Glossary
The words we use, defined once. Same word, same meaning, everywhere on HoursReady.
- Regular hours
- Hours paid at the normal rate. Under federal rules, the first 40 hours in a workweek.
- Overtime
- Hours paid at a premium, usually 1.5 times the regular rate. Federal law: hours over 40 in a workweek. Some states also count hours over 8 in a day.
- Time and a half
- 1.5 times the regular rate. The usual overtime rate.
- Double time
- 2 times the regular rate. Required in a few states, for example California for hours over 12 in a workday.
- Workweek
- A fixed, repeating period of 168 hours: 7 consecutive 24-hour days. The employer picks when it starts. Federal overtime is counted per workweek.
- Workday
- A 24-hour period that starts at the same time each day. Used for daily overtime in states that have it.
- Pay period
- The span of time one paycheck covers: weekly, biweekly, semi-monthly or monthly. A pay period can contain more than one workweek.
- Biweekly
- Every 14 days. 26 pay periods in most years.
- Semi-monthly
- Twice a month on set dates, often the 1st–15th and 16th–end of month. 24 pay periods a year.
- Punch
- One clock-in or clock-out time recorded by a time clock or written on a time card.
- Time card
- The record of punches for one employee for one period, with the hours worked each day.
- Decimal hours
- Hours written as a decimal instead of hours and minutes. 7 hours 45 minutes = 7.75 hours. Minutes ÷ 60 gives the decimal.
- Military time
- 24-hour time. 1:30 PM is written 1330.
- Rounding
- Adjusting punches to a set increment, such as the nearest 5, 6 or 15 minutes. Allowed under federal rules only if it is neutral: it must not favour the employer over time.
- 7-minute rule
- A common way of rounding to the nearest quarter hour: 1 to 7 minutes past rounds down, 8 to 14 minutes rounds up. 8:07 becomes 8:00; 8:08 becomes 8:15.
- Regular rate
- The hourly rate used to work out overtime pay. It includes most pay for the week, such as shift differentials and non-discretionary bonuses, divided by hours worked.
- Blended rate
- A weighted average of two or more hourly rates worked in the same week. Total straight-time pay ÷ total hours. Used as the regular rate for overtime.
- Meal break
- A longer break to eat, usually 30 minutes or more. Under federal rules it is unpaid only if the employee is fully relieved of duty. Some states require one after a set number of hours.
- Rest break
- A short break, usually 5 to 20 minutes. Under federal rules it is counted as hours worked. Some states require them.
- Unpaid break
- Break time subtracted from hours worked: a meal period, ordinarily 30 minutes or more, with the employee fully relieved of duty (29 CFR 785.19). Breaks of 20 minutes or less count as paid time (29 CFR 785.18).
- Overnight shift
- A shift that crosses midnight. 22:00 to 06:00 is one 8-hour shift, not two.
- Gross pay
- Pay before taxes and deductions: regular pay plus overtime and other premiums.
- Exempt
- An employee not entitled to overtime because of their duties and salary. Exemption is a legal question; HoursReady does not decide it.
- Non-exempt
- An employee entitled to overtime. HoursReady's overtime results assume non-exempt.
- Flag
- A plain message HoursReady shows when a punch is missing, impossible or overlaps another. The day is left out of totals until it is fixed; HoursReady never fills in a time for you.
- Daylight-saving change
- The night clocks go back or forward one hour (in most of the US: 2:00 AM on the first Sunday in November and the second Sunday in March; not in Arizona, Hawaii or the territories). A shift over that night is 1 hour longer or shorter than its clock times show. When only clock times are entered, HoursReady counts them as entered and shows a note to check the hours.
- Payroll-ready hours
- Hours that are complete, checked, split into regular, overtime and premium, and in a format payroll can import.
HoursReady notices
Notices HoursReady shows that are not rules of law. Each says when it appears and where the facts come from.
Daylight-saving change during a shift
When clocks change during a shift, clock times cannot show the real hours: the fall-back night has one more hour than the clock shows and the spring-forward night one less. Without the real times, HoursReady counts the clock times and asks a person to check.