How to Calculate Paper Time Cards
- 1). Round employee time up and down to the nearest five minutes, one-tenth or quarter-hour. The time card may show the exact punches such as 8:07 a.m. and 4:12 p.m. Rounding is fine as long as the employee is properly compensated, according to the United States Department of Labor.
Example: round 8:07 a.m. down to 8 a.m. and round 4:12 p.m. up to 4:15 p.m. - 2). Calculate regular hours. These are hours worked up to 40 for the workweek. Suppose the time card for Monday to Friday shows: in–6:30 a.m., lunch out–11 a.m., lunch in–12 noon, out–3 p.m. Deduct one hour for unpaid lunch and pay the employee 7.50 hours for each day, a total of 37.50 regular hours. Pay regular hours at the employee’s standard pay rate.
- 3). Calculate overtime hours. These are hours that exceed 40 for the workweek. Suppose the time card for Monday to Saturday shows: in–8 a.m., lunch out–11 a.m., lunch in–12 noon, out–4 p.m. Deduct one hour for unpaid lunch and pay the employee 7 hours for each day, a total of 42 hours for the week. Pay 40 hours at the employee’s standard pay rate and 2 hours at his overtime rate. Calculate the latter at one and one-half times her standard pay rate. For example, the overtime rate for $10/hour is $15/hour ($10 x 1.5).
- 4). Check the time card for benefit days. The employee may write down vacation, sick or personal time taken on the time card. If applicable, pay those hours at the employee’s standard pay rate. Notably, if the employee has more than 40 hours for the week due to regular and benefit days, she should not receive overtime for the excess days. Suppose she works 37 regular hours and takes 8 vacation hours for the week. Pay all 45 hours at straight time.
