Salaried Non-Exempt Overtime: How to Calculate It When Your Weekly Salary Covers a Set Number of Hours

A hotel night auditor, a call-center agent on a rotating roster, or a plant operator is paid a flat weekly salary. One week the schedule has four 12-hour shifts, so the week is 48 hours. Is there an overtime line on the stub, and if so, what is it based on?

"Salaried" and "no overtime" are often treated as the same thing. Under federal law they are not. Whether overtime is owed depends on the job and the pay arrangement, and when it is owed to a salaried worker, the overtime rate comes from one division: the salary divided by the hours it is meant to cover.

Step 1: A salary alone does not make you exempt

Federal overtime (the Fair Labor Standards Act, or FLSA) is half again the regular rate for hours over 40 in a workweek. Some employees are exempt from it, but the exemption is not decided by being on a salary or by a job title. 29 CFR § 541.2 says a job title alone is insufficient: exempt or non-exempt status depends on whether the employee's salary and duties meet the requirements of the regulations.

On the salary side, the executive, administrative and professional exemptions need a salary of at least $684 per week, per the text of § 541.600(a) as published on the eCFR through 2026-10-07. That is only the first test; the job duties have to fit as well. A person paid a salary who fails either test is salaried non-exempt: the salary is real, and overtime is still owed. This post is about that group. Whether your own job is exempt is a question for your employer's written classification, the Department of Labor, or an employment lawyer.

Step 2: The formula

The regular rate is always a rate per hour. 29 CFR § 778.109 says an employer need not pay by the hour, but when pay is a salary, overtime must be computed on the hourly rate derived from it. For a weekly salary, § 778.113(a) gives the method:

regular rate = weekly salary ÷ the number of hours the salary is intended to compensate

The regulation's own example: a $350 salary understood to cover a regular 35-hour week gives $350 ÷ 35 = $10 an hour. When that employee works overtime, they get $10 for each of the first 40 hours and $15 (one and one-half times $10) for each hour after that. A $375 salary for a 40-hour week gives a regular rate of $9.38.

Two details matter for shift workers:

• The divisor is not "whatever you worked this week." It is the number of hours the salary was meant to cover. That comes from the hiring terms, not from the week's total.
• Hours between what the salary covers and 40 are paid at the regular rate. In the regulation's example, a worker whose salary covers 35 hours is owed straight-rate pay for hours 36 through 40, and the 1.5x rate only after 40.

Worked example: $1,000 weekly salary, a 48-hour week

A night auditor has a $1,000 weekly salary and works four 12-hour shifts: 48 hours, which is 8 hours over 40.

Case A: the salary is understood to cover a 40-hour week.

• Regular rate: $1,000 ÷ 40 = $25.00 per hour
• The first 40 hours are covered by the salary: $1,000
• Overtime: 8 × ($25.00 × 1.5) = 8 × $37.50 = $300
• Total for the week: $1,000 + $300 = $1,300

Case B: the salary is understood to cover a 36-hour week (three 12s).

• Regular rate: $1,000 ÷ 36 = $27.78 per hour (27.7778 before rounding)
• Hours 37 through 40 at the regular rate: 4 × $27.7778 = $111.11
• Overtime: 8 × ($27.7778 × 1.5) = 8 × $41.6667 = $333.33
• Total for the week: $1,000 + $111.11 + $333.33 = $1,444.44

The same salary and the same 48 hours differ by $1,444.44 − $1,300 = $144.44 in one week, depending on what the salary was meant to cover. A week that matches what the salary covers has no extra pay in either case: 36 hours with a 36-hour understanding, or 40 hours with a 40-hour understanding, is $1,000.

Monthly and semimonthly salaries

Many salaried workers are paid twice a month, not weekly. § 778.113(b) says a salary that covers a longer period must be reduced to its workweek equivalent first:

• Monthly salary: multiply by 12, divide by 52.
• Semimonthly salary: multiply by 24, divide by 52.

Example: a semimonthly salary of $2,600 for a 40-hour week is $2,600 × 24 = $62,400, divided by 52 = $1,200.00 per week, so the regular rate is $1,200 ÷ 40 = $30.00 per hour. A 48-hour week then carries 8 × $45.00 = $360 of overtime. The regulation also lets the parties set another method, such as dividing by working days in the month, as long as the result is not below the minimum wage.

When the answer is different: the fluctuating workweek

There is one arrangement where a salary covers every hour you work, however many. Under § 778.114, an employer may use the fluctuating workweek method only when all the listed conditions are met, including hours that actually fluctuate from week to week, a fixed salary that does not vary with the hours, and a clear and mutual understanding that the salary pays for all hours worked. Then the regular rate is the salary divided by the hours actually worked, and only half-time is owed on the overtime hours.

On the same 48-hour week, with a $1,000 salary: $1,000 ÷ 48 = $20.83 regular rate, and 8 × ($20.83 × 0.5) = 8 × $10.42 = $83.33 of overtime, a total of $1,083.33. That is $216.67 less than Case A. The difference is why it matters which arrangement your employer says it uses. If your hours do not fluctuate and the understanding is not clear, this method may not apply; ask. For the full method, see the fluctuating workweek explained.

Where your pay can still differ

• Bonuses and differentials. A night differential or a promised bonus is part of what the regular rate is built from, so a salary plus a night premium does not divide as simply as above. See shift differential vs. overtime and overtime with two pay rates.
• Which week the hours land in. Overtime is figured per workweek, and your employer sets when the workweek starts. See the employer-designated workweek. A night shift that crosses the boundary can move hours from one week to the next.
• A day rate is a different formula. If you are paid per shift, not per week, see day-rate overtime.
• State rules. Some states require overtime after 8 or 12 hours in a day, which a weekly salary does not erase. See 12-hour shifts in daily overtime states.
• Contract terms. A written overtime promise that pays more than the federal minimum controls.

What to ask before you pick up the extra shift

1. How many hours does my salary cover? Ask for it in writing: 40, 36, 42, or "all hours worked."
2. Is my position classified as exempt or non-exempt, and on what basis?
3. How is the overtime rate figured (salary divided by what number)?
4. Which day does the workweek start?
5. Does my stub show an overtime line in a week over 40? If not, ask payroll for the pay-code breakdown.

Do the two-line check yourself: weekly salary ÷ covered hours = rate, then hours over 40 × rate × 1.5. If the stub matches neither a clear understanding nor your arithmetic, that is the moment to ask.

This is general information on federal rules (the FLSA and its regulations), not legal advice. Your classification, contract, and state law decide your actual pay.

Counting hours per workweek is easier when your shifts are on a calendar. Duty Pals, a shift calendar for Android, is free on Google Play, and the free shift pattern calculator on this site lays a rotation against real dates so you can see how many hours fall in each workweek.