a weighted average. Nondiscretionary bonuses, commissions, shift differentials and some other compensation may need to be included. A later commission or bonus can also require the employer to recalculate overtime for the workweeks in which it was earned. The calculator does not perform those adjustments.

The estimate does not decide whether an employee or employer is covered, whether an exemption applies, or whether someone was properly classified as an employee. It does not calculate salary, piece-rate, day-rate or tipped pay; multiple rates; bonuses or commissions; taxes or deductions; paid leave; rounding rules; local ordinances; prevailing wages; union agreements; or every occupation-specific rule.

It also cannot infer an employer's workday boundary, validate a flexible or alternative schedule, decide whether a meal period is compensable, or reconstruct missing time records. State-specific options cover only the rules described beside the calculator. Review the matching state-law guide before relying on a result.

Start by checking that you entered the right state, hourly rate and hours for each day. Make sure all of the hours belong to the same workweek.

Next, compare the estimate with your timecard and pay stub. If something looks off, check your entries and read the notes in your state's guide, since some jobs and states use different overtime rules.