⚖️ Department of Labor 29 CFR § 785.48(b) Compliant

FLSA Time Rounding Calculator

Audit and apply federal 7-minute (15-min increment) and 6-minute (tenth-hour) payroll rounding rules to prevent wage violations and overtime miscalculations.

Enter Decimal Hours:

hours

Quick Presets:

FLSA Payroll Rounding Mode: Exact Math

Exact (None) 15-Min (7-Min Rule) 6-Min (0.1 Tenth) 5-Minute

No rounding applied. Exact mathematical conversion.

Calculated Time:

8 hrs 45 mins 0 secs

Clock Format:


08:45:00

Step-by-Step Calculation Formula

Take the whole number as hours: 8 hour(s).
Multiply decimal remainder by 60 for minutes: 0.75 × 60 = 45 minute(s).
Remaining fraction of minutes multiplied by 60: 0 second(s).

Excel / Google Sheets Formula:

=TEXT(A1/24, "hh:mm:ss")

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Federal FLSA Timecard Rounding Rules Explained

Federal regulations permit three primary rounding increments. Below is the official breakdown:

1. The 15-Minute Rule (7-Minute Rule)

Permitted under FLSA 29 CFR § 785.48(b). The 7-minute mark is the legal tipping point:

• 0:01 – 0:07 → 0:00 (0.00 hr)
• 0:08 – 0:22 → 0:15 (0.25 hr)
• 0:23 – 0:37 → 0:30 (0.50 hr)
• 0:38 – 0:52 → 0:45 (0.75 hr)
• 0:53 – 0:60 → 1:00 (1.00 hr)

2. The 6-Minute Rule (Tenth of an Hour)

Popular in manufacturing and industrial punch cards (0.1 increments):

• 1 – 2 min → 0.0 hr (0 min)
• 3 – 8 min → 0.1 hr (6 min)
• 9 – 14 min → 0.2 hr (12 min)
• 15 – 20 min → 0.3 hr (18 min)
• 21 – 26 min → 0.4 hr (24 min)

Printable Decimal to Time Conversion Chart

Complete reference table for 1 to 60 minutes with exact decimals, payroll standard (2 decimals), and FLSA 15-min / 6-min rounding.

Minutes	Exact Decimal	Standard Payroll (2 Decimals)	FLSA 15-Min (7-Min Rule)	6-Min Tenth (0.1 Hr)
1 min	0.0167	0.02 hr	0.00 hr	0.0 hr
2 min	0.0333	0.03 hr	0.00 hr	0.0 hr
3 min	0.0500	0.05 hr	0.00 hr	0.1 hr
4 min	0.0667	0.07 hr	0.00 hr	0.1 hr
5 min	0.0833	0.08 hr	0.00 hr	0.1 hr
6 min	0.1000	0.10 hr	0.00 hr	0.1 hr
7 min	0.1167	0.12 hr	0.00 hr	0.1 hr
8 min	0.1333	0.13 hr	0.25 hr	0.1 hr
9 min	0.1500	0.15 hr	0.25 hr	0.2 hr
10 min	0.1667	0.17 hr	0.25 hr	0.2 hr
11 min	0.1833	0.18 hr	0.25 hr	0.2 hr
12 min	0.2000	0.20 hr	0.25 hr	0.2 hr
13 min	0.2167	0.22 hr	0.25 hr	0.2 hr
14 min	0.2333	0.23 hr	0.25 hr	0.2 hr
15 min	0.2500	0.25 hr	0.25 hr	0.3 hr
16 min	0.2667	0.27 hr	0.25 hr	0.3 hr
17 min	0.2833	0.28 hr	0.25 hr	0.3 hr
18 min	0.3000	0.30 hr	0.25 hr	0.3 hr
19 min	0.3167	0.32 hr	0.25 hr	0.3 hr
20 min	0.3333	0.33 hr	0.25 hr	0.3 hr
21 min	0.3500	0.35 hr	0.25 hr	0.4 hr
22 min	0.3667	0.37 hr	0.25 hr	0.4 hr
23 min	0.3833	0.38 hr	0.50 hr	0.4 hr
24 min	0.4000	0.40 hr	0.50 hr	0.4 hr
25 min	0.4167	0.42 hr	0.50 hr	0.4 hr
26 min	0.4333	0.43 hr	0.50 hr	0.4 hr
27 min	0.4500	0.45 hr	0.50 hr	0.5 hr
28 min	0.4667	0.47 hr	0.50 hr	0.5 hr
29 min	0.4833	0.48 hr	0.50 hr	0.5 hr
30 min	0.5000	0.50 hr	0.50 hr	0.5 hr
31 min	0.5167	0.52 hr	0.50 hr	0.5 hr
32 min	0.5333	0.53 hr	0.50 hr	0.5 hr
33 min	0.5500	0.55 hr	0.50 hr	0.6 hr
34 min	0.5667	0.57 hr	0.50 hr	0.6 hr
35 min	0.5833	0.58 hr	0.50 hr	0.6 hr
36 min	0.6000	0.60 hr	0.50 hr	0.6 hr
37 min	0.6167	0.62 hr	0.50 hr	0.6 hr
38 min	0.6333	0.63 hr	0.75 hr	0.6 hr
39 min	0.6500	0.65 hr	0.75 hr	0.7 hr
40 min	0.6667	0.67 hr	0.75 hr	0.7 hr
41 min	0.6833	0.68 hr	0.75 hr	0.7 hr
42 min	0.7000	0.70 hr	0.75 hr	0.7 hr
43 min	0.7167	0.72 hr	0.75 hr	0.7 hr
44 min	0.7333	0.73 hr	0.75 hr	0.7 hr
45 min	0.7500	0.75 hr	0.75 hr	0.8 hr
46 min	0.7667	0.77 hr	0.75 hr	0.8 hr
47 min	0.7833	0.78 hr	0.75 hr	0.8 hr
48 min	0.8000	0.80 hr	0.75 hr	0.8 hr
49 min	0.8167	0.82 hr	0.75 hr	0.8 hr
50 min	0.8333	0.83 hr	0.75 hr	0.8 hr
51 min	0.8500	0.85 hr	0.75 hr	0.9 hr
52 min	0.8667	0.87 hr	0.75 hr	0.9 hr
53 min	0.8833	0.88 hr	1.00 hr	0.9 hr
54 min	0.9000	0.90 hr	1.00 hr	0.9 hr
55 min	0.9167	0.92 hr	1.00 hr	0.9 hr
56 min	0.9333	0.93 hr	1.00 hr	0.9 hr
57 min	0.9500	0.95 hr	1.00 hr	1.0 hr
58 min	0.9667	0.97 hr	1.00 hr	1.0 hr
59 min	0.9833	0.98 hr	1.00 hr	1.0 hr
60 min	1.0000	1.00 hr	1.00 hr	1.0 hr

Frequently Asked Questions

Everything you need to know about timecard decimals, FLSA rounding rules, and payroll conversions.

Is employee timecard rounding legal under the FLSA?

Yes, under 29 CFR § 785.48(b), the Fair Labor Standards Act allows employers to round employee starting and stopping times to the nearest 5 minutes, 6 minutes (tenth of an hour), or 15 minutes (quarter of an hour), provided that the rounding policy is neutral and does not result in the failure to pay employees properly for all hours worked.

How does the 7-minute rule work?

In a 15-minute rounding system: minutes 1 through 7 round down to the nearest quarter hour, while minutes 8 through 14 round up to the next quarter hour. For example, clocking in at 8:07 AM rounds to 8:00 AM, but clocking in at 8:08 AM rounds to 8:15 AM.

Can an employer round down on clock-in and round down on clock-out?

No. Rounding that consistently favors the employer (such as always rounding down at punch-in and always rounding down at punch-out) violates federal labor law. The rounding must average out fairly over time.

What is the 6-minute tenth-of-an-hour rule?

Many employers divide an hour into tenths (every 6 minutes = 0.1 hour). In this system: 1-2 minutes round to 0, 3-8 minutes round to 0.1, 9-14 minutes round to 0.2, and so on. The midpoint is 3 minutes.