Blended Overtime Rate Calculator
Work two or more pay rates in one week? Find your FLSA weighted-average regular rate and the overtime premium owed on hours over 40.
The FLSA Rule for Multiple Pay Rates
When a non-exempt employee works at two or more rates of pay during the same workweek, the Fair Labor Standards Act does not let the employer simply pay overtime at one of those rates. Instead, overtime must be based on a single weighted-average regular rate. You take the total straight-time earnings (each rate multiplied by the hours worked at that rate) and divide by the total number of hours worked in the week. The result is the blended regular rate, and it sits between the highest and lowest rates the employee earned.
Once you have that blended rate, the overtime calculation is straightforward. Any hours over 40 in the workweek are overtime hours. Because every hour worked was already paid at its straight-time rate, those overtime hours only need an additional one-half of the blended rate. Add that overtime premium to the straight-time pay and you have the total pay due for the week. This is often called the half-time method, and it is the standard way to handle overtime for mixed-rate workweeks under federal law.
For example, suppose someone works 30 hours at $20 and 20 hours at $25 in one week. Total straight-time pay is $600 plus $500, or $1,100, across 50 hours. The blended rate is $1,100 divided by 50, which is $22 an hour. There are 10 overtime hours, so the overtime premium is half of $22 times 10, or $110. Total pay due is $1,210.
Why the Blended Rate Matters
Getting the regular rate right is one of the most common sources of overtime errors and back-pay claims. If an employer pays overtime using only the lower of two rates, the worker is shortchanged. If the employer uses only the higher rate, the cost is overstated. The weighted-average approach is the legally correct middle path, and using it protects both sides. Employees can confirm they were paid fairly, and employers can document compliance with a clear, defensible method.
Multiple-rate weeks are far more common than people assume. A worker might hold two positions for the same employer at different rates, earn a shift differential for nights or weekends, pick up a higher rate for operating equipment or covering a tougher assignment, or split time across departments. Hospitals, restaurants, warehouses, and staffing-heavy businesses run into this constantly. Whenever the rates differ inside a single workweek and the employee passes 40 hours, the blended calculation applies and a single average rate must be used for the overtime premium.
It also matters because the regular rate can include more than just hourly wages. Nondiscretionary bonuses, certain incentive pay, and shift differentials generally have to be folded into total straight-time earnings before you divide by hours. Leaving qualifying pay out of the calculation understates the regular rate and the overtime owed, which is exactly the kind of mistake that triggers wage disputes.
Interpreting Your Results and State Differences
The calculator shows your blended regular rate per hour, your total straight-time pay, the overtime premium for hours over 40, and the total pay due, along with your total hours and overtime hours. Read the blended rate as the single number the law treats as your regular rate for that week. The overtime premium line is the extra half-time amount layered on top of pay you already earned, which is why the total pay due is the most important figure to check against your paycheck.
Remember that this tool follows the federal FLSA method and assumes overtime begins after 40 hours in a single workweek. Some states set different and more generous rules. California uses daily overtime thresholds and generally bases overtime on the rate in effect during the overtime hours rather than a blanket average, and other states have their own variations. Where state law requires a larger payment than the federal calculation, the employer must follow the state rule. When in doubt, confirm the requirements with your state labor agency.
Finally, this calculator reports gross pay before taxes and deductions, and it covers multiple hourly rates rather than every possible pay component. If you receive qualifying bonuses or differentials, add their value into your straight-time earnings so the blended rate reflects your true regular rate. Used that way, the results give you a reliable check on whether your overtime was calculated correctly.