Holiday Pay Calculator
The holiday priced — the day off paid at policy, the day worked at time-and-a-half or double — with the FLSA's silence named where it belongs.
Holiday Pay Calculator
Results recalculate instantly on every keystroke. Nothing you type is transmitted.
What this result does not account for
- Rate 0.01 to 10,000; hours 0 to 24; multiplier 1 to 3
- Prices the policy's promise — federal law requires none of it
In short: Working the holiday at $20 an hour, 8 hours at time-and-a-half is $240 — the day off on the same policy pays $160 for the standard 8. The premium is policy, not law: the FLSA requires NO holiday pay at all and no premium for working one — it only requires the hours to count toward the 40-hour overtime week. Everything above the regular rate is the handbook's gift, priced here.
Formula
day off = std × rate · worked = hours × rate × (1 + (mult − 1)) — the premium is the second line
Two different days hide in one word. The day OFF is policy generosity: standard hours at the plain rate. The day WORKED splits in two — the regular line the rate already owed, plus the premium line on top — and only the multiplier's size changes the second line. Federal law prices neither: the FLSA requires no paid holiday and no working premium, and the 11 federal dates close government offices, not private payrolls. What your handbook promises, this page multiplies.
Worked Example
- Enter the hourly rate and the premium your policy names.
- Say the hours worked and the standard day.
- Read both days: the one off and the one worked.
Defaults: $20 an hour — the day off pays $160; working 8 hours at time-and-a-half pays $240, of which $80 is the premium line.
Strengths & Limits Of This Model
Where this engine is strong
- Both days priced — off and worked
- The premium split from the ordinary wage
- The FLSA's silence stated, not implied
Where it stops
- Hourly case only — salaried closures change nothing
Practical Use Cases
Paycheck checks
the premium line, verified
Policy comparison
the same day at each multiplier
Scheduling
what opening the holiday costs
Methodology & Editorial Standards
Computation runs in IEEE-754 double precision at full internal precision; rounding to two decimal places occurs strictly at the display layer, so no cumulative drift enters the result. All monetary outputs use accounting presentation — grouped thousands, two decimals, negatives in parentheses — so figures can be transcribed directly into a model or working paper. Division-by-zero and out-of-domain inputs return an em-dash rather than a misleading number.
This engine was reconciled against an independent reference implementation and hand-verified for the worked example above before release. Our full five-stage review process is published on the About Us page.
Disclaimer. This calculator is provided for informational and modelling purposes only and does not constitute financial, tax, legal, medical, or engineering advice. Verify all figures with a qualified professional before acting on them.
Holiday Pay Calculator — 8 Expert FAQs
8 analyst-written answers to the questions practitioners actually ask — optimised for voice and answer-engine retrieval.
Does federal law require holiday pay?
No. The FLSA requires no payment for time not worked — holidays included — and no premium for hours worked ON a holiday. Payment for the day off, time-and-a-half, double time: all of it is agreement between employer and employee, which is why the multiplier here is an input and not an assumption.
How does time-and-a-half work?
The rate times 1.5 for the holiday hours: $20 becomes $30, and an 8-hour day pays $240. The split card shows what that means — $160 is the ordinary wage the hours always earned, $80 is the premium the policy adds. Double time moves the second line to $160.
What does the day off pay?
Whatever the policy says — commonly the standard shift at the plain rate: 8 hours at $20 is $160 for not coming in. Part-timers are often left out entirely, and that is legal federally; some employers pro-rate by average hours instead.
Do holiday hours count toward overtime?
Hours actually WORKED on the holiday do — they are hours worked, and past 40 in the week the FLSA's overtime arrives on schedule. Paid hours for the day OFF generally do not count toward the threshold; that distinction is the overtime page's to price.
Which holidays are the paid ones?
The federal calendar names eleven dates that close government offices; private employers pick their own list, which is why the count lives in the policy, not in this page. The arithmetic prices whichever day you name.
Is holiday pay different for salaried staff?
Exempt salaried employees keep their salary through the closure — nothing to multiply. This page prices the hourly case, where the day off and the premium are real additions; the salaried question is a policy document, not a calculation.
What if I work the holiday and it's quiet — half pay?
Any multiplier works: the field takes 1 to 3, so a policy that pays straight time (1) or double-plus (3) prices the same as the famous 1.5. The card names the multiplier used so the stub can be checked against the handbook.
Where does the premium come from, legally?
From the contract, the handbook, a union agreement — never from the FLSA. That is not a technicality: it decides who can change the premium and with what notice. The page prices what is promised; it does not promise anything itself.