Davis-Bacon Overtime Calculator
Work out overtime on a prevailing wage job in a few seconds: one and one-half times the basic hourly rate for hours over 40, the fringe owed for every hour, and the week's gross. Free, no signup, no limits.
How it adds up
- Straight time: 40 hours at $38.50 = $1,540.00
- Overtime rate: $38.50 × 1.5 = $57.75 an hour
- Overtime pay: 6 hours at $57.75 = $346.50, of which the premium (the extra half) is $115.50
- Wages: $1,540.00 + $346.50 = $1,886.50
- Fringe: 46 hours at $18.25, no premium = $839.50, paid to a plan, in cash, or a mix
This is arithmetic, not compliance advice. It does not check the wage determination, the worker's classification, whether the fringe plan is bona fide, or hours worked on other jobs.
The rules behind the math
- Hours over 40 are overtime. On contracts subject to the Contract Work Hours and Safety Standards Act, generally federal and federally assisted construction over $100,000, every hour over 40 in the workweek is paid at no less than one and one-half times the basic rate.
- The basic rate is the floor, not the fringe. Overtime is figured on the basic rate, never lower than the wage determination's basic hourly rate. Fringe benefits, whether paid to a plan or in cash in lieu, are owed per hour at the straight amount.
- Mistakes cost more than the premium. Unpaid overtime brings back wages plus $33 in liquidated damages for each worker for each day worked over 40 hours without overtime pay.
Sources: 29 CFR 5.5(b) and 5.32.
Questions
How is overtime calculated on a Davis-Bacon job?
Davis-Bacon itself sets hourly rates, not overtime. Overtime comes from the Contract Work Hours and Safety Standards Act, which covers most federal and federally assisted construction contracts over $100,000: every hour over 40 in the workweek must be paid at no less than one and one-half times the basic rate of pay. The basic rate can never be lower than the basic hourly rate on the wage determination (29 CFR 5.5(b)(1) and 5.32).
Do fringe benefits get time and a half too?
No. Fringe benefits paid to a bona fide plan, and cash paid in lieu of fringe benefits, are left out of the rate overtime is figured on (29 CFR 5.32). The fringe rate is owed for every hour worked, overtime hours included, at the straight amount. If extra pay is simply part of the hourly wage rather than a stated payment in lieu of fringe benefits, overtime is due on the full rate paid.
What are the $33 a day liquidated damages?
When a contractor covered by the Contract Work Hours and Safety Standards Act fails to pay required overtime, it owes the unpaid wages plus liquidated damages to the United States of $33 for each worker for each calendar day that worker worked over 40 hours in the workweek without overtime pay (29 CFR 5.5(b)(2)). Contract payments can be withheld to cover both.
Does this calculator check that my payroll complies?
No. It does the overtime arithmetic for the numbers you type. It does not know whether you are using the right wage determination, whether the worker is in the right classification, whether your fringe plan is bona fide, or how many hours were worked on other jobs that week. For a whole weekly payroll checked row by row, use the WH-347 certified payroll pre-check.
Checking a whole week? The WH-347 certified payroll pre-check recomputes every row of the payroll against your wage determination, and for a payroll that passes, gives you the completed WH-347 ready to sign.