07

The regular rate: how any pay structure becomes an hourly number

Overtime math always starts in the same place: a regular rate expressed per hour. This chapter shows how hourly, piece-rate, day-rate, salaried, commission, and bonus pay all get converted into that one hourly figure.

In this chapter

• +The regular rate is always computed as an hourly rate, even for employees who are never paid by the hour.
• +Piece-rate, day-rate, and salaried pay each convert to an hourly regular rate through a different calculation, and the fluctuating workweek method adds a fifth path with its own strict conditions.
• +Commissions and most bonuses must be added into the regular rate before overtime is figured; only genuinely discretionary or gift-type bonuses can be left out.