Static educational checklist — not a calculator. No bonus inputs, no percentage engines, no live regular-rate / half-time math. Spot common FLSA § 778.210 percentage-of-total-earnings bonus red flags: when a bona fide contract or plan pays additional compensation as a fixed percentage of the employee’s straight-time and overtime earnings (or of total earnings that already include overtime), the simultaneous overtime on the bonus can satisfy the Act without a second recomputation — and when straight-time-only percentages, evasion devices under §§ 778.502–.503, discretionary / gift / flat-sum collapses, or commission rebrands fail that track. Distinct from the discretionary-bonus (§ 778.211), gifts (§ 778.212), commission / § 7(i), piece-rate / day-rate, and premium-credit cheat-sheet pages.
Baseline — what a § 778.210 percentage bonus is (and is not)
Under 29 CFR § 778.210, some bonus contracts or plans provide for the simultaneous payment of overtime compensation due on the bonus — for example, additional compensation at 10% of the employee’s straight-time earnings and 10% of overtime earnings. When payments follow that form in good faith, they can satisfy the overtime provisions of the FLSA in full and no recomputation of the regular rate is required. That is not true when the form is used as a device to evade overtime (see §§ 778.502 and 778.503), when the “percentage” applies only to straight-time pay and ignores overtime earnings, or when the payment is really a discretionary bonus (§ 778.211), a gift (§ 778.212), a flat-sum nondiscretionary bonus that still needs allocation, or a renamed commission / piece / tip payout. This page does not compute percentages — it only flags compliance red flags.
Checklist — percentage-of-total bonus red flags
Straight-time-only “percentage” plans treated as no-recompute § 778.210. Flag bonuses advertised as “10% of earnings” that in practice multiply only straight-time wages (or only base hourly pay) and never apply the same percentage to overtime earnings already paid. § 778.210’s simultaneous-satisfaction example turns on percentage treatment of both straight-time and overtime earnings — a straight-time-only kicker generally still requires regular-rate inclusion and OT recomputation for the covered weeks.
§§ 778.502 / 778.503 evasion devices dressed as percentage bonuses. Flag plans that use a “percentage of total earnings” label to artificially split or suppress overtime — for example, reducing the stated hourly rate and “making it up” with a percentage add-on, or structuring the percentage so that overtime hours never receive a true time-and-one-half premium on the underlying rate. § 778.210 expressly withholds the no-recompute benefit when the form is an evasion device.
Discretionary § 778.211 / gift § 778.212 collapses into “percentage.” Flag handbook language that calls a fixed-percentage production / attendance / quarterly bonus “discretionary” or a “gift,” then skips both § 778.210 simultaneous-OT analysis and ordinary nondiscretionary regular-rate inclusion. Labels do not convert a formula percentage into § 778.211 discretion or a § 778.212 gift.
Flat-sum nondiscretionary bonuses misfiled as § 778.210. Flag lump-sum $500 / $1,000 “percent-ish” awards, safety jackpots with a dollar floor, or capped flat awards that never actually multiply total earnings. Those are ordinary nondiscretionary bonuses that generally must be allocated into the regular rate — not simultaneous percentage plans that avoid recomputation.
California Alvarado flat-sum method applied to a true percentage-of-total bonus. Flag CA payroll macros that force every bonus through the Alvarado flat-sum divisor path even when the plan is a bona fide percentage of total earnings (including overtime) under § 778.210. Flat-sum and percentage-of-total are different doctrines; wrong-tool macros create under- or over-payment fights.
Commission, spiff, piece, or tip payouts rebranded as “percentage bonuses.” Flag sales commissions, tip pools, unit spiffs, and piece true-ups relabeled “% of earnings bonus” to dodge § 7(i), tip-credit, or piece-rate regular-rate analysis. Renaming does not open the § 778.210 simultaneous-OT gate.
Qualifying simultaneous percentage OT run through a second regular-rate pass (or ignored entirely). Flag worksheets that (a) correctly pay 10% of straight-time and 10% of OT earnings under a bona fide § 778.210 plan and then still recompute and collect additional half-time on the bonus dollars, or (b) pay a true percentage-of-total bonus but never deliver the overtime percentage leg at all. Over-recompute and under-pay are both red flags.
No prior contract or plan establishing the percentage terms. Flag ad hoc manager “percent kicks” announced after the work is done, changing percentages mid-period without a plan, or oral “about 10%” customs with no reconstructible terms. § 778.210 contemplates a contract or plan for the payment of the bonus — floating after-the-fact percentages usually fall back into ordinary nondiscretionary inclusion.
Profit-sharing / thrift / benefit-plan / other-similar collapses. Flag § 778.213 profit-sharing, § 778.215 benefit-plan contributions, § 778.224 other-similar payments, or stock/§ 7(e)(8) equity value forced into a “percentage bonus” code (or the reverse). Different exclusion tracks; different OT-credit answers.
FWW / Belo / salary-basis stacking myths + stub/record gaps. Flag fluctuating-workweek or Belo plans that never revisit the percentage leg when hours fluctuate, Part 541 “exempt” labels used to skip § 778.210 questions for nonexempt staff, wage statements that never separate the straight-time percentage from the overtime percentage, and missing plan documents showing the percentage base. Record gaps turn every percentage-bonus dispute into a he-said / she-said regular-rate fight.