Workweek (FLSA)
A workweek under the Fair Labor Standards Act is a fixed, regularly recurring period of 168 consecutive hours used to compute overtime.
The workweek is seven consecutive 24-hour days, set for each employee or group of employees. Overtime for non-exempt employees is computed inside that week. The workweek is the overtime boundary and the pay periodPay period. A pay period is the recurring block of time, such as a week or a month, for which you calculate and pay wages.Click to open the term is the payroll boundary, configured separately. A week can sit partly in two semimonthly pay periods, yet its overtime still computes as one week. On biweekly payroll, each workweek stands on its own for the 40-hour test, not 80 hours across the period.
How is a workweek set and changed?
Choose a start day and start time, and apply them consistently. Document the choice rather than leaving it implicit in a system default. Configuration also has to name the shift day, the time zone, and how a shift crossing midnight is assigned. Reading the workweek off a display calendar is a named timekeeping error, since that calendar shows the pay period. A mismatch during a payroll system change can push wages into the wrong period, so check it before the first live run.
| QUESTION | RULE |
|---|---|
| Start | Any day of the week, at any hour |
| Length | 168 consecutive hours, fixed and regularly recurring |
| Groups | Different employees or groups may use different workweeks |
| Change | Permitted when meant to be permanent, not a device to avoid overtime |
| Overlap after a change | Compute overtime under both weeks and pay the greater result |
General information, not legal or tax advice. Apply current federal and state rules with qualified guidance.