Blended overtime rate calculator

Type the hours you worked at each pay rate this week, and any shift differential or bonus. You get the regular rate (a weighted average), the overtime premium and the week’s pay, with every step shown.

Hours at each pay rate this week

Shift differentials and bonuses

Only pay the employee was promised or expects (a production, attendance or quality bonus, commission). A discretionary bonus, a gift or holiday pay is left out.

The federal rule is 40 hours in a workweek.

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Type each pay rate and the hours you worked at it this week.

An estimate of gross pay under the US federal rules; state rules and your employer’s payroll can differ.

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What the regular rate is

US federal law, the Fair Labor Standards Act, requires overtime at one and a half times an employee’s regular rate for hours over 40 in a workweek. The regular rate is not always the hourly wage: it is the week’s pay for the work done, divided by all the hours worked that week (US Department of Labor Fact Sheet 56A). With one hourly wage and nothing else, the two are the same. With two pay rates, a shift differential or a bonus, the regular rate is higher than the base wage, and so is the overtime.

Two or more pay rates: the weighted average

When someone works at two or more rates in one workweek, the regular rate is the weighted average of those rates: the total earned at all of them divided by the total hours (29 CFR 778.115). For example, 30 hours at $20 and 15 hours at $25:

  1. Straight-time pay: 30 × $20 + 15 × $25 = $975.00.
  2. Regular rate: $975.00 ÷ 45 hours = $21.6667 an hour ($21.67 rounded).
  3. Overtime premium: 5 overtime hours × half the regular rate = $54.17. The overtime hours were already paid at their own rate in step 1; this is the extra half.
  4. Week’s pay: $975.00 + $54.17 = $1,029.17.

Paying time and a half of the $20 base wage alone would give a premium of $50.00, $4.17 short.

Shift differentials and bonuses

Extra pay for nights, weekends or hazardous work is part of the regular rate (29 CFR 778.207), and so are bonuses an employee is promised or expects, such as production, attendance and quality bonuses (29 CFR 778.211), and commissions (29 CFR 778.117). The Labor Department’s own example (29 CFR 778.110): $12 an hour for 46 hours is $552. With a $46 production bonus the week pays $598.00, so the regular rate is $598.00 ÷ 46 = $13.00. The 6 overtime hours earn an extra $6.50 each, $39.00 in all, for a week’s pay of $637.00.

A bonus for a longer period, such as a monthly or quarterly bonus, is spread back over the weeks it was earned in, and each of those weeks with overtime gets extra overtime pay when the bonus is paid (29 CFR 778.209). Enter this week’s share of it.

What is left out of the regular rate

  • Discretionary bonuses: the employer alone decides whether to pay one and how much, near the end of the period, without promising it beforehand (29 CFR 778.211).
  • Gifts, such as a holiday gift not tied to hours worked or output.
  • Pay for hours not worked: holiday, vacation and sick pay. Those hours don’t count toward the 40 either.
  • Expense reimbursements, such as mileage.
  • Overtime premiums already paid for hours over 8 in a day or 40 in a week, and premiums of at least time and a half for weekend or holiday work: these can count toward the overtime owed instead.

Another method: the rate of the job done in overtime

If the employer and employee agree before the work is done, overtime for someone working two jobs at different rates can be paid at one and a half times the rate of the job done during the overtime hours, instead of the weighted average (29 CFR 778.419). Without such an agreement, the weighted average applies.

State rules

States can require more. California, for example, has daily overtime and counts a flat-sum bonus differently: it is divided by the non-overtime hours only (Alvarado v. Dave & Buster’s, California Supreme Court, 2018), which gives a higher premium. See the California Labor Commissioner’s overtime FAQ. This calculator follows the federal workweek rule; for daily overtime, use the overtime calculator.

This is a calculator, not legal advice. If your employer’s figures differ, ask payroll how the regular rate was worked out, or contact the Wage and Hour Division.

Frequently asked questions

What is a blended overtime rate?

The regular rate for a week paid at more than one rate: a weighted average of the rates, by hours worked. Overtime is then due at one and a half times that average, not at one and a half times the lowest or the first rate.

How do you calculate overtime with two different pay rates?

Add up the pay at each rate and divide by all the hours worked to get the regular rate. Each overtime hour then earns an extra half of that rate on top of its straight-time pay. 30 hours at $20 and 15 at $25 give a regular rate of $21.67 and an overtime premium of $54.17.

Are shift differentials included in the regular rate?

Yes. A night, weekend or hazard differential is pay for the work done, so it is added to the week’s pay before dividing by the hours worked.

Do bonuses count toward overtime pay?

Bonuses an employee is promised or expects, like production, attendance or quality bonuses and commissions, do: they raise the regular rate. Truly discretionary bonuses and gifts do not.

Is overtime 1.5 times my base rate or my regular rate?

Your regular rate. They are the same when you earn one hourly wage and nothing else; with a second rate, a differential or a bonus, the regular rate is higher.

Does holiday pay count toward overtime?

Not under federal law. Pay for hours not worked (holidays, vacation, sick days) is left out of the regular rate, and those hours don’t count toward the 40. A contract or state law can be more generous.

Why is my overtime rate higher than time and a half of my wage?

Because your regular rate includes more than your wage: a second rate, a differential or a bonus earned that week. Overtime is one and a half times that average.