The federal baseline
The Fair Labor Standards Act generally requires covered, nonexempt employees to receive at least one and one-half times the regular rate for hours worked over 40 in a workweek. The rule is applied by workweek. Hours from two separate weeks are not averaged together merely because the employer uses a two-week pay period.
“Regular rate” is a defined pay rate
The regular rate may include more than the stated hourly wage. Certain nondiscretionary bonuses, commissions, shift differentials, and other compensation can affect it. Some payments may be excluded under the statute and regulations. If the regular rate entered here is incomplete, the arithmetic will be incomplete too.
Why the worksheet asks what was already paid
If an employee received no pay for an overtime hour, a basic 1.5-times calculation starts with the full overtime rate. If the employee already received straight-time pay for that same hour, the unpaid difference under a simple hourly example may be the additional one-half-time premium. Enter the actual amount paid per overtime hour so the worksheet shows the shortfall rather than automatically counting the same pay twice.
The repeated-week shortcut has limits
The form assumes the same regular rate, overtime hours, and amount already paid for every week. Real payroll records often change. A more careful review uses one row per workweek and recomputes the regular rate when compensation changes. Off-the-clock work, meal-period disputes, multiple rates, tipped work, salary arrangements, and public-sector compensatory time can require different analysis.
Liquidated damages are shown only as a separate illustration
Federal law can allow an additional equal amount as liquidated damages in some cases, but defenses, limitation periods, settlements, and other rules matter. The result panel shows what “an equal additional amount” would look like mathematically. It does not state that it is owed.
Federal law may not be the most protective rule
Some states require daily overtime, use different exemptions, provide additional remedies, or apply different deadlines. An employee may be protected by both federal and state rules. Check the relevant state labor agency and get qualified advice where the classification, deadline, or amount is disputed.
Records to compare
- Timecards, schedules, login records, or contemporaneous hour notes.
- Pay stubs and wage statements for each workweek.
- Bonus, commission, shift-differential, and multiple-rate records.
- Written job duties and evidence of the work actually performed if exemption status is disputed.
Privacy
The arithmetic runs in your browser and is not submitted to a LegalCalc calculation endpoint. Use numerical inputs only; do not enter an employer name, employee name, or confidential work information.