Interactive Tool
Regular Rate Calculator
Calculates the correct regular rate of pay including all compensation components — hourly base, commissions, flat-sum bonuses, piece-rate earnings, shift differentials, and non-discretionary incentives. Applies the Alvarado v. Dart Container methodology for flat-sum bonuses and the Ferra v. Loews Hollywood Hotel standard requiring meal and rest period premiums at the regular rate, not the base hourly rate. Includes presets for car dealership salespeople, hotel room attendants, and solar installers.
All calculations run in your browser. No data is transmitted or stored.
The regular rate is calculated by dividing total non-excludable compensation by total hours worked in the relevant period. Under Alvarado, flat-sum bonuses are treated differently: the per-hour value of the bonus is calculated by dividing the bonus by the nonovertime hours actually worked during the period rather than by total hours — in a week containing overtime that divisor is 40; in a short week it is lower — and the overtime premium attributable to the bonus is paid at 1.5x that rate, the multiplier Alvarado adopted in place of 0.5. Commissions and piece-rate earnings, by contrast, are divided by total hours worked. The resulting regular rate determines the correct overtime premium (1.5x or 2x the regular rate) and the correct meal/rest period premium (1x the regular rate per Ferra). The delta between the employer's calculated rate and the legally correct rate is the per-hour underpayment. Amounts entered as monthly are prorated at 4.3333 weeks per month before they enter the weekly rate, and the model computes weekly overtime only — California daily-overtime rules are not modeled and can only increase the gap.
Interactive · Regular Rate Calculator
Calculates the correct regular rate under Ferra and Alvarado. Shows the gap between what was likely paid and what should have been paid, with PAGA extrapolation.
Pre-Loaded Industry Scenarios
Base Rate ($/hr)
$17.00
Hours Worked
45 hrs (5 OT)
Missed Meals
1
Missed Rests
0
Non-Discretionary Compensation (included in regular rate)
$
What Was Likely Paid (Base Rate Method)
Overtime premium: 5 hrs × $17.00 × 0.5
$42.50
Meal premiums: 1 × $17.00
$17.00
Total: $59.50
What Should Have Been Paid (Regular Rate Method)
Correct regular rate
$33.44/hr ($16.44 above base)
OT premium on hourly pay: 5 hrs × $33.44 × 0.5
$83.61
Meal premiums (Ferra): 1 × $33.44
$33.44
Total: $117.06
Weekly Underpayment Per Employee
$57.56
PAGA Exposure Extrapolation
Weeks to Extrapolate
52 weeks
Similarly Situated Employees
25
Per Employee (52 wks)
$2,993
All Employees (Wages Owed)
$74,822
PAGA Penalty Exposure (est.)
$63,750
25 × 26 pp on § 558(a): $50 initial, $100 subsequent
Wage underpayments are NOT recoverable as PAGA penalties (ZB, N.A. v. Superior Court). The PAGA penalty for an overtime violation is not the § 2699(f)(2) default at all: § 558(a) specifically provides $50 for an initial and $100 for each subsequent violation of any section of Part 2, Chapter 1 — the chapter that contains § 510 — and § 2699(f) reaches only provisions for which a penalty is not specifically provided. Those figures are § 558's own schedule, so they do not move with the notice date. But wage underpayments create derivative § 226 and § 203 exposure.
For illustrative purposes only. Regular rate under Alvarado v. Dart Container (2018) 4 Cal.5th 542 (flat-sum bonus: divide by non-OT hours, 1.5× multiplier); production-based pay (commissions, piece rates, service charges) divides by total hours with the 0.5× premium. Premium calculation under Ferra v. Loews Hollywood Hotel (2021) 11 Cal.5th 858 (regular rate, not base rate) — where a flat-sum bonus is present, the tool prices premiums at the Alvarado-constructed rate, the higher of the competing constructions for § 226.7's "regular rate of compensation." Weekly-overtime model only: California daily overtime (over 8 hours in a day, double time over 12, seventh-consecutive-day rules) is not modeled and can only increase the gap. Monthly amounts prorate at 4.3333 weeks per month. True-up obligations apply when compensation is earned in a prior workweek.
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For illustrative purposes only. This tool does not constitute legal advice.