U.S. Department of Labor
FLSA Overtime Calculator Advisor
Special Circumstances
Employees of Hospitals and Residential Care Establishments
Hospitals and other institutions “primarily engaged in the care of the sick, the aged, or the mentally ill” are covered employers under the FLSA. Special rules (8 and 80 Overtime System) apply to the payment of overtime to employees of hospitals and residential care establishments, such as nursing facilities, skilled nursing facilities, assisted living facilities, residential care facilities, and intermediate care facilities for individuals with disabilities.
The “Eight and Eighty” (8 and 80) Overtime System
Under Section 7(j) of the FLSA, hospitals and residential care establishments may use a fixed work period of fourteen consecutive days, instead of the 40 hour workweek, for purposes of computing overtime. To use this exception, the employer must have a prior agreement or understanding with the affected employees before the work is performed. The “8 and 80” exception allows employers to pay one and one-half times the employee’s regular rate for all hours worked in excess of 8 in a workday and 80 in a fourteen-day period. An employer can use the standard system of overtime for hours over 40 in a workweek for some employees and the “8 and 80” exception for others at the same workplace, but cannot use both systems for a single individual employee.
This Advisor does not calculate overtime due for hours worked under the "8 and 80" overtime system. To learn more about the "8 and 80" overtime system, including examples of how to compute overtime using this exception, see the Fact Sheet #54: The Health Care Industry and Calculating Overtime Pay.
Additional compliance assistance resources are available on the application of the FLSA to the health care industry:
