How to Track Work Hours and Overtime Accurately

Track the hours you actually work—not just the hours on your schedule—by recording each work period by date, noting any work outside your shift, and totaling your time within your employer’s fixed workweek. Under the general U.S. federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) rule, covered, nonexempt employees are generally due overtime pay of at least 1.5 times their regular rate for hours worked over 40 in a workweek. The rules can differ by state, locality, industry, or employment status, so this is general information, not an individual eligibility determination.

Set the correct workweek before you count overtime

Overtime under the general federal FLSA rule is calculated by workweek, not by pay period. A workweek is a fixed, regularly recurring period of 168 hours—seven consecutive 24-hour periods. It does not have to match a calendar week, and an employer’s pay period may contain more than one workweek. Ask which day and time the employer’s workweek begins, then group your entries accordingly. The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) explains the definition in its FLSA overview.

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For covered, nonexempt employees, federal overtime generally applies to hours worked above 40 in that workweek, at no less than one and one-half times the regular rate. Working on a weekend, holiday, or usual day off does not by itself trigger federal overtime if the weekly threshold is not exceeded. State or local laws and other rules may provide additional protections. See the DOL’s overtime guidance and check the labor agency for your jurisdiction.

Record actual work time, including work outside the shift

For each date, write down when work actually starts and ends. If your day is split into separate work periods, log each segment separately; note meal breaks and other intervals when you are not working. Keep the entries detailed enough to reconstruct the hours, rather than saving only a weekly total.

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Count work the employer allows or knows is being done, even when it was not specifically requested. That can include finishing a task after a shift, working remotely outside scheduled hours, or correcting errors. DOL’s hours-worked guidance says work “suffered or permitted” generally counts as work time. Whether a particular waiting period, meal interval, or interruption is compensable depends on the circumstances; work performed during a meal while an employee remains on duty may count.

If your schedule is normally fixed, it can help to note when it was followed and record the actual hours whenever it changed. A schedule alone will not capture an early start, late finish, or other deviation.

Use a simple daily-to-weekly tracking routine

1. Confirm the workweek boundary. Record the employer’s start day and time so your weekly totals use the correct recurring 168-hour period.
2. Log each work period. Enter the date, actual start and end times, and any nonwork breaks or separate segments. Add work done before or after the shift and other work the employer permits or knows about.
3. Total the entries. Add daily hours and then total each employer-defined workweek. Keep the original time entries even if your app or spreadsheet calculates the totals for you.
4. Compare your record with time and pay records. Check that the same workweek boundaries are used, actual work and schedule changes appear, and the hours are reflected in the wage records.
5. Keep a personal copy. Save your own time notes and relevant pay information. A personal record can help you review your hours, but it does not replace the employer’s federal recordkeeping responsibility.

Choose a recordkeeping method that is complete and accurate

Federal guidance does not require a particular timekeeping format or a physical clock. Employers may use a time clock, a timekeeper, employee-entered records, or a fixed schedule with actual deviations recorded. As DOL puts it in Fact Sheet #21, “Any timekeeping plan is acceptable as long as it is complete and accurate.”

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For personal tracking, a spreadsheet, notebook, work-hours calendar, or suitable digital method can all work if the entries are clear and retained. DOL’s worker resources link to a free iPhone timesheet app and printable work-hours calendars in English and Spanish. A paper timesheet or work-hours logbook is optional; no commercial product or purchase is required.

Check overtime and pay records carefully

When you compare your weekly time total with a pay stub, verify more than the final overtime figure:

• Workweek: Are hours grouped under the employer’s fixed workweek, rather than summed across an arbitrary pay-period boundary?
• Actual time: Do the records reflect early starts, late finishes, employer-permitted tasks, and schedule deviations?
• Work and nonwork intervals: Were work during breaks, required waiting, and interruptions considered in light of what happened?
• Coverage and rate: Is the employee covered and nonexempt, and is the applicable regular rate used? A job title alone does not determine status. Pay arrangements and compensation included in the regular-rate calculation can affect the amount, so an hourly base rate may not settle it.
• Location and applicable rules: Could state or local law, an industry-specific provision, public-sector requirements, or a collective bargaining agreement change the result?

If the figures do not match, keep copies of the underlying time entries and pay information, then ask the employer to explain the workweek, hours, and rate used. For a question about legal coverage or local protections, consult the relevant state labor agency or DOL resources rather than relying on a job title or schedule alone.

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Know who must keep records and how long

Under federal FLSA recordkeeping rules, covered employers must keep accurate records of covered nonexempt employees’ hours and wages, even when employees enter their own time. DOL says employers must record wages and hours worked regardless of where the work is performed; workers’ own notes are a useful parallel record, not a substitute for the employer’s duty.

DOL Fact Sheet #21 lists records such as employee identifying information, the workweek start, hours worked each day and week, wage basis, regular rate, straight-time and overtime earnings, additions to or deductions from wages, total wages, and payment dates. Its federal summary says payroll records generally should be kept for at least three years, while time cards and other records used to compute wages generally should be kept for two years. These are federal record-retention periods; other requirements may apply.

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