A night shift differential is extra pay for working night hours, usually a set percentage or a flat amount added to each hour. In the U.S., federal law does not require it. Whether you get one, and how much, normally depends on your employer's policy, your job offer or a union contract.
Here is how night differentials usually work, how to calculate one, how it changes your overtime, and how to check it on your pay stub. This is general information, not legal advice.
A shift differential is a premium added to your base pay for working particular shifts, such as evenings or nights. Federal overtime rules describe night shift differentials as taking the form of either a percent of the base rate or an addition of so many cents per hour, and those are the two versions you are likely to see:
Percentage: for example, 10% of your base rate for each qualifying hour.
Flat amount: for example, an extra $2.00 for each qualifying hour.
The details live in your employer's written policy or your contract. These are the questions that decide what you actually get:
Which hours count as night, for example 11 p.m. to 7 a.m.?
Is the premium paid for every hour of a night shift, or only for the hours inside that window?
Is it also paid on overtime, weekend and holiday hours?
Does it apply to paid leave, training or on-call time?
Not under federal law. The Department of Labor says the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) does not require extra pay for night work, and that extra pay for night shifts is a matter of agreement between the employer and the employee or the employee's representative, such as a union.
Federal employees on the General Schedule are a notable exception. The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) says they receive night pay, a 10 percent differential, for regularly scheduled work generally performed between 6 p.m. and 6 a.m. It is paid in addition to overtime, Sunday or holiday premium pay. Federal wage-grade (prevailing rate) employees are covered by a separate night shift differential rule.
If you are not sure whether a state rule, a public-sector rule or a union contract applies to your job, ask HR for the written policy or contact your state labor department.
Percentage example. Your base rate is $20.00 and your employer pays a 10% night differential. Each night hour pays $20.00 × 0.10 = $2.00 extra, or $22.00 in total. Eight night hours add 8 × $2.00 = $16.00.
Flat amount example. Your employer adds $1.50 an hour for night work. Eight night hours add 8 × $1.50 = $12.00.
Only part of the shift is at night. You work 6 p.m. to 2:30 a.m. with an unpaid 30-minute break at 9 p.m., so you are paid for 8 hours. If the policy pays a $2.00 differential only for hours between 11 p.m. and 7 a.m., then 3.5 of your hours qualify (11 p.m. to 2:30 a.m.), and the differential is 3.5 × $2.00 = $7.00. If a policy instead paid the premium for every hour of a shift that starts after a set time, the same shift could earn 8 × $2.00 = $16.00. That gap is why the written policy matters.
If you are a nonexempt worker covered by the FLSA's overtime rules, your night differential is more than a separate line on your stub. Federal regulations require night shift differentials to be included in your regular rate before overtime is calculated, and no part of the differential can be counted as overtime pay. So in a week over 40 hours, the differential raises your overtime pay too.
Example: your base rate is $18.00, you work 45 hours in the workweek, and 30 of those hours earn a $1.50 night differential.
Straight-time pay: 45 × $18.00 = $810.00
Night differential: 30 × $1.50 = $45.00
Regular rate: ($810.00 + $45.00) ÷ 45 = $19.00
Overtime premium: 5 hours × half of $19.00 ($9.50) = $47.50
Total gross pay: $810.00 + $45.00 + $47.50 = $902.50
If the overtime premium were figured on the $18.00 base alone, it would be 5 × $9.00 = $45.00, leaving you $2.50 short for the week. Over 52 weeks like this one, that is $130.
The DOL says the FLSA does not require employers to give you pay stubs, although it does require them to keep accurate records of hours worked and wages paid. Your state may have its own pay statement rules. If you get a stub, work through these steps:
Find the differential line. Labels vary, such as "Shift Diff", "Night Diff", "NSD" or "Premium".
Check the hours on that line against the night hours you actually worked inside your policy's window.
Check the rate: your base rate times the percentage, or the flat amount per hour.
Multiply the hours by the rate and compare the result with the amount shown.
If you worked more than 40 hours that week, check that your overtime pay reflects the differential and not just your base rate.
Keep your own log of shift start and end times and unpaid breaks, so you have something to compare against.
If something does not match, email payroll or HR with the dates, the hours and your math, and keep a copy.
Under the FLSA, employers must record, among other things, the hours worked each day, the total hours each workweek, the regular hourly pay rate, total overtime earnings for the workweek and any additions to wages. It is reasonable to ask payroll how your figures were built.
Not under federal law. The FLSA does not require extra pay for night work, so it usually comes from employer policy or a union contract. Federal General Schedule employees are an exception, with a 10% night differential for regularly scheduled night work.
There is no federal standard rate for private employers, so it depends on your employer, your job and any contract. It may be a percentage of base pay or a flat amount per hour. Ask HR for the written policy.
Yes, for nonexempt employees covered by the FLSA. Night shift differentials must be included in the regular rate used to calculate overtime pay.
It depends on your policy. For federal General Schedule employees, OPM says night pay is paid during leave only when the total paid leave in a biweekly pay period is less than 8 hours. Other employers set their own rules.
EarnCheck is an iPhone shift and pay tracker that keeps an overnight shift as a single shift and shows your estimated gross pay with the hours, rates and premiums behind each figure. EarnCheck Pro adds user-defined night, weekend or holiday premiums. The app's Payday Check compares your pay statement lines by gross amount, labeling each one Match, Difference to Review or Incomplete Information, and it can draft an editable message for payroll, though it never contacts your employer for you.
Get EarnCheck free on the App Store
29 CFR 778.207, Other types of contract premium pay distinguished (Cornell LII)
U.S. Office of Personnel Management: Night Pay for General Schedule Employees
U.S. Department of Labor: Fact Sheet #21, Recordkeeping Requirements under the FLSA