How this instrument works
New York's overtime rule looks to the federal Fair Labor Standards Act for its basic shape: 1.5 times the regular hourly rate for every hour worked past 40 in a single workweek, and nothing extra for how those hours fell across the days. The state writes the same threshold into its own regulation, 12 NYCRR 142-2.2, which the New York State Department of Labor enforces alongside the federal Wage and Hour Division, so a worker underpaid on this formula can pursue a claim through either agency. Unlike California, New York sets no separate trigger tied to a single long day; a ten-hour Tuesday inside a 38-hour week still owes no overtime at all.
Where New York adds real texture is the floor beneath that 1.5x multiplier. The state sets its minimum wage regionally rather than as one statewide figure: New York City, Long Island and Westchester County share one rate, and the remainder of the state runs a second, lower rate on its own schedule. Overtime pay can never fall below 1.5 times whichever regional minimum applies to that job, so a worker paid near the floor in Buffalo and an otherwise identical worker in Queens can see different dollar minimums for the same tenth hour, even though the 40-hour trigger and the 1.5x multiplier are identical statewide.
New York also runs a second, separate wage rule this instrument does not touch: spread of hours pay. If the interval between the start and the end of a workday, including any unpaid meal break, runs past 10 hours, the employer owes one additional hour at the basic minimum wage, regardless of how many hours were actually worked inside that span. A payroll clerk closing out a New York workweek, a retail or restaurant employee checking a stub against a schedule, and an HR generalist drafting a wage notice under the state's Wage Theft Prevention Act all reach for a calculation shaped like this one, but spread-of-hours pay, tip credits for service workers, and any non-discretionary bonus folded into the regular rate all sit outside what a single weekly total can price.
- Enter your straight-time pay in Hourly rate, $ — the rate before any overtime premium applies.
- Enter the hours worked up to 40 in Regular hours (up to 40).
- Enter whatever ran past 40 that same week in Overtime hours (beyond 40).
- Read Regular pay, $ and Overtime pay, $ for the two components, priced separately.
- Check Total weekly pay, $ for the full week's wage — the two figures added together.
Worked example — $20 an hour, 40 regular and 10 overtime hours
Set Hourly rate, $ to 20, Regular hours (up to 40) to 40, and Overtime hours (beyond 40) to 10 — a full 40-hour week plus a day and a quarter of overtime on top. Regular pay, $ reads $800.00, the first 40 hours priced at the plain $20 rate. Overtime pay, $ reads $300.00, the 10 extra hours priced at $30 an hour, the 1.5x rate New York's own overtime regulation, 12 NYCRR 142-2.2, requires past the 40-hour mark.
Total weekly pay, $ comes to $1,100.00, the two figures added together. New York applies that same 1.5x threshold whether the shift happened in Manhattan or in a small town near the Pennsylvania border — the 40-hour weekly trigger does not move by region. What does move regionally is the minimum wage beneath it, so a worker paid closer to the floor than this $20 example would see the overtime rate anchored to a different regional minimum depending on where the job sits.
Questions
Does New York have a daily overtime rule like California?
No. New York counts overtime only by the workweek — cross 40 hours and the excess pays at 1.5 times the regular rate, however those hours fell across the days. California adds an 8-hour daily trigger on top of its weekly one; New York's own regulation, 12 NYCRR 142-2.2, sets no equivalent, so a 12-hour Monday inside a 36-hour week still owes nothing extra here.
What is New York's 'spread of hours' rule, and does this calculator include it?
It is a separate requirement, not part of this weekly total. If the span between the start and end of a workday, including any unpaid meal break, exceeds 10 hours, the employer owes one additional hour of pay at the basic minimum wage, regardless of hours actually worked. This instrument prices Regular pay, $ and Overtime pay, $ only; check spread-of-hours pay separately against your daily schedule.
Does New York's regional minimum wage change this calculation?
Only the floor beneath it. New York sets one minimum wage for New York City, Long Island and Westchester County, and a second, lower one for the rest of the state, and overtime pay can never fall below 1.5 times whichever rate applies locally. This calculator uses whatever Hourly rate, $ you enter and does not check it against either regional minimum.
Does the regular rate used here include tips, bonuses or commissions?
No — this instrument treats Hourly rate, $ as the whole regular rate. Under federal and New York law, non-discretionary bonuses, commissions and certain shift differentials must be folded into the regular rate before the 1.5x multiplier applies, which can push the true overtime rate above a simple hourly figure. Add any such pay to the rate you enter here to approximate that fuller calculation.
Who enforces New York's overtime law, and what happens if an employer gets it wrong?
The New York State Department of Labor enforces the state's wage and hour rules, alongside the federal Wage and Hour Division for FLSA claims. New York's Wage Theft Prevention Act also requires written pay notices and lets underpaid workers recover liquidated damages on top of back pay, which is why an employer routinely miscalculating Overtime pay, $ carries real financial risk beyond the missed wages themselves.
References
- New York State Department of Labor — Minimum wage
- U.S. Department of Labor — Overtime Pay under the FLSA
Read this first: This instrument shows arithmetic, not advice. Real offers add fees, taxes and terms that vary by lender and place — verify the figures against your actual paperwork before deciding anything.