Covered, nonexempt employees
must be paid overtime pay at no less than one and one-half times the employee’s regular rate of
pay for hours worked in excess of 40 in a workweek.
The regular rate on which overtime
pay is calculated includes remuneration (or pay) for employment, and certain paymentsmade in the form of
goods or facilities
customarily furnished by the employer. For example, where the employee’s
wages include lodging customarily furnished by the employer,
the reasonable cost or the fair value of the lodging
furnished must be added to the employee’s earnings before determining the
regular rate. The regular rate does not include certain payments excluded by
the FLSA. Learn more about the
statutory exclusions.
An employee’s earnings may be
determined on a piece-rate, salary, commission, or some other basis, but in all
cases the overtime pay that is due must be computed on the basis of the
regular rate. The
regular rate is the average hourly rate calculated by dividing the total pay for
employment (except the statutory exclusions)
in any workweek by the total number of hours actually worked.
In general, hours worked
includes all time an employee must be on duty, or on the employer's premises or
at any other prescribed place of work. Also included is any additional time the
employee is suffered or permitted (i.e., allowed) to work. Review the definition of hours worked.
To learn which work-related activities are considered hours worked, review the
FLSA Hours Worked Advisor.
A workweek is a fixed
and regularly recurring period of 168 hours, or seven consecutive 24-hour
periods. It may begin on any day of the week and at any hour of the day. An
employee’s frequency of pay (e.g., bi-weekly, semi-monthly, monthly) has no
impact on this fixed workweek. Each workweek
stands alone; averaging hours worked over two or more workweeks is not permitted
by the FLSA.