It seems fairly simple, nonexempt employees who work over 40 hours a week are entitled to overtime pay, or one-and-a-half the amount of their regular rate of pay. Not a difficult calculation, right?

Well, if it were only that easy. Turns out, figuring the rate of pay can be tricky. Because it's not always the case that an employee's hourly pay equals their regular rate of pay. Figuring the regular rate of pay means including all the pay the employee received in a week, except for pay that is statutorily excluded.

The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) requires that non-discretionary bonuses must be included in the employee's regular rate of pay. So pay that is based on performance, intended to incentivize employees or encourage them to stay, must be included in the regular rate of pay. These types of bonuses can even include non-cash rewards, like movie tickets.

However, discretionary bonuses do not need to be included in the regular rate of pay. These are bonuses that are at the employer's discretion, such as some end-of-year bonuses. These payments are not expected, and not a specific amount, so they do not need to be included in overtime calculations.

Find out more about how to calculate overtime correctly under current FLSA regulations and avoid any costly repercussions of miscalculations. Attend our in-depth webinar with two legal experts on FLSA, and get clarification on these complicated calculations.What You'll Learn:

• Properly calculate "extras" besides hourly pay, such as bonuses and other nondiscretionary payments
  
• Recognize the difference between exempt and nonexempt employees so you're not shortchanging employees entitled to overtime under federal law
  
• Understand the practical impact of any conflicts in federal and state overtime laws
  
• Clarify whether you can count biweekly or if the law only applies to each work week
  
• Calculate employees' rates of pay with non-traditional workweeks
  
• Recognize what constitutes a "work week"
  
• Prepare for the biggest changes in FLSA overtime regulations, which are expected to be released very soon
  
• And much more!