What Is Chinese Overtime? | Swartz Swidler
Chinese overtime, which is also called a variable workweek or half-time method of overtime calculation, involves the fluctuating workweek method to calculate overtime as permitted under the federal Fair Labor Standards Act. Employers use this method in order to save money. While using this method is legal, some employers calculate the pay incorrectly. If your employer uses this method and has failed to pay you enough for your overtime hours, you might want to consult with the employment law attorneys at Swartz Swidler.
How the fluctuating workweek works
Overtime pay is traditionally paid at a rate of 1.5 times the worker’s standard hourly pay for each hour that he or she works over 40 in a week. When employers use the Chinese overtime calculation, they use salaries that are paid for all of the hours worked during the week. For the hours that an employee works over 40 hours, he or she will receive half-time pay as calculated with the Chinese overtime formula. The employer figures out what the employee’s normal base rate pay by dividing the fixed salary by the number of hours worked. The fixed salary amount is supposed to be the payment of straight time for all of the hours that were worked. The additional half-time amount is only paid for the added hours worked beyond 40….continue reading.
Originally published at https://swartz-legal.com.
