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Ask the Experts: Overtime and Paid Time Off

Question: Should we include holidays, PTO, vacation, or other leave taken during the workweek in calculating overtime premium pay under FLSA rules?

Answer: No. Because holiday, PTO, and vacation hours are not actually hours worked they do not count towards overtime pay.

Under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), an employer who requires or permits an employee to work overtime is generally required to pay the employee premium pay for such overtime work. Unless specifically exempted, employees covered by the FLSA must receive overtime pay for hours worked in excess of 40 in a workweek at a rate not less than time and one-half their regular rates of pay. The key consideration for premium pay under the FLSA is whether or not the employee actually works more than 40 hours in the workweek, not just that he or she is paid for more than 40 hours in the workweek.

For example, an employee is off work for one day for a company-paid holiday and takes the next day as a paid vacation day. He then works 10 hours for the next three days of the workweek. Under the FLSA, he would be paid straight time at his regular rate for the 46 hours recorded for that week as follows: 8 hours of holiday pay + 8 hours of vacation pay + 30 hours of regular pay for time worked = 46 hours at his regular pay rate.

Employers should also check state laws for overtime requirements regarding holiday and vacation time.

Originally posted on thinkhr.com

6 responses to “Ask the Experts: Overtime and Paid Time Off

  1. So I worked 50 hours I had an approved 8 hours of pto. My PTO was removed and put back into my bucket. Stating I cant have PTO and overtime in the same week. Is this orrect in Florida?

  2. No. You can have all sorts of leave types on your timecard for any given week, including PTO. The question you should be asking is, “Does PTO count towards the calculation of overtime?” Overtime, at a minimum, is calculated by adding all the hours actually worked in a workweek. Since PTO, annual and sick leaves are not time worked, they are usually excluded from the calculation of overtime.

  3. Can my employer use my pto for a sick day and because I worked overtime then take 8 hours of that to pay me for the same missed day? It resulting me being paid 16 hours straight time for that day.

  4. If I did not work Friday because it was approved as vacation time, Saturday is my shifts turn to work but I am on vacation. Can my employeer deduct those hours from my personal time because I did not show up?

  5. If I am paid biweekly and work over 40 hours the 1st week of the pay period and and take 3 pto days the second week of the period, can the employer use the PTO taken the second week of the pay period to reduce the O.T. worked the first week of the pay period to avoid paying for the overtime worked in the first week of the pay period ? I thought an employer in Florida has to pay O.T. for any hours worked over 40 hours in one week. How can they use pto taken the 2nd week of the pay period to reduce the number of hours worked in the first week of the pay period for purposes of calculating O.T. pay?

  6. Question? I worked Tuesday through Friday 8 hours and took a vacation day Monday but I had 7 hours overtime and get paid time and a half on overtime can they take your overtime away instead of vacation time ?

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