Do remedial-education hours count as overtime under the FLSA?

Not for up to 10 of them. 29 U.S.C. § 207(q) lets an employer require up to 10 hours in excess of 40 in a workweek in qualifying remedial education without paying the 1.5× premium. Those hours are still paid at the regular rate. Classic $20 × five 12-hour days with 10 remedial hours → $1,300, not FLSA $1,400.

What counts as qualifying remedial education?

The employee must lack a high-school diploma or 8th-grade attainment, and the instruction must be reading and other basic skills at or below 8th grade — not job-specific training. Fail a gate and this page pays ordinary § 207(a) overtime after 40.

Is this the same as FLSA weekly 40?

No. /overtime/ is 29 U.S.C. § 207(a) at 1.5× after 40 on every excess hour. § 207(q) is a narrow exemption for up to 10 excess remedial hours. Five 10-hour days with 10 remedial hours → $1,000 here vs $1,100 there.

Is this 778.310, 778.113, or New Jersey trucking?

No. It is not a 778.3xx regular-rate lump, not salaried 778.113, and not N.J.S.A. 34:11-56a4(f) overtime at 1.5× minimum wage. It is the statutory 10-hour remedial-education overlay on § 207(a).

Is this a meal, rest, or waiting-time calculator?

No. Washington meal/rest, California 226.7, Minnesota meal/rest, and state waiting-time penalties are other pages.

FLSA Remedial-Education Overtime — 29 U.S.C. § 207(q)

How § 207(q) pays

The official Cornell LII reprint of 29 U.S.C. § 207 (HTTP 200), the U.S. House uscode prelim text (HTTP 200), and Justia Title 29 § 207 (HTTP 200) state that an employer may employ an employee for a period or periods of not more than 10 hours in the aggregate in any workweek in excess of the § 207(a) 40-hour maximum without paying the overtime premium, if during those periods the employee is receiving remedial education that (1) is provided to employees who lack a high-school diploma or 8th-grade attainment, (2) is designed to provide reading and other basic skills at an 8th-grade level or below, and (3) does not include job-specific training.

Formula: hours through 40 × hourly rate + min(remedial hours, 10, hours over 40) × hourly rate + leftover hours over 40 × 1.5×. Failed diploma or job-specific gate → ordinary § 207(a). The 10 hours are a cap on the exemption, not a second overtime clock. They remain hours worked.

This is not 778.310, not 778.113, not N.J.S.A. 34:11-56a4(f), not WAC 296-126-092, and not a waiting-time penalty.

Five 12h days @ $20 + 10h remedial → 50×$20 + 10×$30 = $1,300.
Same punches on /overtime/ → $1,400.
Same on /kansas-overtime/ → $1,340.
Same on /maryland-bowling-residential-overtime/ → $1,320.
Same on /new-york-miscellaneous-residential-overtime/ → $1,360.
Same on /new-jersey-trucking-overtime/ → $1,277.60.
Same on /missouri-amusement-overtime/ → $1,280.
Five 10h + 10h remedial → $1,000 vs /overtime/ $1,100. Job-specific training on five 12h → $1,400.

Sources

29 U.S.C. § 207(q) — Cornell LII (HTTP 200)
29 U.S.C. § 207 — U.S. House Office of the Law Revision Counsel (prelim) (HTTP 200)
Justia 29 U.S. Code § 207 Maximum hours (HTTP 200)

FAQ

Are the 10 remedial hours unpaid?

No. They are hours worked at the regular rate. Only the extra half-time is off, and only for up to 10 excess hours that are actually spent in qualifying instruction.

What if I already have a diploma?

Uncheck the diploma gate. § 207(q) does not apply and this page pays ordinary 1.5× after 40.

Job-specific training?

The statute excludes job-specific training. Uncheck that box for ordinary overtime.

Kansas after 46 or Maryland after 48?

No. Those are state weekly thresholds. Same five 12-hour days are $1,340 in Kansas and $1,320 in Maryland bowling/residential, and $1,300 here.

Waiting-time or meal/rest?

No. This is a weekly overtime exemption for remedial education, not a final-pay penalty and not a missed-break premium.