Truckers' Equivalent Hourly Pay
If you're paid by the mile, the common misperception by MOST truckers who had never excelled beyond arithmetic math is to take gross pay ÷ total hours worked in a week. The PROPER method to calculate your equavalent hourly pay, factoring federal labor law of time & ½ overtime pay; and using "actual hours" worked. This includes sitting down to fill out your logbooks, do a trip report, delays at the shipper/receiver docks, waiting in line to refuel, etc.... If you were a local hourly paid driver, you would receive monetary compensation until you clock out at the end of your shift. The algebraic formula is:
40*X + 1½*XY = Gross pay
*= "multiplied by"
Y= hours worked in excess of 40 actual hours worked.
Gross pay = total weekly earnings before taxes
To illustrate, if you worked 85 "actual hours" in a week, and your settlement check shows your gross pay is $1,000 then you're entitled to 40 hours straight time and 45 hours of time and ½ overtime pay under federal labor law. The equation will show
(40 * X) + (1½ * 45 * X) = $1,000
Working out to combine the middle term, 45 times 1½ = 67½. It will now show
(40*X) + (67½*X) = $1,000
Combining the first and second terms, 40 + 67½, we now show
(40*X + 67½*X = $1,000) -----> 107½*X = $1,000
Divide both sides by 107½ to isolate X
(107½*X) = $1,000 ------> X = $9.30
107½ 107½
We've solved for X. Working 85 actual hours to earn $1,000 gross pay in a week is the equivalent of $9.30 per hour if we had a local hourly-paying job. Lets do arithmetic to confirm this.
($9.30*40) + ($9.30*1½*45) ----> $372 + ($13.95*45)
$372 + $627.75 = $999.75
Looks like there's a margin of .0¼% error, but I'm sure the majority will agree this is acceptable. Now suppose you reside in a state that allows double overtime pay like California, which mandates double overtime when you exceed 60 hours a week.
The algebraic formula will now read:
(40*X) + (1½*XY) + (2*XZ) = Gross pay
Solving for X gives us the straight-time pay, Y is time & ½ overtime, and Z is
double-time pay. From the previous example, factoring double overtime pay mandated under California labor law, the new equation to solve is:
(40*X) + (1½*XY) + (2*XZ) = $1,000
At 85 actual hours worked in a week, we're entitled to 40 hours straight time, 20 hours at time and ½ overtime, and 25 hours of double-time pay.
Thus, Y=20 and Z=25.
(40*X) + (1½*X*20) + (2*X*25) = $1,000
Solving the second and third terms, we now have
(40*X) + (30*X) + (50*X) = $1,000
Combining like terms, then dividing to isolate X, we have
120*X = $1,000 -----> X = $8.33
120 120
Calculations reveals that a gross pay of $1,000 and working 85 actual hours of duty time to earn this pay is the equivalent of $8.33 per hour under California labor laws. Lets do the arithmetic to confirm this.
($8.33*40) + ($8.33*1½*20) + ($8.33*2*25)
Multiplying each of these 3 terms to find straight pay, 1½ overtime pay, and double overtime pay.
$333.20 + ($12.50*20) + ($16.66*25)
The 1½ overtime pay is $12.50 per hour, and double overtime pay is $16.66 per hour.
$333.20 + $250 + $416.50 = $999.70
Again, we have a tiny margin error of .03% --- slightly higher than our first equation with no double-time pay.
Tony Cantero
poortrucker@gmail.com
