How much comp time does one overtime hour earn?

At the default 1.5 factor, one overtime hour produces 1.5 hours of compensatory time in the entered scenario.

Why must I choose an employer context?

Public-agency and private-employer federal comp-time contexts differ, so the result keeps that assumption visible and warns when applicability is uncertain.

Does the calculator select a 240-hour or 480-hour cap?

No. The user enters the cap because job category and applicable rules cannot be established from arithmetic inputs.

Does the cash comparison determine an entitlement?

No. It is a mathematical comparison using entered hours and rate, not a legal or payroll determination.

Compensatory-time scenario

Comp Time Calculator

Choose the employer context first, convert overtime hours into time off, update a running balance, test a user-entered cap, and compare the scenario with cash overtime.

Comp time as an accrual scenario

Compensatory time converts an overtime-hour input into time off using a selected factor. The comp time calculator defaults to 1.5 hours of time for each overtime hour and then adds the earned time to an opening balance before subtracting time already used.

The first required choice is employer context. Selecting a state or local public agency displays the same arithmetic with public-agency source reminders. Selecting a private employer or Unknown keeps the policy scenario available but warns that federal rules may not permit time off to replace cash overtime in that context. The tool does not make the applicability decision.

Balances, workdays, caps, and dates

Opening balance is time earned before the current entry. Used hours are time already taken or debited. A negative closing balance is not silently changed to zero; it produces a warning so records can be reconciled. Workday length converts the closing balance into equivalent days and must be greater than zero.

The cap is optional and entirely user-entered. Federal public-agency guidance discusses different accrual limits for some categories, but the calculator does not assign a worker to a category. The policy or expiration date is a reminder only and has no automatic forfeiture behavior.

Comp-time balance formula

The cash comparison uses the entered regular rate and a 1.5 overtime multiplier. It does not value future time off, predict taxes, or state that cash and leave are legally interchangeable.

Decimal hours are retained. An eight-hour workday is only a default conversion setting, not a finding about the user's schedule.

earnedCompTime = overtimeHours x compTimeMultiplier
closingBalance = openingBalance + earnedCompTime - usedHours
equivalentDays = closingBalance / workdayLength
capOverage = max(closingBalance - userEnteredCap, 0)
cashOvertimeComparison = overtimeHours x regularRate x overtimeMultiplier

Eight overtime hours and a running balance

The verified example converts eight overtime hours into 12.00 comp-time hours. Starting with six hours and using four produces a closing balance of 14.00 hours.

At eight hours per workday, the balance equals 1.75 days. A user-entered 20-hour cap shows 0.00 hours of overage, while the cash overtime comparison at $25 is $300.00.

Verified balance: 8 x 1.5 = 12 earned; 6 + 12 - 4 = 14 hours, or 1.75 eight-hour days.

Public-agency limits and private-employer caution

Department of Labor material describes compensatory time under prescribed conditions for state and local public agencies and discusses 240-hour and 480-hour caps for different activities. A job title alone may not establish the category, so users enter the cap they intend to test rather than receiving an automated assignment.

Private-employer time-off policies require careful review and may not substitute for cash overtime under the modeled federal rule. This comp time calculator does not determine coverage, exemption, agreement requirements, permissible use restrictions, payout rules, or state-law treatment.