Why state-specific matters
Most overtime calculators implement the federal baseline: time and one-half after 40 hours in a workweek. For a great many jobs that is correct. But states layer their own rules on top, and public works projects in particular follow rules that look nothing like the national default.
Oregon is a clear example. Ordinary private employment in Oregon follows the weekly rule with no general daily overtime requirement. Public works projects covered by the prevailing wage rate law follow ORS 279C.540, which requires time and one-half for hours over 8 in a day, all hours worked on Saturday, and all hours worked on a covered holiday — including every Sunday.
What that difference is worth. Four ten-hour days is 40 hours. A calculator that only knows the weekly rule reports no overtime at all. On an Oregon public works job, 8 of those hours are overtime — at a $40 base rate, $160 of premium pay that simply never shows up.
How these tools are built
- Cited to the source. Every rule points at the statute or administrative rule it comes from, so you can check it rather than trust it.
- Arithmetic shown. Each result includes the working, line by line, so the number can be audited or handed to a payroll clerk.
- Verified against official examples. Where the state agency publishes worked examples, the calculator is tested to reproduce them exactly.
- Nothing stored. There is no account, no database, and no logging of what you enter. The math runs in your browser and the numbers never leave your device.
About
Built in Portland, Oregon by a developer who got tired of national tools being confidently wrong about local rules. If you find an error in a calculation, it matters — these tools are about someone's pay.