Q. What is a "workweek?"
A. The term "workweek" means a period of 168 hours during 7 consecutive 24-hour periods – a 7 consecutive day period. A workweek can begin on any day of the week chosen by the employer, and each workweek stands alone; therefore, an employer cannot average 2 or more workweeks when calculating overtime. If an employee works more than 40 hours in any 1 workweek, regardless of how many hours were worked in the prior or following workweek, they are entitled to overtime pay for those hours.
Example:
With a few exceptions for special classes of workers, if an employee works 50 hours in one workweek and then 30 hours the following workweek, they are entitled to 10 hours of overtime pay for the first workweek, even though the average for the two week period is 40 hours per week.
