New York Unpaid Overtime Calculator

The short answer

In New York, non-exempt employees must be paid 1.5× their regular rate for every hour worked beyond 40 in a workweek. If your employer did not pay it, you can generally recover the unpaid overtime going back six years under the New York Labor Law, plus liquidated damages equal to 100% of those unpaid wages, effectively doubling the amount.

Use the calculator below to estimate what you may be owed. It is an educational tool, not legal advice, and it deliberately errs on the conservative side.

An estimate, not legal advice. It excludes bonuses and shift differentials that must be folded into your regular rate, spread-of-hours pay, Wage Theft Prevention Act penalties, prejudgment interest, and attorneys’ fees, so a real claim may be worth more or less. Whether you are owed anything at all depends on facts this page does not know.

How New York overtime law actually works

The 40-hour workweek is the unit of measurement

Overtime is calculated per workweek, a fixed, recurring period of seven consecutive 24-hour days. Each week stands on its own. An employer cannot average a 30-hour week against a 50-hour week to claim you averaged 40. In that example you are owed 10 hours of overtime.

Salary does not equal exempt

The most common misconception in wage law is that being paid a salary removes the right to overtime. It does not. Exemption requires both a salary above the applicable threshold and job duties that genuinely fall within a recognized exemption: executive, administrative, or professional. Job titles are irrelevant; what matters is what you actually did day to day. An “assistant manager” who spends most of the shift doing the same work as hourly staff is very often misclassified.

Why the regular rate is divided by 40, not by hours worked

For a non-exempt salaried employee in New York, the regular rate is the weekly salary divided by 40 hours. New York presumes a salary compensates 40 hours unless there is an explicit agreement otherwise. This differs from the federal “fluctuating workweek” method and is more favorable to employees. It is a significant reason New York misclassification claims are worth more than their federal counterparts.

Six years, not two

The federal FLSA permits recovery for two years, extended to three if the violation was willful. The New York Labor Law permits six. For a long-tenured employee, that difference frequently triples the value of a claim, which is why state-law claims are almost always pleaded alongside federal ones.

Damages beyond the wages themselves

Liquidated damages: 100% of unpaid wages under NYLL § 198(1-a), absent employer good faith.
Spread-of-hours pay: an additional hour at minimum wage for any workday spanning more than 10 hours from start to finish.
Wage notice and wage statement penalties: up to $5,000 each under the Wage Theft Prevention Act.
Prejudgment interest and attorneys’ fees, which shift the cost of bringing the case to the employer.

You do not need a written record to have a case

Employers are legally required to keep accurate time records. Where they have not, courts permit employees to establish hours through reasonable estimates and their own testimony. The burden shifts to the employer. Missing paystubs are not the obstacle people assume.

Unpaid Overtime: Common Questions

How is overtime calculated in New York?

Overtime is owed at one and one-half times your regular rate of pay for every hour worked beyond 40 in a single workweek. Workweeks stand alone. An employer cannot average two weeks together to avoid overtime, so 30 hours one week and 50 the next still produces 10 overtime hours.

Does being paid a salary mean I am not owed overtime?

No. Salary alone does not make you exempt. Exemption depends on your actual job duties and a minimum salary threshold. Misclassifying salaried employees as exempt is one of the most common wage violations we see. For a non-exempt salaried employee in New York, the regular rate is the weekly salary divided by 40 hours, not by the hours actually worked.

How far back can I claim unpaid overtime in New York?

The New York Labor Law allows recovery for six years. The federal Fair Labor Standards Act allows only two years, or three where the violation was willful. That six-year reach is usually the single biggest factor in the value of a New York wage case, and it is why bringing state-law claims matters so much.

What are liquidated damages?

Under NYLL § 198(1-a), an employee who proves unpaid wages is generally entitled to liquidated damages equal to 100% of those wages, unless the employer proves it acted in good faith. In practice this doubles the recovery. Prejudgment interest and attorneys’ fees may also be recoverable.

Can my employer fire me for asking about unpaid overtime?

Retaliating against an employee for complaining about wages is illegal under both the FLSA and the New York Labor Law. If you are fired, demoted, or have your hours cut after raising a wage complaint, you may have a retaliation claim in addition to the underlying wage claim, and retaliation claims are often stronger, because the timing is documented.

Is this calculator legal advice?

No. It is an educational estimate based on the figures you enter. Actual recovery depends on your regular rate including bonuses and shift differentials, spread-of-hours pay, wage-notice and wage-statement penalties, interest, and the specific facts of your employment. Speak with an employment lawyer for an assessment of your situation.