Overtime

FabWise tracks overtime automatically based on federal FLSA rules. Hours worked beyond 40 in a workweek are overtime.

Why it matters

Overtime costs 1.5x the regular rate. Knowing who's approaching overtime — and why — helps you manage labor costs and stay compliant. FabWise calculates overtime automatically so you don't have to track it manually.

How it works

Weekly overtime (FLSA)

The federal Fair Labor Standards Act defines overtime as hours actually worked beyond 40 in a workweek. Key details:

Only hours worked count. PTO, holidays (not worked), and sick time do NOT push you toward the 40-hour threshold. If you work 32 hours and take 8 hours of PTO, your weekly total is 32 hours worked — no overtime.
The workweek is fixed. FabWise uses the FLSA-default 7-day workweek (Sunday through Saturday) and calculates overtime within each workweek independently.
Overtime rate is 1.5x. Hours beyond 40 are paid at one and a half times the regular rate.

How FabWise tracks it

Each completed shift shows the worker's weekly accumulation. When a shift pushes the weekly total past 40 hours, the Weekly Overtime inspection reports:

Weekly total minutes — all hours worked this workweek including this shift
Weekly overtime minutes — how many minutes exceed the 40-hour threshold

This is informational — it helps the supervisor understand the worker's weekly status. The actual overtime pay classification happens at payroll time when all shifts in the workweek are finalized.

Overtime and shift review

If your account requires overtime approval, shifts with overtime are flagged for review. The supervisor sees exactly how many overtime minutes were worked and can approve or investigate.

The overtime auto-approve setting lets you skip the flag for minor overtime. For example, if auto-approve is set to 60 minutes, shifts with up to 1 hour of overtime are auto-approved. Beyond that, they're flagged.

Where to find it

Workers

Workstation > My Shifts: each shift shows your hours
Workstation > Performance: weekly hour trends

Supervisors

Admin > Shifts: flagged shifts show overtime in the review reasons
Admin > Shift Detail > Inspection Results: the "Weekly Overtime" inspection shows the weekly breakdown

Admins (settings)

Admin > Settings > Scheduling > Shift Review:
- Require overtime approval (on/off)
- Auto-approve overtime under [X] minutes

FabWise uses the FLSA-default 40-hour workweek. The threshold and workweek-start day are not configurable.

What you'll see

On a shift detail (supervisor view)

If the shift contributed to overtime, the inspection panel shows:

Weekly Overtime: weekly overtime
- Prior hours this workweek: 34h
- This shift: 9h net
- Weekly total: 43h
- Overtime: 3h (180 minutes beyond 40h threshold)

On the shifts list

Shifts with overtime that need approval show an amber Review badge.

What to do

Workers: Overtime is tracked automatically. If you're approaching 40 hours and your supervisor hasn't discussed it, check in with them before working extra hours.

Supervisors: Review overtime shifts promptly. Check the weekly total — is this expected (busy week, rush order) or a pattern to address?

Admins: Set the auto-approve threshold to match your shop's norm. If shifts routinely run 30 minutes over, set auto-approve to 30 or 45 minutes to reduce review noise.

Common questions

Q: Does PTO count toward the 40-hour overtime threshold?
A: No. Only hours actually worked count. This is an FLSA requirement. If you work 35 hours and take 8 hours of PTO, your overtime-eligible hours are 35 — no overtime.

Q: What about holidays?
A: Holidays not worked (paid day off) don't count toward overtime. Holidays worked DO count — you worked those hours. Holiday shifts may also receive a pay multiplier (e.g., 1.5x or 2x) set by your admin.

Q: Can my employer change the workweek to avoid overtime?
A: The FLSA requires a fixed, regularly recurring workweek. It can't be changed to avoid overtime obligations. FabWise uses the FLSA-default Sunday–Saturday workweek and does not let admins change it.

Q: What if I work for two departments in the same week?
A: All hours count toward the same 40-hour threshold. FabWise tracks hours per worker across all shifts, regardless of department.

[Time Rounding](time-rounding.md)
[Shift Review](shift-review.md)
[Shift Approval (supervisors)](../admin/shift-approval.md)

Last updated: 2026-03-27