Under the FLSA, a workweek is a fixed, regularly recurring period of 168 hours, seven consecutive 24-hour periods. It can start on any day and at any hour, but once set it stays put, and overtime is counted in each workweek separately.
| Workweek | Pay period | |
|---|---|---|
| What it is for | Counting hours for overtime | Deciding when wages are paid |
| Length | Always 168 hours | Weekly, biweekly, semimonthly or monthly |
| Start | Any day and hour, fixed | Set by the payroll calendar |
| Averaging | Not allowed across weeks | Overtime is still counted per workweek inside it |
See pay period, overtime and 9/80 work schedule for a case where the workweek start makes all the difference.
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A restaurant pays biweekly, and its workweek runs Monday 12:00 a.m. to Sunday 11:59 p.m. A prep cook earning $16 an hour works 30 hours in the first week and 50 in the second, because a coworker was out.
The two-week total is 80 hours, but each workweek stands alone. Week one has no overtime. Week two has 10 hours over 40, which must be paid at $24.
Pay is 80 x $16 = $1,280 at straight time, plus an overtime premium of 10 x $8 = $80, for $1,360. A payroll setup that checked only for hours over 80 in the pay period would have paid $1,280 and underpaid $80. The restaurant’s time system flags overtime by workweek, so the manager sees the 50-hour week before payroll closes.
Because the workweek can start on any day and at any hour, choose a start that fits your schedule. Many businesses with weekend peaks start the workweek at a quiet time, so a busy Saturday and Sunday fall in the same week and are easy to see together. Night operations often start the workweek at a shift change rather than at midnight, so one shift is not split between two weeks.
Once chosen, keep it. A change has to be meant as permanent and not designed to avoid overtime, and the start belongs in your payroll records.
| Shift | Workweek starts Monday 12:00 a.m. | Workweek starts Sunday 10:00 p.m. |
|---|---|---|
| Sunday 10:00 p.m. to Monday 6:00 a.m. | 2 hours in week one, 6 hours in week two | All 8 hours in week two |
A warehouse runs a night crew from Sunday to Thursday, 10:00 p.m. to 6:30 a.m., and its workweek starts Monday at 12:00 a.m. Every Sunday night shift splits, with 2 hours in one workweek and the rest in the next, which confuses the crew about overtime.
The company decides to move the workweek start permanently to Sunday at 10:00 p.m., the start of the night shift, and records the change. Each shift now falls in one workweek, and the labor rule alerts warn the manager before anyone goes over 40 hours.
Under the FLSA, a fixed and regularly recurring period of 168 hours, seven consecutive 24-hour periods.
No. It can begin on any day and at any hour, as long as it stays fixed.
No. Each workweek stands alone, so overtime is counted for each week separately.
Yes, if the change is meant to be permanent and is not designed to avoid paying overtime.
Hours are counted in the workweek in which they are worked, so a shift that crosses the boundary is split between the two weeks.
Yes. Different groups of employees can have different workweeks, as long as each one is fixed and regularly recurring.
Shift swaps, open shifts and time off requests live next to the schedule, with labor rule alerts before overtime adds up.