How are the hours on a time card added up?
For each day, the calculator subtracts the clock-in time from the clock-out time, then takes off the unpaid break. A clock-out time earlier than the clock-in time means the shift ran past midnight, so it ends the next day.
Hours for the day = clock out − clock in − unpaid break
Payroll multiplies your rate by decimal hours, so 8 hours 30 minutes is 8.50. The decimal hours calculator has the full minutes table.
How can the same week pay differently under two sets of rules?
Monday to Thursday, 7:00 AM to 5:30 PM with a 30-minute unpaid lunch, is 10 hours a day. Saturday, 8:00 AM to 12:00 PM with no break, is 4 hours. That is 44 hours at $20.00 an hour.
| Line | Hours × rate |
|---|---|
| Regular | 40 × $20.00 = $800.00 |
| Overtime | 4 × $30.00 = $120.00 |
| Week | $920.00 |
| Line | Hours × rate |
|---|---|
| Regular | 36 × $20.00 = $720.00 |
| Overtime | 8 × $30.00 = $240.00 |
| Week | $960.00 |
US federal rules look at the week only: 44 minus 40 leaves 4 overtime hours. California also counts each day, so the four 10-hour days give 2 overtime hours each, 8 in all, and the 36 straight-time hours left stay under 40.
Which breaks go in the break column?
Federal law does not require meal or rest breaks. Short breaks of about 5 to 20 minutes that an employer does give count as hours worked, so they stay inside your hours. A meal period of 30 minutes or more, when you are fully relieved of duty, can be unpaid: that is the one to enter in the break column.
29 CFR 785.18, 785.19.
Time card questions
Which day do the hours of an overnight shift count on?
This calculator puts the whole shift on the day it starts, as if your workday begins at clock-in. California defines a workday as a consecutive 24-hour period that starts at the same time each calendar day, so if your employer's workday starts at midnight, daily overtime can land differently. Ask which workday your employer uses.
Cal. Labor Code 500(a).
Does the week have to start on Monday?
No. Your workweek is the fixed, recurring seven-day period your employer sets. Enter your first workday in the first row so overtime is counted for the right week.
29 CFR 778.105.
Can my employer round my clock times?
Yes, if the rounding evens out. US federal rules allow rounding to the nearest 5 minutes, tenth of an hour or quarter hour, as long as over time it does not cut the hours you are paid for. This calculator uses the exact minutes you enter.
29 CFR 785.48(b).
Sources
- 29 CFR Part 785, Hours Worked (eCFR)
- 29 CFR Part 778, Overtime Compensation (eCFR)
- U.S. Department of Labor, Wage and Hour Division: Overtime Pay
- California Labor Commissioner: Overtime FAQ
- California Labor Code section 500
- Tested against
- Published test cases
- Limits
- Not legal, tax or payroll advice. An estimate from the rules named above. See the Disclaimer.