Working 48 hours at $25 an hour with a 40-hour threshold pays $1,300 gross: $1,000 of regular pay plus 8 overtime hours at the $37.50 time-and-a-half rate.
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Overtime isn't a multiplier applied to a whole paycheck. It's a premium on the hours past a threshold, usually 40, in a single fixed workweek, and nowhere else. Everything below the threshold pays at your regular rate; only the hours above it get the boost.
Multiply the hours over your threshold by your regular rate, then by the multiplier, and add that to your regular pay. Everything below the threshold stays at the regular rate.
The Fair Labor Standards Act bars averaging hours across two or more weeks to dodge overtime. A 30-hour week followed by a 50-hour week still owes 10 hours of overtime in that second week alone, full stop, regardless of how light the first week was. The FLSA also doesn't require extra pay for nights, weekends or holidays as such, only for hours worked past the 40-hour line.
Take 48 hours at a $25 regular rate with a 40-hour threshold and a 1.5 multiplier. The first 40 hours pay at $25, for $1,000. The remaining 8 pay at $25 times 1.5, or $37.50 each, for $300. Gross pay is $1,300. Switch the multiplier to 2 for a double-time arrangement and those same 8 hours pay $50 each instead, for $400, bringing the total to $1,400.
| Regular rate | Time and a half (1.5×) | Double time (2×) |
|---|---|---|
| $15.00 | $22.50 | $30.00 |
| $20.00 | $30.00 | $40.00 |
| $25.00 | $37.50 | $50.00 |
| $30.00 | $45.00 | $60.00 |
Federal law never requires it. Double time exists only where a state or an employer's own policy adds it on top of the FLSA baseline. California is the best-known example, requiring double time past 12 hours in a single workday and for hours worked past 8 on a seventh consecutive workday. A handful of states also set their own daily overtime threshold below the federal 40-hour weekly mark, which is exactly why this tool lets you change the threshold field instead of locking it to 40.
The multiplier applies to your regular rate, and that rate isn't always just the number on your pay stub. Nondiscretionary bonuses and shift differentials, pay tied to hitting a target or working a particular shift, legally belong in the regular rate used for overtime, which pushes the true rate above a base-wage-only guess. If bonuses or differentials apply to your job, enter the adjusted rate above rather than your plain hourly wage.
Sources: U.S. Department of Labor, Overtime Pay, DOL Fact Sheet 23, Overtime Pay Requirements of the FLSA.
No. The Department of Labor does not permit averaging hours across two or more workweeks. A 30-hour week followed by a 50-hour week still owes 10 hours of overtime in the second week alone.
It can. The FLSA regular rate used to calculate overtime can include certain nondiscretionary bonuses and shift differentials, not just your posted hourly wage, which raises the true overtime rate for workers who receive those extras.
Not on its own. Federal law measures overtime against 40 hours in the workweek, not hours in a single day, so four 10-hour days at 40 total hours owes no federal overtime. Some states add their own daily thresholds that could still apply.
Because not every schedule uses the federal default. Some states set a daily threshold, and some union or company agreements set their own, so the threshold field lets you model whichever number actually applies to your situation.
No. Double time means 2 times your regular rate, while time and a half means 1.5 times it. Federal law never requires double time; where it exists, it comes from state law or an employer policy layered on top of the FLSA baseline.