Construction Overtime Calculator: Multi-Rate Crew Weeks (2026)

Most Construction Weeks Have Two Rates, Not One

A carpenter who spent 18 hours as a laborer earned two rates that week. Overtime is owed on the weighted average of the hours actually worked in each classification — not on whichever rate was active at hour 41. The construction overtime calculator builds that average for you.

| Line | Amount |

| --- | --- |

| 30 hrs carpenter at $34.00 | $1,020.00 |

| 18 hrs laborer at $26.00 | $468.00 |

| Straight-time earnings | $1,488.00 |

| Regular rate ($1,488 ÷ 48) | $31.00 |

| Overtime premium (8 × $15.50) | $124.00 |

| Gross pay | $1,612.00 |

Paying those 8 hours at 1.5 × $26.00 instead shorts the week by $32.

Prevailing Wage: Base and Fringe Behave Differently

On Davis-Bacon work, overtime is computed on the base hourly rate plus any cash paid in lieu of fringes — bona fide fringe benefit contributions stay out of the regular rate. Cash-in-lieu payments do not. Certified payroll also penalises classification drift, so record the split by the hour. The certified payroll calculator applies the fringe treatment.

Hours That Count Toward 40

Travel between job sites during the workday, a required report to the shop or yard before heading out, hauling materials, and mandatory toolbox talks are all hours worked. Home-to-first-site commuting normally is not. Getting this wrong is the most common way a 38-hour week is actually a 43-hour week.

Daily Overtime and Double Time

California, Alaska, Nevada and Colorado add daily rules, and on long pours a shift can cross into double time. Order of operations matters — the California double time calculator applies the sequence a compliant system uses. Your state rule is on your state overtime page.

Before You Sign the Time Sheet

Check three lines: the classification split by hour, whether cash-in-lieu was folded into the rate, and whether site-to-site travel was captured. More background in the construction payroll guide.