Estimates for personal planning — not tax, legal, or payroll advice. Every number above is gross pay unless a line says otherwise; the formula, its boundaries, and its test cases are published below.
How it works
regular = 40.0 h × $22.00 = $880.00
ot_rate = $22.00 × 1.5 = $33.00 /hr
ot_pay = 8.0 h × $33.00 = $264.00
total = $880.00 + $264.00 = $1,144.00
How FLSA overtime is calculated
The Fair Labor Standards Act requires 1.5× your regular rate for hours over 40 in a workweek — a fixed, recurring 168-hour period your employer defines. There is no federal daily overtime, and averaging two weeks together is not allowed (29 CFR §778.104).
What counts in the “regular rate”
This is where most calculators quietly understate your overtime. The regular rate is not just your base wage: nondiscretionary bonuses, shift differentials, and most commissions must be folded in before multiplying by 1.5 (29 CFR §§778.208–.215). If you earn those, the number above is a floor, not your true OT pay.
States with daily overtime
California pays 1.5× after 8 hours in a day (2× after 12). Alaska, Nevada, and Colorado also have daily thresholds. This page computes the federal baseline only — check your state's rules via the DOL state labor office directory.
Salaried does not mean exempt from overtime
The most expensive misconception in American payroll. Being paid a salary does not by itself remove your right to overtime — exempt status requires both a salary level test and a duties test. The best-known exemptions are the executive, administrative, professional, outside sales, and computer-employee categories (29 CFR Part 541); the FLSA also carries narrower ones for certain drivers, commissioned retail staff, and dealership workers. If none applies to you, you are non-exempt and owed 1.5× over 40 hours regardless of how you're paid (DOL overtime). Job titles carry no weight here; what you actually do all day does.
Four ways overtime gets underpaid
- Averaging two weeks. 50 hours one week and 30 the next is 10 hours of overtime, not zero. Each workweek stands alone (29 CFR §778.104).
- Bonuses left out of the regular rate. A nondiscretionary bonus must be spread across the hours it covers, raising the rate your 1.5× is computed from.
- Off-the-clock work. Pre-shift setup, post-shift cleanup, and answering messages at home are hours worked if the employer knows or has reason to know about them.
- “Comp time” in the private sector. Private employers generally cannot swap paid overtime for future time off — that option belongs to public-sector employers.
From the public test suite
assert overtime($22, 48h).total == 1,144.00 ✓
assert overtime($18.50, 40h).otPay == 0.00 // no OT at exactly 40 ✓
// 36 cases · 96 assertions · runs on every deploy — see all
Sources
Built and maintained by Ethan Chen, independent developer. No credential is claimed that we don't have — what this page offers instead is a published formula and a public test suite.