The 9/80 Work Schedule, Explained
A 9/80 compresses 80 hours of work into nine days instead of ten, buying every employee an alternating Friday off. Done right it's overtime-neutral — done wrong it manufactures overtime every week.
How the schedule works
Week 1: four 9-hour days plus one 8-hour Friday (44 hours on the clock). Week 2: four 9-hour days, Friday off (36 hours). Total: 80 hours per two weeks, with 26 three-day weekends a year.
The workweek trick that makes it legal
Under the FLSA, overtime hits after 40 hours per workweek — and a naive 9/80 gives you a 44-hour week. The fix: define the workweek to split the 8-hour Friday in half, starting mid-day Friday. Each workweek then contains exactly 40 hours. The split must be fixed and documented, not improvised.
California daily overtime would break this — alternative workweek schedules there require a formal employee election. Get state-specific advice before adopting a 9/80 in daily-overtime states.
Tracking it
A 9/80 lives or dies on precise time records: the mid-Friday workweek split, consistent 9-hour days, and visibility when someone works their off-Friday (which shifts hours back into a 40+ week).
FAQ
Does a 9/80 schedule trigger overtime?
Not if the workweek is defined to start mid-shift on the 8-hour Friday, making each workweek exactly 40 hours. Without that definition, week one is a 44-hour week with 4 hours of overtime.
What does 9/80 mean?
80 hours worked over 9 days in two weeks — eight 9-hour days plus one 8-hour day — with every other Friday off.
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