The 8 80 rule for hospitals applied to temp workers

The 8/80 rule allows employers to calculate overtime based on a 14-day pay period (rather than a standard week) where overtime is paid after 8 hours in a single day, or after 80 hours in the two week period, rather than calculating overtime based on a 40-hour week. The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) provides for this method of calculation in Section 7(j).

In some cases, an employer might contract with temporary workers, which could raise concerns about whether the 8/80 rule can be applied to those individuals. Employees of a temporary help company working on assignments in hospitals are considered to be jointly employed by both the temporary help company and the hospital in which they are employed.

For enforcement purposes, the Wage and Hour Division will not take exception to a claim by a hospital that Section 7(j) applies during any 14-day period where the employees work exclusively for a single hospital, provided that before performance of the work, an agreement is made between the hospital and the employees to use the 14-day period in lieu of the normal workweek. On the other hand, Section 7(j) will not apply to any employee who, during a 14-day work period, is employed in more than one hospital even though all such hospitals may be operating under Section 7(j) with respect to their regular employees.

An agreement or understanding may be presumed to exist with respect to any employee who accepts payment of wages pursuant to notice by the hospital that compensation will be made according to Section 7(j). Posting a notice on a bulletin board or advising employees by means of payroll inserts constitutes sufficient notification.