Puerto Rico · Act 379-1948 · calendar-day 8
Puerto Rico still has an eight-hour legal workday
Act No. 379-1948 29 L.P.R.A. §§ 271–274, 283 is the closest remaining analog to California’s daily eight: eight hours is the legal workday, forty is the week, and hours over eight in a calendar day are overtime at time-and-a-half. Work during the meal period is also 1.5× for that period or fraction. The same hour is not paid as daily overtime and again as weekly overtime. This is not an FLSA fallback.
Nine hours is eight plus one, not a blended 9
Load the 9-hour preset at $20. Section 4 treats hours over eight in a calendar day as overtime. Result: 8 regular ($160) + 1 overtime at 1.5× ($30). Five 8-hour days never trip daily overtime and never trip weekly 40. People who total 45 hours from five 9-hour days and then also mark five daily overtime hours pay the same five hours twice. This page will not.
9h one calendar day @ $20 → 8 regular + 1 OT
5 × 8h → 40 regular, 0 OT
5 × 9h → 40 regular + 5 OT (daily hours already at 1.5× drop out of the weekly 40)
Meal-period work is 1.5× for the period, not a California hour
The employer who requires or allows work for more than five consecutive hours without a meal period must pay extraordinary compensation for the time worked at the overtime rate in the Act. The meal may be waived if the day’s hours do not exceed six. The default period is one hour (written reduction to 30 minutes is out of scope). If unpaid lunch is under 60 minutes on a day over 6 hours, this page treats the missing fraction as meal-period work and pays extra half-time on those minutes that sat in the regular band — so the period is 1.5× — without converting them into weekly overtime and without stacking 1.5× onto an hour already paid as daily overtime.
In scope
- 1.5× after 8 hours in a calendar day
- Weekly 40, excluding hours already paid as daily OT (no pyramiding)
- Meal-period work at 1.5× for the period or fraction (default 1 hour; 5–6h waivable)
- Punch-in/out, split shifts, unpaid lunch
Out of scope
- Legacy 2× overtime for employees hired before 26 January 2017
- Weekly rest-day overtime and closed-day hours
- Second meal after 10 hours; written 30- or 20-minute meal reductions
- Alternate 24-hour cycle (8 hours between consecutive shifts)
FAQ
What is the legal workday in Puerto Rico under Act 379?
Section 2 (29 L.P.R.A. § 271) says eight hours of work constitute the legal workday and forty hours constitute a workweek. Hours over 8 in a calendar day are overtime at 1.5×. A 9-hour day at $20 is 8 regular plus 1 overtime. Five 8-hour days are all regular.
Does Puerto Rico pyramid daily overtime into weekly overtime?
No. This page excludes hours already paid as daily overtime from the weekly 40 so the same hour is not paid twice. Five 9-hour days are 40 regular plus 5 overtime, not 40 plus 5 daily plus 5 weekly.
How is work during the meal period paid?
If the employer requires or allows work during the meal period, that period or fraction is paid at 1.5×. The default meal period is one hour; it may be waived if total hours that day do not exceed six. This page treats lunch under 60 minutes on a day over 6 hours (and over 5 consecutive hours) as meal-period work, and pays extra half-time on those minutes in the regular band so the period lands at 1.5× without stacking onto an hour already at daily overtime.
Is the legacy double-time rate for pre-2017 hires in this calculator?
No. Employees hired before 26 January 2017 may still have a 2× overtime rate under the Labor Transformation and Flexibility Act savings clause. Weekly rest-day overtime, the second meal after 10 hours, written 30-minute meal reductions, and the alternate 24-hour cycle are also out of scope.
