How Do You Accrue Overtime in a Workweek?

With the holidays around the corner, many hourly workers are thinking about picking up extra shifts to supplement their normal income to pay for the festivities of the holiday season. Before you do that, especially if you’re a part-time worker, here’s how those hours in a workweek work.

The Fair Labor Standards Act requires that both private and federal employers in the United States pay hourly workers overtime at a minimum of 1.5x’s the normal hourly rate for any hours worked past forty in a workweek. While that workweek does have to have seven days, it does not have to match up to the standard Calendar week. For purposes of knowing if you, as an hourly worker, are supposed to receive overtime, it is important to know from what days your job’s workweek runs.

For instance, the workweek at a particular job could run from Saturday to Friday. Since you are only paid overtime after forty hours in a workweek, if the workweek is from Saturday to Friday, any hours after forty must be worked before the end of the Friday workday. Once Saturday comes back around again, a new work week starts, and the hourly work clock restarts from zero.

Thus, if you are a part-time hourly worker and because of the demands of the holidays, you’re able to pick up more shifts than normal, and you’re hoping to clock in some overtime along the way, be mindful of when your job’s workweek starts. That way, if your employer allows, you can know how to plan your work schedule to make the most of the extra hours and the overtime that your employer is offering.

If you, as an hourly worker, are still unsure whether or not you qualify for overtime wages guaranteed by the Fair Labor Standards Act or whether it will be worth the time to pursue action for wages withheld from you, that’s okay. Your consultation is free! Call (404) 831-8721 or fill out the contact form to schedule your appointment.