Nurse Overtime Pay, Explained

When overtime starts

Employers define overtime with one or both of these thresholds:

• Weekly: paid hours past a weekly limit, most often 40. Three 12-hour shifts (36 hours) stay under it; a fourth crosses it.
• Daily: paid hours past a limit in one shift, such as 8 or 12. Some states and many union contracts use daily overtime.

When both apply, each overtime hour is counted once, using whichever threshold gives more overtime for that shift.

What overtime pays

The usual multiplier is 1.5× (time-and-a-half); some contracts pay 2× (double time) after a longer threshold. Pay stubs and Nurse Pay usually show overtime in two parts: base pay for every hour, and an overtime premium — the extra 0.5× — for overtime hours.

Differentials and the overtime rate

Overtime is paid on your regular rate. Under the federal Fair Labor Standards Act, the regular rate generally includes shift differentials, so it's a blend: (base pay + hourly differential pay) ÷ hours. That makes overtime on a night shift worth more than overtime on a day shift.

Example: 12.5 paid hours at $50 with a $5 night differential and daily overtime after 12. Blending the differential in, the overtime premium is $13.75; on base rate alone it would be $12.50. Flat per-shift payments aren't hourly, so Nurse Pay leaves them out of the blend.

Things that change the answer

• Unpaid breaks don't count toward thresholds.
• The work week is fixed by your employer (for example Sunday–Saturday). A night shift that crosses into the new week splits its hours between the two weeks.
• Alternative arrangements for hospitals, such as an 80-hours-in-14-days period, exist. Enter the thresholds your employer actually uses.
• PTO, on-call and education hours may or may not count toward the weekly threshold, depending on policy.

Run your own numbers — a single shift or a whole week — in the nurse overtime calculator. Your employer's policy, contract and applicable law determine your actual overtime.