How the Georgia Overtime Calculator works
Georgia has no overtime statute of its own. Overtime pay for Georgia workers is set entirely by the federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA): non-exempt employees must be paid 1.5 times their regular rate for every hour worked beyond 40 in a single workweek. This calculator applies that rule, including the Department of Labor's method for folding bonuses and commissions into the regular rate.
The formula
Let R be the hourly rate, H the hours worked in the week, and B any non-discretionary bonus or commission earned that week. Regular hours are capped at 40 and overtime hours are the remainder:
Regular hours = min(H, 40) and Overtime hours = max(H − 40, 0)
The DOL "regular rate" is computed by spreading straight-time earnings and the bonus across all hours worked: Regular rate = (H × R + B) / H. Because straight-time pay for every hour (including overtime hours) is already counted once in that total, only an extra 0.5× premium is owed on top for the overtime hours:
Overtime pay = (Overtime hours × R) + (0.5 × Regular rate × Overtime hours)
Total gross pay for the week is regular-hours pay plus overtime pay plus the bonus. When there is no bonus, the regular rate equals the hourly rate and the formula reduces to the familiar "time-and-a-half": overtime hours × 1.5 × hourly rate.
Worked example
Take an $18.50/hour employee who works 46 hours in a week with no bonus. Regular hours are 40 and overtime hours are 6. Regular pay is 40 × $18.50 = $740.00. The regular rate equals the hourly rate since there is no bonus, so overtime pay is 6 × $18.50 × 1.5 = $166.50. Total gross pay for the week is $906.50.
Why bonuses change the math
If that same employee also earned a $92 non-discretionary production bonus that week, the regular rate rises to (46 × $18.50 + $92) / 46 ≈ $20.50/hour. The overtime premium is then based on $20.50, not $18.50, so the overtime hours are worth slightly more — this is a DOL requirement, not an optional adjustment, whenever a bonus is tied to hours, output, or performance rather than being a true discretionary gift.
Weekly threshold, not daily
Georgia and the FLSA both measure overtime by the workweek, not the workday. A single 12-hour shift does not by itself create overtime; only total hours over 40 across the workweek do. This differs from states like California that also require daily overtime after 8 hours in a day.
Who this calculator assumes
The formula here applies to non-exempt hourly employees. Many salaried employees who pass the FLSA duties test and earn above the federal salary threshold are classified as exempt and are not owed overtime under this rule. If exemption status is unclear, that should be confirmed separately before relying on these figures.