How holiday pay usually works
“Holiday pay” covers two different things: premium pay for working a holiday, and paid time off for a holiday. This calculator handles the first — enter your rate, the holiday shift hours, and the multiplier your employer uses (1.5x is the most common; 2x shows up for major holidays and in union agreements). An 8-hour shift at $18.00/hour becomes $216.00 at time and a half or $288.00 at double time, instead of $144.00 straight time.
The part most people get wrong
The FLSA treats a holiday like any other day. Federally, working December 25 does not by itself entitle you to extra pay — premium holiday pay is a benefit employers offer, not a federal mandate. What the law does guarantee is overtime: if holiday-week hours push you past 40 hours worked, the hours over 40 must be paid at time and a half regardless of any holiday policy. A couple of states have had premium-pay requirements for certain work (Rhode Island, and historically Massachusetts retail) — your state labor department is the place to confirm.
Stacking holiday pay and overtime
Say you earn $18.00/hour, your company pays 1.5x for the holiday, and you work 44 total hours that week including the 8-hour holiday shift. You'd get the holiday premium per policy, plus FLSA overtime on the 4 hours over 40. Whether a contractual holiday premium can “credit” against overtime due depends on the agreement — when both apply, run the numbers both ways with the overtime calculator and ask payroll which method they use.
Paid holidays off are simpler: you receive your normal rate for the day, and those unworked hours generally don't count toward the 40-hour overtime threshold. For quick rate math at your exact wage, the per-wage pages have time and a half precomputed from $12 to $50 an hour.