New York Spread of Hours Calculation: The 10-Hour Hospitality Rule

What Is Spread of Hours Pay?

Under New York's hospitality wage order, covered employees in restaurants and all-year hotels receive an additional hour of pay at the applicable basic minimum hourly wage when their daily spread of hours exceeds ten hours. The spread is elapsed time between the beginning and end of the workday, not just time spent working.

This is a distinct payment from weekly overtime. A worker may have a spread-of-hours payment without working overtime, and may qualify for both on the same day or week. This guide focuses on the hospitality wage order; rules for other industries require separate review.

Calculate the Span, Not Just Paid Hours

Use this sequence:

• Identify the first start time in the workday.
• Identify the final finish time in that workday.
• Calculate the elapsed time between them, including meal periods and intervals off duty.
• If that span exceeds ten hours, check coverage and add the required minimum-wage hour.

The rule uses more than ten hours, not ten hours or more. A span of exactly ten hours does not meet this particular trigger; ten hours and fifteen minutes does.

For an overnight workday, account for the date change. Do not subtract clock numbers without knowing which day the final shift ended. A time duration calculator can help with elapsed time, while actual work and unpaid breaks should remain separately recorded.

Split-Shift Example

Imagine a restaurant employee works from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., then returns from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m.

• Actual work: four hours plus three hours = seven hours.
• Off-duty interval: four hours.
• Daily spread: 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. = eleven hours.

Although only seven hours were worked, the eleven-hour spread exceeds ten. For a covered employee, the spread-of-hours payment is an additional hour at the applicable basic minimum wage.

If the employee's ordinary hourly rate is $20, seven worked hours produce $140 before other adjustments. The daily total is $140 plus the applicable spread-of-hours payment. Use the minimum wage for the worker's location and the date of work—not an old statewide figure or the employee's $20 base rate by default.

One Additional Hour, Not One for Every Excess Hour

A twelve-hour spread does not mean two spread-of-hours payments simply because the span is two hours above ten. The hospitality rule calls for one additional minimum-wage hour for the qualifying day.

The wage order also states that this additional hour cannot be offset by a tip credit or meal credit, and that the provision applies regardless of a covered employee's regular rate. Earning above minimum wage does not, by itself, remove the hospitality obligation.

Keep Weekly Overtime Separate

Unpaid intervals can count in the spread without counting as hours worked for weekly overtime. In the split-shift example, the daily spread is eleven hours, but the ordinary worked-hours total is seven—not eleven or twelve.

For ordinary covered, non-exempt employees, weekly overtime generally depends on worked hours beyond 40. The wage order treats the additional spread payment separately from the regular rate used to calculate overtime. Do not turn the extra payment into a fictional worked hour.

See our restaurant overtime guide for wage examples and our New York overtime guide for the broader state context.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does a long unpaid break reset the spread?

Not merely because it is unpaid. The hospitality definition includes meal time and intervals off duty between the workday's first start and last finish.

Is spread-of-hours pay the same as time and a half?

No. It is a separate additional payment based on the applicable basic minimum wage, not a 1.5-times premium on every hour beyond ten.

Does this article cover every New York industry?

No. It explains the hospitality wage order. Other wage orders and employment circumstances can have different requirements.

Keep daily start/finish records, break intervals and pay stubs. Confirm the applicable rate with New York DOL and use the New York overtime calculator only for the separate overtime estimate; it does not establish this additional payment. This is general information, not legal advice.