Definition: A split shift is a schedule in which an employee works two or more separate periods in the same workday, separated by an unpaid break that is longer than a typical meal period. For example, an employee might work 6:00 to 10:00 a.m. and again from 4:00 to 8:00 p.m.
Split shifts let businesses staff up for peaks, such as breakfast and dinner rushes, morning and evening commutes, or care visits at the start and end of the day, without paying for slow hours in between. Employees may value the flexibility or find the long day difficult. Either way, employers need to track each work period accurately and know when the gap counts as work time.
The employee clocks in for the first work period, clocks out at the end of it, and clocks back in for the second. Only the actual work periods are paid, as long as the employee is genuinely free during the gap.
Lee works at a cafe at $17.00 per hour on a split shift: 6:00 to 10:00 a.m. and 4:00 to 8:00 p.m., five days a week.
| Item | Calculation | Result |
|---|---|---|
| Daily hours worked | 4 + 4 | 8 hours |
| Unpaid gap | 10:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m. | 6 hours |
| Weekly hours | 8 x 5 | 40 hours |
| Weekly pay | 40 x $17.00 | $680.00 |
Now suppose that on two days Lee's manager asks Lee to stay near the cafe and handle catering pickups during the gap, for 1 hour each day. Those 2 hours are work time. Lee's week becomes 42 hours: 40 x $17.00 = $680.00 plus 2 x $25.50 = $51.00, for a total of $731.00. The time card calculator can help total split-shift days.
The FLSA does not use the term "split shift" or require a premium for it. What matters is whether time counts as hours worked. The Department of Labor's hours worked fact sheet distinguishes between an employee who is "engaged to wait," whose waiting time is work time, and one who is "waiting to be engaged," whose time is not work time. A long gap in which the employee is completely relieved and free to leave and use the time as they wish is generally not hours worked.
The same fact sheet explains that work "suffered or permitted" must be paid, and that short rest periods count as working time. If an employee answers work calls, preps food, or runs errands for the business during the gap, that time is compensable. The regulations on meal periods at 29 CFR 785.19 also explain that a bona fide meal period requires the employee to be completely relieved from duty; the same principle of full relief is useful when evaluating a split-shift gap.
Overtime is still calculated per workweek. Under the Department of Labor's Fact Sheet #23, non-exempt employees must receive at least 1.5 times their regular rate for hours over 40 in a workweek, regardless of how those hours are divided within each day.
Some states and cities have rules that affect split shifts, such as split-shift premiums, minimum rest between work periods, or limits on the total span of a workday. Predictive scheduling laws can also apply. For example, Oregon's predictive scheduling law and Seattle's Secure Scheduling Ordinance both require time-and-a-half pay, for covered employers, for hours worked within 10 hours after the end of a previous shift (with exceptions, including when an employee requests or agrees to the timing in Oregon). Check whether how these laws define a "shift" affects a split schedule in your location, and confirm requirements with your state or city labor agency.
| Schedule | What it looks like | Key pay question |
|---|---|---|
| Split shift | Two work periods with a long unpaid gap the same day | Is the employee fully free during the gap? |
| Meal break | One continuous shift with a short off-duty period to eat | Is the employee completely relieved from duty? |
| "Clopening" | A closing shift followed by an opening shift the next morning | Do local rest-between-shifts rules apply? |
| On-call | Available to work if called | How restricted is the employee's time? |
Labeling each schedule type correctly in your time system makes it easier to apply the right pay rules and to answer employee questions about why certain time was or was not paid.
EZTime handles split shifts cleanly. Shift templates and AI shift scheduling let you build split schedules once and reuse them, while employees clock in and out for each work period with a GPS mobile time clock with geofencing, NFC tags, a tablet kiosk, or biometric clocks. Overtime and break alerts flag long weeks, shift swaps with manager approval keep coverage flexible, and timecard corrections are recorded in an audit trail. Payroll-ready Excel and PDF exports work with any payroll software; EZTime does not run payroll. Plans start at $2 per employee per month with a 14-day trial. See scheduling software and pricing.
This is general information, not legal advice.
Under federal rules, it depends on whether the employee is free to use the time for their own purposes. Time spent waiting to be engaged, when the employee is completely relieved, is generally not work time. Time spent engaged to wait is work time.
Federal law does not require a split-shift premium. Some states and localities have their own split-shift or minimum-rest rules, so check the laws where you operate.
The same way as any other schedule. All hours actually worked in the workweek are added together, and non-exempt employees earn at least time and a half for hours over 40.
No. A meal break is a short period, ordinarily 30 minutes or more, within a continuous shift. A split shift has a longer gap between two separate work periods, often several hours.