Federal law does not require adult meal or rest breaks, and Everhour keeps approved timesheets ready for payroll review.
Enter your daily hours and rate to instantly calculate total hours, regular pay, and any overtime — no spreadsheet needed.
The calculator gives you the number — Everhour takes it from there.
One click and you're timing. Start a timer, add an entry, edit the details. This is exactly how it feels in Everhour.
Set a budget, assign rates, and get alerted before you're over.
Measurement
Track your budget through time or costs
Every report you need — configured your way, always up to date.
Tracked hours flow straight into a polished invoice — no copy-paste, no manual math.
A break entitlement calculation answers two separate questions. First, it checks whether a break is required by the rule you are applying, such as state law, employer policy, or a contract. Second, it shows how that break affects paid hours. Under the federal baseline for adult employees, meal and rest breaks are not required, so the entitlement question usually starts outside federal law.
The pay calculation uses a different test. Short breaks provided by an employer, usually about 5 to 20 minutes, are compensable hours worked under federal law and count toward weekly overtime. A bona fide meal period is generally unpaid only when the employee is completely relieved of duty. If the employee keeps answering phones, serving customers, monitoring equipment, or doing other work while eating, that time remains hours worked.
For a U.S. timesheet, the federal baseline gives you the starting rule set. Covered, nonexempt employees must receive overtime pay for hours worked over 40 in a fixed FLSA workweek. That workweek is 168 fixed hours, seven consecutive 24-hour periods, and an employer cannot average hours across multiple workweeks to avoid overtime.
Federal law does not require extra pay for Saturdays, Sundays, holidays, or regular rest days unless weekly overtime is worked. State law, local rules, employer policy, and contracts can add break mandates, premium pay, or stricter overtime rules. Keep those overlays separate from the federal calculation so you can see which rule creates the result.
Start with the gross span from clock-in to clock-out. Subtract only unpaid break time that qualifies as unpaid. For example, an hourly employee is on site for 10 hours at $25 per hour, takes one paid 20-minute rest break, and takes one 30-minute duty-free meal period. The paid rest break stays in the total. The duty-free meal period comes out.
The calculation is 30 minutes divided by 60, or 0.5 hours. Paid hours are 10 minus 0.5, or 9.5 hours. Straight-time gross pay is 9.5 hours times $25, or $237.50, before taxes, deductions, premiums, covered nonexempt weekly overtime, state rules, policy terms, or contract terms. If the meal was interrupted by work, the 30 minutes would stay in paid time.
A one-off calculation is enough when you need a quick check for one shift, one break deduction, or one employee question. Enter the scheduled or worked span, identify paid and unpaid breaks, and compare the result with the rule that applies. This gives you a clean paid-hours number for a manager conversation or payroll review note.
A managed workflow becomes necessary when break entries repeat across a team. Everhour Timesheets collect weekly project hours and working hours by person, then let users submit time for approval. Managers can approve, reject, partially approve, and lock time entries before payroll or billing uses them, which turns break math into a reviewed record instead of a loose note.
This content is for general information only, may not be fully up to date, and is provided without any warranty or liability.
High Performer
G2
Summer 2026
Best Ease Of Use
Capterra
Summer 2026
Rated in the top time trackers across G2, Capterra, and TrustRadius — with consistent praise for ease of use, integrations, and support.
Federal law does not require lunch breaks or coffee breaks for adult employees. Break entitlement usually comes from state law, employer policy, or a contract. Federal law still controls pay treatment under the baseline: short employer-provided breaks are paid, and a bona fide meal period is unpaid only when the employee is completely relieved of duty.
Entitlement asks whether a break must be provided. Paid break time asks whether the break counts as hours worked. A state rule or company policy can create an entitlement, while federal pay treatment still requires short breaks to be paid and duty-free bona fide meal periods to be unpaid.
Yes. Short breaks provided by an employer, usually about 5 to 20 minutes, are compensable hours worked under federal law. Those minutes count toward the weekly total for covered nonexempt employees. If the total hours worked exceed 40 in the fixed FLSA workweek, overtime is due at not less than 1.5 times the regular rate.
A state break rule adds a stricter layer when it applies. The federal baseline still matters for covered nonexempt weekly overtime, compensable short breaks, bona fide meal-period treatment, and hours worked. Apply the state entitlement rule first for required breaks, then calculate paid hours and overtime under the applicable pay rules.
No. Hours worked include required duty time and additional work the employer suffers or permits, including unscheduled work before or after a shift. Time spent setting up, answering messages, preparing equipment, or finishing work remains hours worked when the employer allows it. Labeling that time as a break does not remove it from paid time.
Everhour Timesheets collect weekly project hours and working hours by person so managers can review time before payroll or billing. Employees can submit time for approval, and admins can approve, reject, partially approve, or lock entries when a break deduction or daily total needs correction.
Track weekly working hours, review submitted timesheets, and lock approved entries before payroll or billing. Everhour gives teams a clear approval trail for break and hours review.
14-day free trial · No credit card · Cancel anytime
