StatutePayFirst punch → last punch

Connecticut · restaurant / hotel restaurant only · reporting-time + 7th consecutive · Conn. Agencies Regs. § 31-62-E1 · CT MW $16.94 (2026)

Connecticut restaurant show-up is two hours at the minimum rate — and the seventh consecutive day is 1.5× that minimum, not mercantile’s four at regular.

Conn. Agencies Regs. § 31-62-E1 is restaurant and hotel-restaurant only (§ 31-62-E2(a)). Report without adequate notice the day before, or get called in, and the floor is two hours’ earnings at not less than the minimum rate — $16.94 × 2 = $33.88 (CT DOL-79 poster, 1 January 2026). Work seven consecutive days and E1(c) pays not less than 1.5× the minimum rate for all time that seventh day, itemized separate from weekly 40 (E14(a)(9)). Unpaid lunch is non-working under E9 when it is recorded and you are entirely free to leave. Not mercantile D2. Not MA, RI, NH, or NY 142.

Read the order: two hours at MW, seventh consecutive at 1.5× MW, weekly 40

Fetched the official eRegs compilation Conn. Agencies Regs. §§ 31-60-1—31-62-E15 (E1 effective 15 Aug 1972; am. 4 Jan 2001) and the CT DOL-79 restaurant poster (rev. 1/26). E1(b): “Any employee regularly reporting for work, unless given adequate notice the day before to the contrary, or any employee called for work in any day shall be assured a minimum of two hours’ earnings at not less than the minimum rate if the employee is able and willing to work for the length of time.” E1(c): “Not less than one and one-half times the minimum rate for all time worked on the seventh consecutive day.” E1(d): “Not less than one and one-half times the regular rate for all hours worked in excess of forty in any work week.”

§ 31-62-E9 (same compilation and poster): hours worked include all time on the premises or on duty. “Meal periods may be credited as non-working time, provided the beginning and ending of the meal period shall be so recorded on the time records, and provided the employee shall be entirely free from all work requirements during the period and shall be free to leave the establishment.” That is the unpaid-lunch box. A timesheet total cannot see a bona fide meal versus idle time inside the tour.

§ 31-62-E2(a) restaurant occupation: preparation and serving of food, including restaurants, cafeterias, that portion of hotel business involving food, commissaries, dairy bars, grills, coffee shops, caterers, frankfurter stands, food vending machines, and the food-service portion of department and variety stores, drugstores, bakeries, pizzerias, delicatessens, and clubs. Carve-outs: nonprofit educational/charitable/religious food service not regularly available to the public; hospital, convalescent, or homes-for-the-elderly food service incidental to care of the patient. Mercantile selling is § 31-62-D2(d).

The 2026 Connecticut minimum wage on this page is $16.94, printed on the official DOL-79 poster: “$16.94 per hour on 1-1-26.”

Reports, furnished 1h @ $20 → $33.88 (2 × $16.94), not mercantile’s $80
Furnished 2h @ $20 → no extra guarantee ($40 already above the MW floor)
7 consecutive 5h days @ $20 → 35 regular + $27.05 seventh-day floor (5 × ($25.41 − $20)) = $727.05
A blank day in the middle resets the seventh-consecutive streak

In scope

  • Restaurant / hotel-restaurant occupation only
  • Punch-in/out to prove the employee reported or was called
  • Two hours’ earnings at not less than the $16.94 minimum rate
  • Seventh consecutive day of work: 1.5× MW floor on that day’s hours
  • Unpaid lunch under E9 (recorded, entirely free, free to leave)
  • FLSA / E1(d) weekly 40 on hours worked

Out of scope

  • Mercantile D2(d) — four hours at the regular rate — that is /connecticut-mercantile-reporting/
  • MA 3 hours at basic MW, RI 3× regular, NH 2 hours at regular, NY 142
  • Daily overtime (E1(d) is weekly 40 only)
  • Tip-credit math, service vs non-service sidework (E2a / E4)
  • Nonprofit / hospital food-service carve-outs in E2(a)

FAQ

What is Connecticut restaurant reporting pay under § 31-62-E1(b)?

Any employee regularly reporting for work, unless given adequate notice the day before to the contrary, or any employee called for work in any day, is assured a minimum of two hours’ earnings at not less than the minimum rate. At the 2026 CT minimum of $16.94 (CT DOL-79 poster, 1 January 2026), that floor is $33.88. One hour furnished at $20 is $33.88, not $80. Mercantile D2(d) is four hours at the regular rate and is a different page.

What is the seventh consecutive day premium in a Connecticut restaurant?

§ 31-62-E1(c): not less than one and one-half times the minimum rate for all time worked on the seventh consecutive day. This calculator treats a day as the seventh consecutive day of work when the six immediately preceding days in the workweek also have hours worked. A blank day resets the streak. E14(a)(9) requires that payment as a separate payroll item from weekly overtime. Hours already paid at 1.5× the regular rate (weekly 40) already meet the floor when the regular rate is at or above minimum wage.

Who is covered — is this every Connecticut job?

No. Restaurant and hotel-restaurant occupation only. § 31-62-E2(a): preparation and serving of food for human consumption, including restaurants, cafeterias, hotel food service, commissaries, caterers, and the food-service portion of department, variety, and drugstores. Nonprofit educational, charitable, or religious food service not regularly available to the public, and hospital/convalescent/elderly food service incidental to care, are carved out. Mercantile (wholesale/retail selling) is /connecticut-mercantile-reporting/.

Does Connecticut restaurant have daily overtime?

No. § 31-62-E1(d) is weekly 40 only: one and one-half times the regular rate for hours in excess of forty in any work week. The seventh consecutive day is a minimum-rate floor, not daily overtime after eight.