5 CFR §551.501
Verified against eCFR.gov as of June 20, 2026View official text on eCFR.gov ↗
- (a)An agency shall compensate an employee who is not exempt under subpart B of this part for all hours of work in excess of 8 in a day or 40 in a workweek at a rate equal to one and one-half times the employee's hourly regular rate of pay, except that an employee shall not receive overtime compensation under this part—
- (1)On the basis of periods of duty in excess of 8 hours in a day when the employee receives compensation for that duty under 5 U.S.C. 5545(c)(1) or (2) or 5545b;
- (2)On the basis of hours of work in excess of 8 hours in a day that are not overtime hours of work under § 410.402 of this chapter, part 532 of this chapter and 5 U.S.C. 5544, or part 550 of this chapter;
- (3)On the basis of hours of work in excess of 8 hours in a day for an employee covered by 5 U.S.C. 5544 for any hours in a standby or on-call status or while sleeping or eating;
- (4)On the basis of hours of work in excess of 8 hours in a day for an individual who is not an employee, as defined in 5 U.S.C. 5541(2), for purposes of 5 U.S.C. 5542, 5543, and 5544;
- (5)On the basis of hours of work in excess of 40 hours in a workweek for an employee engaged in fire protection or law enforcement activities when the employee is receiving compensation under 5 U.S.C. 5545(c)(1) or (2) or 5545b, or is not an employee (as defined in 5 U.S.C. 5541(2)) for the purposes of 5 U.S.C. 5542, 5543, and 5544;
- (6)For hours of work that are not “overtime hours,” as defined in 5 U.S.C. 6121, for employees under flexible or compressed work schedules;
- (7)For hours of work compensated by compensatory time off under § 551.531 of this part; and
- (8)For fractional hours of work, except as provided in § 551.521 of this part.
- (b)An employee's “workweek” is a fixed and recurring period of 168 hours—seven consecutive 24-hour periods. It need not coincide with the calendar week but may begin on any day and at any hour of a day. For employees subject to part 610 of this chapter, the workweek shall be the same as the administrative workweek defined in § 610.102 of this chapter.
- (c)In this subpart, “irregular or occasional overtime work” is overtime work that is not scheduled in advance of the employee's workweek.
- (d)The maximum earnings limitations described in §§ 550.105, 550.106, and 550.107 of this chapter do not apply to overtime pay due the employee under this subpart.