Start with the question you need to answer: how many hours count as work, whether a break belongs in that total, or which overtime rule applies. These guides explain the underlying rules and show when a PayHoursLab calculator can help you check the arithmetic. Employment rules can vary by state and by job.
Work hours and time records
- How Many Hours a Week Is Part-Time? — Compare common schedules with the different definitions employers and programs may use.
- How Many Hours Is Full-Time? — Understand why there is no single full-time threshold for every U.S. employment purpose.
- Time Clock Rounding Rules — Check the 7-minute rule, compare actual punches with rounded hours and examine a full week of examples.
Rest breaks and meal periods
- Are Breaks Paid? — See when short rest breaks count as hours worked and when a duty-free meal period may be unpaid under the federal baseline.
- California Meal and Rest Breaks — Review the state’s separate timing, pay and missed-break rules.
Overtime pay
- California Overtime Rules — Follow the general daily, weekly, double-time and seventh-day thresholds with worked examples.
- California 4/10 Work Schedule and Overtime — Compare four 10-hour shifts with and without a valid alternative schedule, and check election records.
- Does Holiday Pay Count Toward Overtime? — Separate holiday hours paid but not worked from hours actually worked, with two weekly pay examples.
- Overtime Pay With Two Hourly Rates — Calculate a weighted regular rate and the additional overtime premium when one employer pays two rates.
Paid leave and PTO
- California Paid Sick Leave: Accrual and Use — Compare hours-worked accrual with up-front leave, annual use and carryover.
- California Vacation and PTO Payout — Identify payable vacation or combined PTO, estimate the gross amount and check the general final-pay deadlines.
Check your own numbers
Use the work hours calculator for one shift or the time card calculator for seven days of clock times. The federal overtime calculator illustrates a basic weekly pay estimate; the California overtime calculator handles its stated daily, weekly and seventh-day assumptions. Read each tool’s limitations before comparing an estimate with a pay statement.
Our editorial policy explains how we use sources and review these guides.