Pennsylvania Overtime: The No-Fluctuating-Workweek Rule

Overtime is 1.5× the regular rate after 40 hours in a workweek. There is no daily overtimein Pennsylvania (unlike California) — the trigger is the 40-hour weekly threshold (PMWA, 43 P.S. § 333.104(c)).

In Chevalier v. General Nutrition Centers (Pa. 2019), the Pennsylvania Supreme Court held that the federal fluctuating-workweek (FWW) method is not permitted under the PMWA. For a salaried non-exempt employee, the regular rate is generally computed on a 40-hour basisand overtime is a full 1.5× premium— not the FLSA's 0.5× half-time. Employers who run FWW math under federal rules can underpay PA employees.

The executive, administrative, and professional exemptions track the federal FLSA duties tests and the $684/week ($35,568/yr)salary level. PA's own higher salary thresholds were repealed by Act 70 of 2021. The salary test is necessary but not sufficient — the duties test must also be met.

Applying the FWW method to PA employees; assuming a job title makes someone exempt without the duties analysis; and forgetting that bonuses/commissions fold into the regular rate for overtime.