What is a calendar week?
A calendar week is a seven-day period that runs from Sunday through Saturday, based on the standard calendar format used in the United States. Unlike a rolling 7-day period or custom workweek, a calendar week resets every Sunday and ends every Saturday—regardless of your company’s operating hours.
For small business owners, understanding the calendar week is critical for tracking employee hours, calculating overtime, and aligning with federal and state wage and hour laws. With tools like Homebase, you can accurately track time by calendar week and ensure employees are paid fairly and legally.
Why the calendar week matters for employers
The calendar week is often used as a legal reference period for labor laws, including:
- Overtime calculations under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA)
- Break and rest period tracking
- Scheduling compliance in certain states
- Shift planning and labor cost forecasting
Even if your business operates on a different schedule (e.g., Monday to Sunday or rotating shifts), many labor rules—including overtime pay—are based on the Sunday-to-Saturday calendar week.
Calendar week vs. workweek
While they may seem similar, calendar week and workweek are not the same thing:
Employers are allowed to define their own workweek (e.g., Wednesday to Tuesday), but some states and local agencies still use the calendar week when enforcing labor laws or scheduling protections.
How the calendar week impacts overtime
Under federal law (FLSA), non-exempt hourly employees must be paid overtime—typically 1.5 times their regular pay rate—for any hours worked over 40 in a single workweek. While employers can define their own 7-day workweek, some states apply overtime based on the calendar week unless otherwise specified.
Example:
If an employee works:
- 38 hours from Monday to Friday
- And 5 hours on Saturday
They’ve worked 43 hours during the calendar week (Sunday–Saturday) and are owed 3 hours of overtime, even if your payroll week ends on a different day.
Calendar week in scheduling and time tracking
Using the calendar week structure helps streamline:
- Timesheet reporting
- Break and shift compliance (especially for states with predictive scheduling laws)
- Comparing labor costs week-over-week
- Managing part-time vs. full-time thresholds
If your business runs variable shifts, restaurants, or retail, organizing your schedule and reports by calendar week can simplify operations.
State-specific scheduling rules
Some states and cities use calendar weeks to enforce labor standards. For example:
- California: Tracks daily and weekly overtime based on standard calendar weeks unless employers document an alternate schedule.
- Oregon: Requires certain rest breaks and meal periods to fall within a calendar week structure.
- New York City: Predictive scheduling laws for fast food and retail workers reference calendar weeks for defining schedule changes and advance notice.
Failing to align your time tracking with state or local labor rules can lead to wage violations and fines.
Best practices for employers
- Define your official workweek in your employee handbook, and make sure it aligns with your scheduling and payroll processes
- Track time by calendar week when required by state law or to stay consistent with labor audits
- Use scheduling software that displays time worked in both workweek and calendar week formats
- Reconcile shift hours and wages weekly to catch errors before payday
- Communicate with managers and employees about how weekly totals affect pay, especially for overtime
How Homebase helps you track time by calendar week
Homebase makes it simple to track employee hours, breaks, and shifts in both workweek and calendar week views—so you can stay compliant and on schedule. With Homebase Timesheets, you can:
- Automatically calculate total hours worked each calendar week
- Flag overtime based on the correct 7-day period
- Align time tracking with payroll, tips, and breaks
- Create, edit, and approve timesheets from a central dashboard
- Export or sync time data directly into payroll
Explore Homebase Timesheets to stay compliant with labor laws, avoid scheduling headaches, and give your team the reliable records they deserve.