What is a split shift? It's a workday broken up by an unpaid, off-duty gap longer than a normal meal break, such as a lunch shift and a dinner shift on the same day. Federal law doesn't add extra pay for the gap, but some states, including California and New York, can require a split shift premium.
This is general information, not legal advice. Definitions and pay rules differ by state, so check with your state labor department for the rules where you work.
There's no single national definition, but two state rules show the idea clearly.
California: the state Labor Commissioner describes a split shift as a work schedule interrupted by unpaid, non-working periods set by the employer. The gap must be longer than a bona fide meal period and fall within the same workday. It can't be a meal or rest break, and it must be for the employer's benefit. If you ask for the gap for your own convenience, it isn't a split shift.
New York: the state's minimum wage order for miscellaneous industries and occupations defines a split shift as a schedule in which your daily working hours aren't consecutive. A meal period of one hour or less doesn't count as a break in consecutive hours.
California's own example is a restaurant worker scheduled from 10:00 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. who comes back at 4:00 p.m. to work the dinner shift.
Under federal rules, usually not, if you're truly off duty. The federal regulation on off-duty time says periods when you're completely relieved from duty, and that are long enough to use for your own purposes, aren't hours worked. You only count as completely relieved if you're told in advance that you can leave and that you won't have to start work again until a set time.
It's different if you have to stay and wait. The same rule's example is a truck driver who must wait at or near the job site while goods are loaded. That driver is working, because the waiting is part of the job.
The federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) sets minimum wage and overtime standards and requires pay for all hours worked in a workweek. Its basic standards don't include a split shift premium. The hours from both parts of your day still count toward the 40-hour overtime threshold for the week.
The premium: one hour of pay at the state minimum wage, or the local minimum wage if that's higher, each time your daily schedule is split.
Who gets it: minimum wage workers get the full premium. If you earn more, anything you're paid above the minimum wage counts toward the premium, so the higher your wage, the smaller the premium, and at a high enough wage nothing extra is owed.
Exceptions: there's no premium if you voluntarily pick up an extra shift, or if you live at the place where you work.
Overtime: the Labor Commissioner says a split shift has no effect on overtime.
Pay stub: the premium must be listed as its own line, such as "Split Shift Premium," not lumped in with wages or a bonus.
Records: keeping accurate time and payroll records is always the employer's legal responsibility.
Example (made-up wage figures, not current rates): suppose the minimum wage were $16 an hour. You work 6 hours across a split day at $17 an hour, so you earn $102. The minimum for that day is 6 x $16 = $96, plus a $16 premium, for $112. Your employer owes the $10 difference. At $20 an hour you'd earn $120, which already covers $112, so nothing extra would be owed. Look up the current state and local minimum wage before doing your own math.
New York's minimum wage order for miscellaneous industries and occupations says you get one hour's pay at the basic minimum hourly wage rate, in addition to the minimum wage, for any day when:
your spread of hours is more than 10 hours,
you work a split shift, or
both happen.
The spread of hours runs from the start to the end of your workday, and it includes working time, meal time and any off-duty time in between. Employers must also record the arrival and departure times of each employee who works a split shift or a spread of more than 10 hours. Other industries may be covered by different wage orders, so confirm with the New York State Department of Labor how the rule applies to your job and pay.
Other states may have their own rules or none at all, so check with your state labor department.
Log each block of work separately, with start and end times for both parts of the day.
Note who set the gap. In California, a gap you asked for yourself isn't a split shift.
Note what you did during the gap. If you had to stay on site or wait for work, write that down.
Record your first start and last finish so you can see your spread of hours, which matters in New York.
Check your pay stub for a separate premium line where your state requires one.
Example log entry (made-up): Tuesday, 10:00 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. (3.5 hours). Off from 1:30 to 4:00 p.m., scheduled by my manager, free to leave. Then 4:00 to 9:00 p.m. (5 hours). Hours worked: 8.5. Spread of hours: 11.
For more on keeping a clean log, see the Honest Little Apps guide on how to track hours worked.
Usually not, if you're completely off duty and free to use the time for yourself. If you're required to stay and wait for work, that time can count as hours worked.
Generally, yes. The FLSA doesn't limit how many hours a day or days a week employees 16 and older can be scheduled. Some states, like California and New York, require extra pay in certain cases.
In California, no. The Labor Commissioner says a split shift has no effect on overtime. Elsewhere, check your own state's rules.
No. In California, the gap has to be longer than a bona fide meal period and can't be a meal or rest break. In New York, a meal period of one hour or less doesn't break up consecutive hours.
EarnCheck: Shift & Pay Tracker lets you confirm a finished shift with one tap or adjust its start, end or unpaid break, and its Shift Calendar shows your daily hours and estimated pay. EarnCheck Pro adds daily overtime and user-defined night, weekend or holiday premiums, but a split shift premium isn't among the listed premium types, so check that line on your stub yourself. Its Payday Check compares your pay statement lines by gross amount and labels each one Match, Difference to Review or Incomplete Information.
Get EarnCheck free on the App Store