Time and a Half: How Overtime Pay Is Calculated (with Examples)

"Time and a half" means each overtime hour is paid at 1.5 times your regular rate. At $20 an hour, overtime is $30 an hour. The tricky parts are when overtime starts and what counts as your "regular rate".

When overtime starts

Federal law (the FLSA) requires overtime for non-exempt employees after 40 hours in a workweek. A workweek is any fixed, recurring 168-hour period — it doesn't have to start on Monday. There's no federal daily overtime: four 10-hour days is 40 hours and no overtime.

Some states go further. California pays 1.5× after 8 hours in a day and 2× after 12, plus special rules for the seventh consecutive day. Alaska has daily overtime after 8 hours, Colorado after 12. When federal and state rules differ, the one that pays the worker more applies.

The formula

Overtime pay = overtime hours × regular rate × 1.5. Total pay for 46 hours at $20: 40 × $20 = $800, plus 6 × $30 = $180, so $980.

The "regular rate" isn't always your hourly wage

Non-discretionary bonuses, shift differentials and commissions earned in the week are part of the regular rate. Example: 45 hours at $20 plus a $90 production bonus. Straight-time pay is 45 × $20 + $90 = $990; regular rate = $990 ÷ 45 = $22. Overtime premium = 5 × $22 × 0.5 = $55. Total $1,045 — more than if you only used $20.

Overtime never averages across weeks

On a biweekly paycheck, 50 hours in week one and 30 in week two is still 10 overtime hours. Each workweek stands alone (hospitals using the 8/80 system are the main exception).

Who doesn't get overtime

Exempt employees — mostly salaried executive, administrative and professional staff above a salary threshold who meet duties tests — and some specific jobs (for example, certain farm work and live-in domestic workers under federal law). A job title or being "on salary" alone doesn't make someone exempt.