Overtime pay

Overtime pay is the premium owed when a non-exempt employee works more than 40 hours in a single workweek. Under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) those hours must be paid at one and a half times the employee's regular rate of pay — which includes shift differentials and most bonuses, not just the base hourly wage.

How it works in the United States

A few points catch managers out more than the rest:

The workweek is fixed: a recurring 168-hour period the employer defines. Hours cannot be averaged across two weeks to avoid overtime.
Exempt vs non-exempt: overtime applies to non-exempt employees. Exemption depends on salary and actual duties, not job titles — see exempt from FLSA.
State law can add more: some states, notably California, require daily overtime after a set number of hours in a day, and a few add double-time rules.
No federal cap: the FLSA does not limit how many hours an adult may work — it only requires the premium.

Unauthorized overtime still has to be paid if the employer knew or should have known the work was happening; the fix is managing schedules, not withholding pay.

Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (FLSA), 29 U.S.C. § 207 — enforced by the US DOL Wage and Hour Division; state laws may add daily overtime or stricter rules.

Tommy flags scheduled hours that are heading past 40 while you are still building the roster, so overtime becomes a choice you make — not a surprise you find on the payroll report.

Related terms

Working out the pay? The free overtime calculator applies the legal rates to your hours in seconds.