ClopeningCheck

Free calculator

Rest between shifts calculator

Type when the closing shift ended and when the next shift started, pick the city or state: the rest in real hours, whether the rule counts it, the hours the premium applies to and the premium, by the local formula.

Sample data: a 3 PM to 11 PM close, then a 7 AM open. Type your own shifts.

Times in local time; the gap is the real elapsed time, so the nights the clocks change count one hour more or less. Nothing you type leaves this browser.

Result

Premium owed
$20.00
Rest between the shifts
8 h
Seattle rest window
10 h
Inside the window?
Yes
Hours the premium applies to
2 h
Pay for those hours at the rest rate
$60.00

Time and a half of the opening shift's scheduled rate for the hours worked less than 10 hours after the previous day's shift. After the previous day's shift. Premium owed = what the rule adds over straight time for those hours. Applies the rest-between-shifts rules of the jurisdiction you choose to the shifts you load. Coverage depends on your industry and size — check with the city or state labor office. Not legal advice. Not affiliated with any city or state agency.

The employer may ask; the employee may decline without adverse action. If the employee works the hours, time and a half is owed regardless of request or consent. The Seattle rule, coverage and source.

Many shifts? Load the whole timecard file.

The free timecard audit finds every pair for every employee; Pro turns it into an Excel workbook and a printable summary per employee.

Open the timecard audit

Every pair from your file in Excel with live formulas, totals per employee and pay period, and a printable summary per employee. See Pro.

How it works

The gap is the real time between the end of the first shift and the start of the next, in the jurisdiction's time zone: on the night the clocks go back, 11 PM to 9 AM is 11 hours, not 10. A gap shorter than the rest window triggers the premium when the rule counts the pair: most rules only count a shift after the previous calendar day's shift or after one that ran past midnight, so two shifts inside one day (a split shift) do not count there. Los Angeles County and Evanston count from any previous shift.

Sample data: a 3 PM to 11 PM close, then 7 AM to 3 PM at $20 an hour, leaves 8 hours of rest. Under each rule:

Sample data: 8 hours of rest, $20 an hour (computed)
JurisdictionWindowPremium hoursPremium
New York City11 hflat$100.00
Oregon10 h2 h$20.00
Seattle10 h2 h$20.00
Chicago10 h8 h$40.00
Philadelphia9 hflat$40.00
Los Angeles (city)10 h8 h$80.00
Los Angeles County (unincorporated)10 h8 h$80.00
Emeryville11 h3 h$30.00
Evanston11 h3 h$30.00

Sources of the rules

Frequently asked questions

How many hours should be between shifts?
Under the rules listed here: 11 hours in New York City (fast food), Emeryville and Evanston, 10 hours in Oregon, Seattle, Chicago and Los Angeles city and county, and 9 hours in Philadelphia. Elsewhere, check your state and city labor office: this site lists only rules it could read on an official page.
Is 8 hours between shifts legal?
The rules listed here do not ban the schedule: the employee may decline it and, if they work it, a covered employer owes the local premium. Other rules (a state law, a union contract, a company policy) are outside this site; check with the labor office.
Does a shift that ends after midnight count?
Yes. A shift that ran past midnight is followed by the same rest window from its end, even when the next shift starts the same calendar day.
Do I get paid the premium if I agreed to the shift?
Yes, in every rule listed here: consent lets the employer schedule the shift, and the premium is still owed for the hours or the shift worked.
What rate does the premium use?
The regular rate of pay, or in Seattle the scheduled rate of the opening shift (so a holiday or overtime rate is multiplied again). The calculator uses the rate you type.

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