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INSplit shift premium
A split shift premium is extra pay owed when an employee's workday is divided into two or more segments by a long, unpaid, off-duty gap — the lunch-and-dinner pattern familiar to every restaurant. The premium recognizes that a 10-hour day wrapped around an unpaid afternoon costs the worker the whole day, even if only six hours of it are paid.
How it works in the United States
Federal law is silent — a split shift is legal everywhere, and most states attach no premium. The notable exceptions:
- California: employees who work a split shift are owed one additional hour of pay at the state minimum wage, with an offset for wages already paid above the minimum — so the premium mainly protects workers earning at or near minimum wage. Bona fide meal breaks do not create a split shift.
- New York: the "spread of hours" rule requires one extra hour at minimum wage when the day's span from first clock-in to last clock-out exceeds 10 hours — split shift or not — in covered industries, most prominently hospitality.
- Fair Workweek cities may layer consent and premium requirements on top for short-gap "clopening" patterns.
Schedulers should treat the gap itself as a cost: where premiums apply, two short shifts in one day can cost more than one continuous shift of the same length.
California IWC Wage Orders § 4 (split shift premium); NY Hospitality Industry Wage Order, 12 NYCRR 146 (spread of hours) — no federal equivalent.
Tommy shows each day's shape per person as you build the roster, so split days and long spreads are visible — and costed — before you publish.