Lineman pay calculator.

How the calculator works.

• Premium rates: base rate × multiplier, rounded to the cent. A $58.40 base at 1.5× is $87.60; at 2× it is $116.80.
• Each line: hours × that line's rate, rounded to the cent.
• Callouts: each callout is paid for the greater of the hours worked or the minimum, at the callout multiplier. The extra hours are a guarantee, not time worked.
• Expected gross wages: straight time + overtime + double time + callouts.
• Per diem: days × daily amount, shown separately because it is usually an allowance, not wages.
• Comparison: expected gross minus the paystub gross you enter. A positive number means the paystub is lower.

Enter each hour once. If 4 of your 12 overtime hours were double time, enter 8 overtime hours and 4 double-time hours, not 12 and 4.

Which hours go in which box?

Your rules decide. The calculator doesn't sort hours for you, because the triggers differ by employer, agreement and state.

Federal baseline. For covered, nonexempt employees, the Fair Labor Standards Act requires at least 1.5 times the regular rate for hours worked over 40 in a workweek. It does not require daily overtime, double time, or premium pay for weekends and holidays. See the Department of Labor's overtime fact sheet. High pay does not by itself make a lineworker exempt: the department says blue-collar workers who do manual work are not covered by the white-collar exemptions no matter how highly paid they might be.

Agreements and state law. Daily overtime, double time after a set number of hours, outside-schedule premiums, weekend and holiday rates, and callout minimums usually come from a collective bargaining agreement, an employer pay policy, or a state law such as California's. Read the overtime guide and the callout pay guide before choosing a multiplier.

The worked example.

Fictional example. These inputs are chosen to show the arithmetic. They are not a wage-rate benchmark, an agreement's rules, or a real paystub.

Straight time: 40 h × $58.40

$2,336.00

Overtime: 8 h × $87.60 (1.5×)

$700.80

Double time: 4 h × $116.80 (2×)

$467.20

Callout: 2 h worked, 4 h minimum, 4 h × $116.80 (2×)

$467.20

Expected gross wages

$3,971.20

Per diem: 5 days × $100.00, kept separate

$500.00

Gross wages on the fictional paystub

$3,737.60

Possible difference: $3,971.20 − $3,737.60

$233.60

The $233.60 is exactly 2 hours at the $116.80 callout rate: the paystub paid the 2 hours worked but not the 2 hours the example's minimum adds. On a real paycheck, first confirm that the minimum applies and that those hours are not on another line.

When your number and the paystub differ.

1. Match the period. Use the work dates the paycheck covers, not the payday.
2. Compare gross with gross. Not net pay, and not a total that includes per diem.
3. Go line by line. Compare hours and rate for each earnings code. See how to read a paystub.
4. Check how overtime is printed. Some paystubs show a full 1.5× line; others show straight time for all hours plus a separate 0.5× premium line.
5. Find the callout hours. A guarantee can appear on its own line, inside overtime, or in a later check.
6. Ask a specific question. Name the period, the line and your source. The paycheck guide has a template.

Common questions.

How do you calculate double time for a lineman?

Multiply the base hourly rate by 2 to get the double-time rate, then multiply that rate by the double-time hours. At a fictional $58.40 base rate, double time is $116.80 an hour, so 4 hours pay $467.20. Which hours qualify for double time comes from your agreement or an applicable state law; federal law does not require double time.

How is time and a half calculated?

Multiply the rate by 1.5 and then by the overtime hours. Under federal law the overtime rate is based on the regular rate, which can be higher than the base rate when other pay, such as a nondiscretionary bonus, is included. Enter the rate your rules actually use.

How does a callout minimum change the pay?

Each callout is paid for the greater of the hours worked or the minimum. With a 4-hour minimum, a 2-hour callout is paid as 4 hours. The extra 2 hours are a guarantee, not time worked. Whether a minimum applies, and how it interacts with an adjoining shift, comes from your agreement.

Is per diem part of gross pay?

This calculator keeps per diem out of gross wages and shows it on its own line, because it is usually a separate allowance or reimbursement. How your employer reports it, and whether any of it is taxable, depends on the arrangement. Compare per diem against its own paystub line.

Why does my paystub differ from the calculator by a few cents?

Rounding. This calculator rounds each premium rate and each line to the nearest cent. Payroll systems may round at a different step, so a difference of a few cents is usually rounding rather than missing pay.

Does the calculator save or send my numbers?

No. The arithmetic runs in this browser tab. Nothing you type is sent to LinePaycheck or anyone else, and nothing is saved after you leave the page.

Sources.

• U.S. Department of Labor, Fact Sheet #23: Overtime Pay Requirements of the FLSA.
• U.S. Department of Labor, Fact Sheet #56A: Overview of the Regular Rate of Pay.
• U.S. Department of Labor, Fact Sheet #17I: Blue-Collar Workers and the Part 541 Exemptions.
• eCFR, 29 CFR 778.221, "Call-back" pay.

More lineworker pay guides.

• How to check your paycheckMatch the period, compare gross with gross, and trace each difference to hours, a rate or a rule.
• Lineman overtime and double timeWeekly overtime, daily tiers, double time, the regular rate, and how overtime shows up on a paystub.
• Callout pay and minimumsHow a callout minimum turns two hours of work into four paid hours, and what to record each time.
• Storm work payWhat to log on a restoration deployment so you can check the paychecks that follow it.
• Per diem and subsistenceKeep per diem separate from wages, track it by work date, and know where the tax rules live.
• How to read a paystubEarnings codes, hours, rates, current versus year-to-date, deductions and reimbursements, line by line.
• Apprentice lineman payStep percentages, advancement dates, and how to check that each paycheck uses the right step rate.
• Lineman pay glossaryPlain definitions of the pay terms on agreements, timesheets and paystubs.