Does Walmart Pay Time and a Half? Holiday Pay & OT

For overtime, yes: the law requires it. Walmart’s hourly associates are non-exempt, so every hour over 40 in a workweek must be paid at 1.5 times the regular rate, including any shift or incentive premiums. For holidays, Walmart doesn’t publish its policy. Walmart’s public benefits materials don’t state a holiday pay rate. Associates commonly report time and a half for working major holidays, but that is employee reporting, not a published rule, and it can differ by role, location and employment status.

What the law guarantees

• Overtime after 40 hours a week, at 1.5×. Each workweek is counted on its own; hours aren’t averaged across a two-week paycheck.
• Premiums raise the overtime rate. Shift differentials and non-discretionary bonuses or incentives count in your regular rate, so overtime is 1.5 times that higher figure (29 CFR 778.207–778.208).
• No federal holiday premium. Federal law doesn’t require extra pay for working a holiday, and a paid holiday you don’t work doesn’t count toward the 40 hours.
• Some states add more. California, Alaska, Nevada and Colorado have daily overtime, and Rhode Island requires time and a half for many retail workers on Sundays and holidays. Check your state.

A holiday shift in an overtime week

If holiday hours are paid at time and a half, federal law lets the employer count that premium toward the overtime it owes for the same week (29 CFR 778.203 and 778.219). Say you earn $18 an hour and work five 10-hour shifts, one of them on Thanksgiving:

If the holiday premium and overtime are both paid in full, the week comes to $1,080 instead. Compare the hours paid at the higher rate on your pay statement with the hours you worked over 40 plus the hours you worked on the holiday.

How to check your Walmart paycheck

1. Add up hours worked in each workweek, not across the whole pay period.
2. Check that every hour over 40 was paid at 1.5 times your rate, premiums included.
3. For a holiday shift, compare the rate paid with what your schedule or the Me@Walmart app said, and ask People Services to confirm the holiday policy for your role in writing.
4. If overtime is short and isn’t fixed, you can file with your state labor office or the U.S. Department of Labor.

Work out a normal week with the time and a half calculator, or a holiday week with the holiday pay calculator. For holidays at another large employer that does publish its policy, see how Amazon pays holidays.

Sources

• Fact Sheet #23: Overtime Pay Requirements of the FLSA, U.S. Department of Labor
• 29 CFR 778.203: Premium pay for holiday work, Code of Federal Regulations