Blended Overtime Calculator

Fact Check: Blended Overtime Calculator

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Verified May 25, 2026How we fact-check

Summary

All 12 verifiable claims verified against Tier-1 sources (Cornell LII proxies of the U.S. Code + eCFR). The two modeled-data constants in the tool's math layer (FLSA_WEEKLY_THRESHOLD = 40 and FLSA_OT_PREMIUM_MULTIPLIER = 0.5) match the federal overtime statute and the §778.118 half-rate-top-up convention. The §778.115 / §778.117 / §778.118 / §778.211 / §778.419 quotations are exact; the §207(a)(1) / §207(g)(2) statutory excerpts are exact. The naive-comparison math (lowest-rate-as-basis and omitted-supplement) is algebraically derived from the same §778.115 weighted-average formula and produces correct underpayment deltas across the unit-test grid.

Claims — Modeled-data thresholds

2 claims

40-hour weekly overtime threshold (FLSA_WEEKLY_THRESHOLD = 40)

Appears in

the tool data model — FLSA_WEEKLY_THRESHOLD = 40

Source (primary)
https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/29/207
Source (secondary)
29 CFR §778.115 — https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/29/778.115
Verified
May 25, 2026

0.5× overtime-premium multiplier (FLSA_OT_PREMIUM_MULTIPLIER = 0.5)

Appears in

the tool data model — FLSA_OT_PREMIUM_MULTIPLIER = 0.5

Source (primary)
https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/29/778.118
Source (secondary)
29 U.S.C. §207(a)(1) — "rate not less than one and one-half times the regular rate" (the half-rate top-up when straight-time pay is counted separately)
Verified
May 25, 2026
Notes

The 0.5× formulation is mathematically equivalent to 1.5× when straight-time pay for OT hours is counted separately. The methodology § "Math derivation" explicitly documents this choice. The convention matches the §778.118 text ("extra compensation at one-half of that rate") verbatim and aligns with the sibling holiday-pay-calculator's convention.

Statutory / regulatory

9 claims

29 U.S.C. §207(a)(1) — overtime requires "longer than forty hours" at "not less than one and one-half times the regular rate"

Appears in

Methodology § "Federal framework — the regular rate is a weighted average" + FAQ: "When does the weighted-average rule apply?"

Source (primary)
https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/29/207
Verified
May 25, 2026

29 U.S.C. §207(g)(2) — alternative "rate in effect" method for multi-rate work

Appears in

Methodology § "The §7(g)(2) alternative" + FAQ: "What's the §7(g)(2) alternative and when does it apply?"

Source (primary)
https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/29/207
Verified
May 25, 2026

29 CFR §778.115 — "regular rate for that week is the weighted average of such rates"

Appears in

Methodology § "What §778.115 actually says" + FAQ: "When does the weighted-average rule apply?" + every breakdown row in the widget's result card

Source (primary)
https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/29/778.115
Verified
May 25, 2026
Notes

The regulation cross-references §§778.400 and 778.415-.421 for the §7(g)(2) alternative. The tool documents this cross-reference in the methodology page.

29 CFR §778.117 — "Commissions … are payments for hours worked and must be included in the regular rate"

Appears in

Methodology § "What §778.117 actually says" + FAQ: "Are commissions part of the regular rate?"

Source (primary)
https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/29/778.117
Verified
May 25, 2026
Notes

The "regardless of the method, frequency, or regularity" language is the anti-evasion clause and is preserved in the tool's prose.

29 CFR §778.118 — commission paid weekly is "added to the employee's other earnings … and the total is divided by the total number of hours worked in the workweek to obtain the employee's regular hourly rate," with "extra compensation at one-half of that rate for each hour worked in excess of the applicable maximum hours standard"

Appears in

Methodology § Federal framework table + Math derivation section

Source (primary)
https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/29/778.118
Verified
May 25, 2026
Notes

This regulation is what anchors the 0.5× formulation. The methodology page quotes the "extra compensation at one-half of that rate" language explicitly to justify the formulation.

29 CFR §778.211(b) — discretionary bonus test requires retaining discretion over BOTH fact AND amount "until a time quite close to the end of the period"

Appears in

Methodology § "The §211 test for 'discretionary'" + FAQ: "Which bonuses count as 'non-discretionary'?"

Source (primary)
https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/29/778.211
Verified
May 25, 2026
Notes

Cross-applied verification from the holiday-pay-calc fact-check (2026-05-24).

29 CFR §778.211(c) — non-discretionary bonuses explicitly include those promised on hiring, from collective bargaining, attendance bonuses, production bonuses, quality bonuses, and continued-employment bonuses

Appears in

FAQ: "Which bonuses count as 'non-discretionary'?" + methodology § "The §211 test for 'discretionary'"

Source (primary)
https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/29/778.211
Verified
May 25, 2026
Notes

Cross-applied verification from the holiday-pay-calc fact-check (2026-05-24).

29 U.S.C. §255(a) — FLSA back-pay statute of limitations is two years (three for willful violations)

Appears in

Methodology § "Worked example — the canonical two-job week" closing paragraph

Source (primary)
https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/29/255
Verified
May 25, 2026
Notes

The "longer windows under some state wage statutes" qualifier is intentionally soft — state-by-state SOL variation isn't enumerated in this tool's scope; the methodology mentions it to flag that the federal SOL is a floor, not a ceiling, for back-pay exposure.

29 CFR §778.419 — §7(g)(2) "rate in effect" method requires advance written agreement plus three additional conditions

Appears in

Methodology § "The §7(g)(2) alternative — narrow, requires advance agreement" + FAQ: "What's the §7(g)(2) alternative and when does it apply?"

Source (primary)
https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/29/778.419
Verified
May 25, 2026
Notes

The methodology specifically calls out that the advance-agreement requirement is what makes §7(g)(2) narrow in practice.

Math / derivation

2 claims

omittedSupplement.underpayment = (supplement × otHours) / (2 × totalHours) for any otHours > 0

Appears in

the tool data model math + unit tests for the algebraic identity

Source (primary)
Derivation in internal research notes § "Math derivation"
Verified
May 25, 2026
Notes

The omitted-supplement naive computes OT premium against (straightTime / totalHours), and the correct premium against ((straightTime + supplement) / totalHours), each times 0.5 × otHours. The difference simplifies to (supplement × otHours) / (2 × totalHours). The unit test sweeps three independent cases (single-rate, two-rate, three-rate) and confirms the identity holds in each. The implementation and the simplified-form derivation in internal research notes agree.

Lowest-rate-as-basis naive uses only rates of rows with hours > 0

Appears in

the tool data model — workedRates filters rows where hours > 0 before taking the minimum

Source (primary)
Tool implementation + unit tests for zero-hour rows
Verified
May 25, 2026
Notes

A row with a low rate but 0 hours doesn't represent work actually performed. The §7(g)(2) "rate in effect" framing is keyed to rates the employee actually worked at; the naive comparison follows the same framing. Unit test confirms: a row with $5/h × 0h alongside a row with $25/h × 50h surfaces the lowest WORKED rate of $25 (not the $5 unused row).

Sources

11 unique sources cited across the report — click to audit any claim directly against its evidence.

  1. 1.https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/29/207
  2. 2.29 CFR §778.115 — https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/29/778.115
  3. 3.https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/29/778.118
  4. 4.29 U.S.C. §207(a)(1) — "rate not less than one and one-half times the regular rate" (the half-rate top-up when straight-time pay is counted separately)
  5. 5.https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/29/778.115
  6. 6.https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/29/778.117
  7. 7.https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/29/778.211
  8. 8.https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/29/255
  9. 9.https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/29/778.419
  10. 10.Derivation in internal research notes § "Math derivation"
  11. 11.Tool implementation + unit tests for zero-hour rows

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