How to count overtime hours in a workweek

Updated November 15, 2026 · Worked examples use whole minutes

Under the US Fair Labor Standards Act, a non-exempt employee’s overtime hours are the hours worked over 40 in a workweek. A workweek is a fixed, recurring period of seven consecutive 24-hour days set by the employer; it can start on any day and at any hour.

Calculate it step by step

1. Find your employer’s workweek: the day and time it starts.
2. Add the hours you actually worked in each workweek separately, using whole minutes.
3. Subtract 40 from each workweek total. Anything above zero is overtime for that week.
4. If your state counts daily overtime, also check each day against its daily limit.

Worked example

A biweekly period with 9 hours a day Monday to Friday in week one (45 hours) and 7 hours a day in week two (35 hours) totals 80 hours. Week one has 5 overtime hours and week two has none, so the period includes 5 overtime hours.

Check your own shifts in the time card calculator

Do two weeks average out?

Each workweek stands alone. Working 45 hours one week and 35 the next gives 80 hours for a biweekly pay period, yet 5 of those hours are overtime because the first workweek went over 40. Paid holidays and sick days are usually not hours worked for this count.

Some states add daily overtime. California counts hours over 8 in a workday, and over 12 at a higher rate, unless an approved alternative workweek schedule applies. In the UK there is no legal right to overtime pay; your contract decides, and average working time is normally limited to 48 hours a week unless you opt out.

Further reading

• US Department of Labor: overtime pay
• 29 CFR 778.104: each workweek stands alone (eCFR)
• California Labor Commissioner: overtime FAQ
• GOV.UK: maximum weekly working hours