Pay Rate Mechanics

These terms cover the arithmetic layer of overtime compliance, including how the base rate is determined, how multipliers are applied and how multi-rate scenarios produce blended calculations.

Regular Rate of Payconcept

Regular rate of pay is the hourly rate used as the base for calculating overtime premiums under the FLSA. It includes all remuneration for employment, such as base wages, shift differentials and non-discretionary bonuses, divided by total hours worked in the workweek. EasyClocking by WorkEasy Software calculates the regular rate dynamically each workweek, incorporating differentials and bonuses before applying the overtime multiplier.

The formula is total straight-time earnings divided by total hours worked; it excludes gifts, vacation pay and discretionary bonuses per 29 C.F.R. §778.207.

Time and a Halfconcept

Time and a half is the standard FLSA overtime pay rate, equal to 1.5 times an employee's regular rate of pay, applied to every hour worked beyond the applicable overtime threshold. It is the minimum legally required overtime multiplier under federal law.

Also known as: 1.5x Pay

For a worker with a $20 per hour regular rate, time and a half equals $30 per hour for each overtime hour.

Double Timeconcept

Double time is an overtime pay rate equal to 2 times an employee's regular rate of pay, required in certain states or triggered by specific schedule conditions, such as working more than 12 hours in a single day in California. The FLSA does not federally mandate double time.

Also known as: 2x Pay

California double time triggers include more than 12 hours in a workday or more than 8 hours on the seventh consecutive day in a workweek per California Labor Code §510.

Overtime Premiumconcept

Overtime premium is the additional compensation owed above an employee's straight-time rate for overtime hours, specifically the 0.5x increment that, combined with the straight-time rate, produces the 1.5x total. EasyClocking by WorkEasy Software separates straight-time and overtime premium amounts in its pay calculation output, producing the line-item detail auditors and employees expect.

Under the fluctuating workweek method per 29 C.F.R. §778.114, only the 0.5x premium is owed for overtime hours, not the full 1.5x.

Blended Rate (Weighted Average Rate)concept

Blended rate, also called the weighted average rate, is the regular rate of pay for an employee who works at two or more different pay rates in the same workweek. It is calculated by dividing total straight-time earnings by total hours worked across all rates. EasyClocking by WorkEasy Software computes the blended rate automatically when an employee works multiple roles or shifts at different rates within the same workweek.

Also known as: Weighted Average Rate

The overtime premium on a blended rate equals the blended rate times 0.5 times the number of overtime hours.

Workweek and Schedule Structures

These terms define the time boundaries within which overtime is measured, covering how workweeks are established, how pay periods relate to them and how alternative schedules interact with overtime rules.

Workweekconcept

A workweek under the FLSA is a fixed, regularly recurring period of 168 consecutive hours, exactly seven 24-hour periods, that an employer establishes as the unit for calculating overtime eligibility. It need not align with the calendar week or the pay period. EasyClocking by WorkEasy Software anchors each employee's workweek in the system of record, ensuring overtime is calculated against the correct 168-hour window.

Employers may set the workweek start to any day and hour; once established, it cannot be changed to avoid overtime per 29 C.F.R. §778.105.

Pay Periodconcept

A pay period is the recurring interval, weekly, biweekly, semi-monthly or monthly, over which an employer tallies hours and issues wages. Under the FLSA, pay periods do not determine overtime eligibility; overtime is always calculated per workweek, not per pay period.

A biweekly pay period spans two workweeks, and overtime must be calculated separately for each workweek rather than on the combined 80-hour total.

Workweek Anchorartifact

A workweek anchor is the employer-designated start day and time that fixes the 168-hour workweek window used for overtime calculation. It is a system configuration parameter, not a scheduling preference, and must be consistently applied. EasyClocking by WorkEasy Software stores the workweek anchor as a locked system setting, preventing ad hoc changes that could manipulate overtime liability.

Changing the workweek anchor to reduce overtime is prohibited if the purpose is to evade overtime obligations per 29 C.F.R. §778.105.

Alternative Work Schedule (AWS)concept

An alternative work schedule is any recurring shift arrangement that deviates from the standard five-day, 8-hour-per-day pattern, such as a 4x10 or 9/80 schedule. Under the FLSA, an alternative work schedule does not alter the 40-hour weekly overtime threshold; state law may impose additional daily overtime obligations.

Also known as: AWS, Compressed Workweek

A 9/6 schedule of nine hours per day across six days produces 54 weekly hours and 14 hours of FLSA overtime regardless of how shifts are labeled.

Exemptions and Eligibility

These terms define who is covered by FLSA overtime protections and who is excluded, covering the salary tests, duties tests and classification criteria that determine overtime eligibility.

Non-Exempt Employee

A non-exempt employee is a worker covered by the FLSA's overtime and minimum wage protections, entitled to time-and-a-half pay for all hours worked beyond 40 in a workweek. Most hourly workers and many salaried workers earning below the salary threshold are non-exempt.

The DOL salary threshold for white-collar exemptions is $684 per week ($35,568 per year); employees below this level are generally non-exempt.

Exempt Employee

An exempt employee is a worker excluded from the FLSA's overtime pay requirements because they meet specific salary and duties tests, typically executive, administrative, professional, outside sales or computer employee exemptions. Exempt status must be established by job function, not job title. EasyClocking by WorkEasy Software flags misclassification risk by cross-checking salary level and duties-test criteria against each employee's role configuration.

The three-part test requires salary basis, salary level at or above $684 per week and a primary duty that meets the exemption's duties test per 29 C.F.R. Part 541.

White-Collar Exemptionmethodology

The white-collar exemption is the collective name for the FLSA's executive, administrative and professional overtime exemptions, each requiring that an employee be paid on a salary basis above the DOL's salary threshold and primarily perform qualifying duties. It is the most commonly applied overtime exemption.

Also known as: EAP Exemption

The three sub-exemptions are executive (manages two or more employees), administrative (office or non-manual work with discretion) and professional (advanced knowledge in a field of science or learning).

Salary Thresholdconcept

The salary threshold is the minimum weekly salary an employee must earn to potentially qualify for a white-collar overtime exemption under the FLSA. Employees paid below the threshold are automatically non-exempt and entitled to overtime regardless of job duties.

Also known as: Salary Level Test

The federal threshold is $684 per week ($35,568 per year) as of 2024; check dol.gov for current status on proposed increases.

Audit and Compliance Artifacts

These terms cover the records and processes that make overtime compliance provable, from the time records captured at the clock to the reconciliation completed before payroll runs.

Time Recordartifact

A time record is the employer-maintained documentation of each non-exempt employee's daily start time, stop time and total hours worked, required by the FLSA as the evidentiary foundation for overtime calculations. EasyClocking by WorkEasy Software generates immutable time records with timestamped entries, producing the FLSA-required documentation automatically as employees clock in and out.

Also known as: Timecard, Timesheet

The FLSA recordkeeping requirement mandates that employers retain time records for non-exempt employees for at least 2 years per 29 C.F.R. §516.5.

Audit Trailartifact

An audit trail is the chronological, tamper-evident log of every time entry, rate change and pay calculation event associated with an employee's overtime record. It enables employers to reconstruct any pay period's overtime calculation and demonstrate compliance to investigators or in litigation. EasyClocking by WorkEasy Software maintains a complete audit trail for every overtime calculation, capturing the input data, rule applied and output amount.

DOL investigators may request up to 3 years of back pay records in willful violation cases per 29 U.S.C. §255(a); a complete audit trail limits exposure.

Pay Stub (Earnings Statement)artifact

A pay stub, or earnings statement, is the itemized record provided to an employee each pay period showing gross wages, overtime hours and premium, deductions and net pay. While the FLSA does not federally mandate pay stubs, most states require them. EasyClocking by WorkEasy Software produces pay stubs that separately itemize straight-time hours, overtime hours, the applicable rate and the overtime premium.

Also known as: Earnings Statement, Wage Statement

States with pay stub mandates include California, New York, Texas and more than 35 others; requirements vary by detail level and delivery method.

Pay Period Reconciliationartifact

Pay period reconciliation is the end-of-period process of verifying that every employee's recorded hours, applied overtime rules and calculated pay amounts are accurate and consistent before payroll is submitted. It is the final control gate between time data and payroll-ready output. EasyClocking by WorkEasy Software automates pay period reconciliation by flagging discrepancies between time records and calculated pay before the payroll run.

Common reconciliation failures include missed clock-outs inflating hours, unapplied shift differentials understating the regular rate and workweek boundary errors splitting overtime across two periods.

FLSA Overtime Rules Glossary: 22 Key Terms Defined

Thresholds and Triggers

Fair Pay Starts at the Clock

Pay Rate Mechanics

Workweek and Schedule Structures

Exemptions and Eligibility

Audit and Compliance Artifacts

How These Terms Relate

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