March 4, 2022

Spring Forward … Straight Time or Overtime?

The arrival of daylight-saving time requires clocks to be moved forward one hour at 2:00 a.m. on Sunday, March 13. As a result, shift workers who are on duty at that time and who normally work an eight-hour shift will work only seven hours.

"Some employers decide to pay the normal eight hours of pay for that shift as a matter of policy, but under the Fair Labor Standards Act, they are not required to include the additional hour of pay when calculating an employee's regular rate for overtime," noted Heidi Henson, JD, CCH workplace analyst.

For example, if someone works 40 hours in the week, the additional hour's pay for that daylight-saving hour would be at straight time, not overtime. Even if the employee works over 40 hours in the city’s defined workweek, that one hour would not have to be included in the overtime calculations.

Contact KLC Personnel Services Manager Andrea Shindlebower Main or Municipal Law Attorney Chris Johnson for more information on this or any personnel-related matters.