What Is Time and a Half: 2025 Guide for Employees & Employers
October 01, 2025
Time and a half means you get paid your normal hourly wage plus an extra half of it for each hour of overtime. It’s the essential aspect of fair labor practices in the United States, and the most common type of overtime rate that ensures employees get paid adequately for working more than their standard hours.
In this article, we’ll explore the meaning of time and a half, the way it influences employee pay, and the regulations surrounding it. We’ll see how it works, when it’s required, and what the consequences are of noncompliance. Lastly, we’ll show you how to easily calculate time-and-a-half pay for your employees using Paystub.org tools.
Key Takeaways
- Time and a half refers to the premium rate applied when calculating overtime pay.
- The rate is one-and-a-half times the standard employee’s rate, and it’s applied to every hour a non-exempt employee works beyond 40 in a week, all of which is mandated by a federal law (FLSA).
- Some state laws impose additional rules on overtime pay, including daily thresholds and higher rates.
- Employers are legally required to give qualified employees time-and-a-half pay when they work overtime, or they’ll face legal and financial consequences and even reputational damage.
What Is Time and a Half, and How Does It Work?
Time and a half is a premium pay rate used to calculate the wages of employees who work more than the standard hours in a week. An established number of work hours in a week is 40, as determined by the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).
For each hour worked beyond that, workers who are eligible for overtime pay must be compensated at an increased rate. This rate is at least 1.5 times their regular one (which is also mandated by the FLSA), resulting in the term “time and a half pay.”
For instance, if a worker’s regular rate was $14 an hour, their time-and-a-half pay would be $21 an hour, since that’s 1.5 times $14. As a result, for every hour they work beyond 40 in a week, they would be compensated at a rate of time and a half for $21 an hour.
The law applies to each individual week, which means an employer cannot average an employee’s hours over the period of two or more weeks (e.g., on a biweekly payroll). If an employee works 50 hours during one week and 30 hours during the next, they are still entitled to 10 hours of overtime pay for the first week, even though they had worked 40 hours per week on average.
It’s important to note that not all overtime pay is time-and-a-half pay. While the time-and-a-half rate is a federal minimum, some states may impose higher rates in certain cases.
For example, the California Labor Commissioner’s Office mandates that workers are entitled to double their regular rate of pay for every hour beyond 12 in a single workday or every hour beyond eight on their seventh consecutive day of work.
When Is Time and a Half Required?
Under the FLSA overtime rules, time-and-a-half pay is required for non-exempt employees who work more than 40 hours in a week. Non-exempt employees are mostly hourly workers, though some of them can be salaried.
A worker can be considered exempt, and, thus, ineligible for overtime pay, if they fulfill specific criteria, such as:
- Earning at least $1,128 per week as of January 1, 2025
- Using advanced knowledge or skills in their job duties
- Having little to no supervision in their work
- Having considerable decision-making power
- Typically paid on a salary basis
Some examples of exempt employees include business executives, doctors, lawyers, and executive assistants. Examples of typically non-exempt employees include electricians, carpenters, cashier workers, clerical employees, licensed practical nurses, etc.
The time-and-a-half rate for overtime non-exempt employee pay is imposed by federal law. This means that 1.5 times the regular rateis a legal minimum in all states, and some states can have even higher rates and additional conditions under which overtime rates apply.
For example, states like Alaska, California, Colorado, and Nevada have daily overtime requirements, in addition to weekly ones. In Alaska, Nevada, and California, all workers are due 1.5x pay for any hour worked in a day beyond eight. In California, overtime rates increase to double the regular rates for work hours beyond 12 in a day.
In Colorado, employees are eligible for time-and-a-half pay after working 12 hours in a day or 12 consecutive hours total. In Oregon, mill, factory, and manufacturing workers are entitled to extra pay for overtime after 10 hours in a day, while workers in timber-related industries need to be paid at a premium rate for any hour over eight.
How to Calculate Time and a Half?
Calculating time-and-a-half pay involves multiplying base and premium rates by corresponding hours. You also need to account for other types of income that are subject to the time-and-a-half multiplier.
Here is a general step-by-step formula:
1. Start with an employee’s hourly rate.
2. Calculate the time-and-a-half rate by multiplying the regular rate by 1.5.
3. Identify the employee’s total hours worked to determine how many hours are beyond 40.
4. Multiply the regular rate by the regular hours to calculate standard pay.
5. Multiply the time-and-a-half rate by the overtime hours to calculate time-and-a-half pay.
6. Sum standard and time-and-a-half pay to calculate total weekly pay.
Let’s put this formula into practice on the example of a non-exempt worker who has worked 45 hours in a week and has an hourly rate of $22:
- Regular rate: $22 per hour
- Overtime rate: $22 * 1.5 = $33 per hour
- Standard pay: $22 * 40 = $880
- Time-and-a-half pay: $33 * 5 = $165
- Total weekly pay: $880 + $165 = $1,045
Keep in mind that there are other forms of compensation (e.g., shift differential pay) that also need to be included when calculating time-and-a-half pay. They can make calculations more complex.
Let’s calculate extra pay for overtime for the same employee who worked 45 hours in a week with a $22 hourly rate, but they also received a discretionary bonus of $180:
1. Calculate the employee’s straight-time wage (excluding overtime rates) using the regular hourly rate for all hours:
- ($22 per hour * 45 hours) + $180 bonus = $1,170
2. Divide the initial total wage by the number of hours to determine the new, increased rate of pay:
- $1,170 / 45 = $26 per hour
3. Using the new rate as standard, calculate the time-and-a-half rate:
- $26 * 1.5 = $39 per hour
4. Calculate total compensation:
- ($26 per hour * 40 hours) + ($39 per hour * 5 hours) = $1,235
Legal Considerations for Employers
Employers are legally required to comply with the FLSA overtime rules. Not doing so will likely result in severe fines and legal consequences. As such, calculating and providing time-and-a-half pay isn’t just good business practice but a necessity.
One of the most common mistakes employers make, even when they are trying to be compliant, is classifying employees as exempt when they should be non-exempt. Many employers think that simply giving a worker a salary qualifies them for exemption, but that’s not the case.
A misclassified worker won’t be adequately compensated, as they won’t receive time-and-a-half pay for hours worked over 40.
Another frequent mistake is adhering only to the FLSA and ignoring state and local laws. For example, you may be running a business in a state that has daily thresholds for overtime rates. In that case, your employees can qualify for time-and-a-half pay if they work more than the standard hours in a day, even if their weekly work hours end up being under 40.
Moreover, in California, you should be aware of the double-time vs. time-and-a-half rates. As we’ve already mentioned, employees who work more than 12 hours a day need to be compensated at a double rate for excess hours. Giving them time-and-a-half overtime wages will result in underpayment.
Penalties for improperly handling overtime depend on the severity of the violation. Employers may end up owing double the unpaid amount, as they’ll have to pay back the unpaid overtime and the same amount in liquidated damages.
The Department of Labor can also impose civil penalties and even criminal prosecution in case of willful violations. Employees can also sue employers to recover unpaid wages, leading to costly legal fees and even reputational damages.
Why Accurate Time and a Half Calculation Matters?
Here are three main reasons why accurate time-and-a-half calculations matter:
1. Legal compliance. The primary reason to accurately calculate hourly overtime pay is to comply with the FLSA and any relevant state and local law. Failure to do so will result in costly fines that can also harm your business’s reputation.
2. Employee morale. Compensating employees fairly and on time builds trust, improves their morale, and creates a positive work environment. This boosts retention rates, increases worker satisfaction, and enhances their productivity.
3. Business decision-making. Precise calculations allow businesses to keep accurate records and predict future expenses. This makes budgeting easier, allowing employers to better manage labor costs and to make informed decisions.
Calculate and Distribute Time and a Half Pay With Paystub.org
At Paystub.org, we developed specialized software you can use to quickly and effortlessly create essential business documentation. Our generators come with professional, ready-made templates that you can use to avoid creating and formatting everything from scratch.
Moreover, the generators have built-in calculators for rates, taxes, deductions, and more. Using them maximizes your accuracy and reduces the chances of making a mistake due to manual input.
Here are the online generators that we offer:
Final Thoughts
Time-and-a-half pay—just like minimum wage—is one of the basic worker rights for non-exempt employees. It’s governed by the FLSA on a federal level, with some state and local laws imposing additional rules for employers to follow.
Knowing what time and a half is and how it affects you is essential for both employers, who need to maintain compliance, and employees, who want to ensure they get compensated properly. If you’re running a business, don’t forget that you can simplify overtime calculations and improve payroll administration by using our generators at Paystub.org.
What Is Time and a Half FAQ
#1. What employees qualify for time and a half?
Employees qualify for time and a half if they are classified as non-exempt and have worked more than 40 hours in a week. Some states have additional daily requirements, making employees eligible for time-and-a-half pay if they work more than eight hours in a day, for example.
#2. How does vacation or sick time affect overtime?
Vacation and sick time typically don’t count toward overtime. They aren’t considered work hours under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), so that time does not count when looking at the 40-hour weekly threshold.
#3. Can employers limit overtime?
Employers can limit overtime by requiring employees to obtain authorization before taking those hours. This is usually outlined in a company’s policy. However, if non-exempt employees work overtime, even without obtaining authorization, they must still be paid for those hours, but may be subject to disciplinary action.
#4. Is time and a half paid for holidays?
There is no federal law that mandates time-and-a-half pay for holidays. Employers may choose to pay their employees more for working during holidays, which they typically do to attract or retain talent.
#5. How do bonuses affect overtime calculations?
Nondiscretionary bonuses must be added to the employee’s wage when performing overtime calculations. First, multiply the employee's total hours by the rate and add a bonus. Divide the sum by total hours to get a new, increased rate. Finally, use the increased rate to calculate regular and overtime pay.
