• How do you calculate overtime wages?

For hourly employees, who receive no other compensation, overtime under the FLSA is easy to calculate: the first 40 hours of the workweek are paid at the normal hourly and any additional hours are paid at one and a half times the normal hourly rate. Where an employee in a single workweek works at two or more different straight-time rates, the regular rate for that week is the weighted average of such rates (the earnings from all such rates are added together and this total is then divided by the total number of hours worked).

A fixed salary or other different compensation plans for a regular workweek longer than 40 hours does not discharge FLSA statutory obligations. For employees that receive compensation in addition to their hourly rate, or are paid under a different pay structure, it can be more difficult. First your will have to determine the regular rate of pay. That means if you receive commissions, bonus, or other compensations and your employer does not base your overtime on this additional compensation, you may be underpaid.

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