The regular rate is the denominator of every overtime case. This calculator handles the hotel patterns: an employee working up to six jobs at different rates, a non-discretionary bonus, commissions, service-charge distributions, and true premium pay that offsets overtime due — then it shows the weighted-average computation, compares it against the §7(g)(2) "rate in effect" alternative, and offers the fluctuating-workweek method and a multi-week bonus true-up, each step cited. Inputs never leave your browser.
Optional: salaried non-exempt overtime — two methods compared#
The salary agreement determines how straight-time wages are covered. A fixed-hours salary (29 CFR 778.113) covering 40 hours requires the full time-and-a-half for hours beyond 40. The fluctuating-workweek method (29 CFR 778.114) treats the salary as covering all hours and pays only the half-time premium — only when its prerequisites are met and applicable state law permits it. Enter a single week to compare the arrangements. The federal fixed-hours method also pays uncovered straight time when the contract covers fewer hours than were worked; federal salaries explicitly covering more than 40 hours use §778.325. The FWW salary alone must cover the applicable minimum in the longest week, without relying on bonuses.
California uses salary÷40 but flat-sum bonus÷actual nonovertime hours. Put production/commission compensation in the other-pay field. State selections are these specific overlays; other states require separate review.
For the federal fluctuating-workweek comparison, confirm the stated assumptions:
Optional: multi-week bonus true-up (29 CFR 778.209)#
A bonus earned over several weeks must be apportioned back, with overtime recomputed in each week it covers.
Actual earned-week allocation controls when identifiable. Otherwise select an allocation supported by the facts (§778.209(b)); the calculator does not average overtime hours across weeks.
Worked example: the dual-rate banquet server#
The most common multi-rate week in a hotel: a front desk agent who picks up banquet shifts during a conference, with a service-charge share on top. Enter these inputs (or use Load example) and the calculator reproduces every figure below:
- Job 1 — Front desk: $18.00/hour × 30 hours
- Job 2 — Banquet: $22.00/hour × 16 hours
- Service-charge distributions: $120.00 (bonus and commissions: $0)
The computation, exactly as the engine runs it#
- Straight-time earnings: $892.00. Front desk $18.00 × 30 = $540.00; banquet $22.00 × 16 = $352.00. Two rates in one week means the weighted-average method by default (29 CFR 778.115).
- Includable additions: $120.00. The service-charge share is wages, not a tip — it goes into the rate (29 CFR 531.55).
- Regular rate: $22.00/hour. Total includable remuneration $1,012.00 ÷ 46 total hours (29 CFR 778.109). Note it lands well above the $18.00 "home" rate — the banquet hours and the service charge both pull it up.
- Overtime premium: $66.00. 46 hours − 40 = 6 OT hours; 0.5 × $22.00 × 6. Straight time for all 46 hours is already inside the $1,012 (29 CFR 778.110(b)).
- Total for the week: $1,078.00.
The error this example is built to expose: paying the 6 overtime hours at 1.5 × the $18.00 desk rate and handing the service charge over separately. That premium is 0.5 × $18.00 × 6 = $54.00 — a $12.00 weekly shortfall that repeats every conference week, for every cross-trained employee.
Worked example: the §7(g)(2) "rate in effect" alternative#
A different cross-trained week shows why the method comparison matters. An employee works 30 hours as a server at $14.00 and 15 hours as a banquet captain at $26.00 — 45 hours, $810 in straight-time earnings, no extras. The weighted average is $810 ÷ 45 = $18.00, the premium is 5 × $9.00 = $45.00, and the week totals $855.00. But §7(g)(2) pays overtime at 1.5× the rate in effect for the work actually performed during the overtime hours, if there is an advance agreement: set the overtime-hours selector to the captain job and the week totals $875.00; set it to the server job and it totals $845.00. The calculator shows both side by side with the delta.
The catch The §7(g)(2) method is valid only under an agreement or understanding reached with the employee in advance of the work, and the rates must be bona fide rates actually paid for the respective work. Scheduling low-rate work into the back of the week to suppress overtime is exactly the pattern plaintiffs plead — and without an actual advance agreement, the weighted average applies retroactively.
What belongs in the regular rate#
The §7(e) rule of inclusion: all remuneration counts unless it fits one of the eight enumerated exclusions. The hotel pay-code sorting:
| Pay element | Regular rate? | Why |
|---|
Notes on method and scope#
- This calculator is federal and weekly: it computes the FLSA regular rate for one workweek. State daily overtime, double time, and premium-pay stacking belong to the workweek auditor, which resolves them per day against the jurisdiction.
- The default is the weighted-average method (29 CFR 778.115); the §7(g)(2) "rate in effect" alternative is shown for comparison but requires an advance agreement and bona fide job rates.
- For salaried nonexempt employees, the contract-hours method (§§778.113,778.325) and the fluctuating-workweek method (§778.114) depend on different pay agreements. The comparison cannot establish that an employer may choose either after work is performed. FWW is withheld when entered prerequisites fail, including salary-alone minimum-wage coverage. California and Pennsylvania have separately identified salary branches.
- Exclude discretionary bonuses, gifts and expense reimbursements only when the table’s conditions are met. Enter only the extra portion of a qualifying §7(e)(5)–(7) premium in the dedicated field. Select the other-premium category for workload or arduous-work pay, which raises the rate and cannot offset overtime.
- For tipped employees, use the tipped overtime calculator — the tip credit changes the arithmetic.
Background: overtime & the regular rate. This tool is educational and illustrative — see the disclaimer.