# Over-Night Shift and Daylight Savings Time **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [November 2, 2009, 4:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/over-night-shift-and-daylight-savings-time/516022 "2009-11-02T04:38:19Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 19\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Serenata67](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/serenata67/32/10646_2.png) [@Serenata67](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Serenata67)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2009, 4:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/over-night-shift-and-daylight-savings-time/516022/1 "2009-11-02T04:38:19Z")
This past weekend, those of us who live in areas that partake in daylight savings time rolled back the clocks and gained an extra hour of sleep. Well, those of us who do not work the night shift. My questions pertain to those who do. First of all, in businesses where they run 24 hours a day, do they force the overnight people to work an extra hour that week? (Is it right that the employees would get time and a half for that, if it puts them over 40 hours for that week?) How do people allot for that on time cards? If you punch your time card for the 8pm to 8am shift, that would look like a 12 hour shift, but you really worked 13 hours, right? And when the clocks spring ahead at the beginning of daylight savings time, are the employees forced to lose an hour of work? I assume the time card accounting would be similar for the spring ahead as the fall back. I’ve never worked the overnight shift during this switch, so I’m really curious how it works. ---
**Author:** ![St.Urho](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/8e7dd6/32.png) [@St.Urho](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/St.Urho)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2009, 4:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/over-night-shift-and-daylight-savings-time/516022/2 "2009-11-02T04:51:19Z")
I work nights as a paramedic and I worked last night. We worked an extra hour and got an hour of overtime for it. My time card shows 2030-0630 but totals 11 hours. According to one of the many emails about this from administration, the time clock software is programmed to do this automatically. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2009, 4:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/over-night-shift-and-daylight-savings-time/516022/3 "2009-11-02T04:56:31Z")
I did work some graveyard shifts back in the 1970’s, and we did have to work the extra hour. It was assumed we’d still be around six months later and could benefit from an hour less then. I remember getting paid an hour’s overtime, but then we got paid an hour less at the next time change. ---
**Author:** ![boytyperanma](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4491bb/32.png) [@boytyperanma](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/boytyperanma)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2009, 4:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/over-night-shift-and-daylight-savings-time/516022/4 "2009-11-02T04:58:24Z")
At Home Depot we kept the overnight workers at eight total hours worked in effect leaving an hour early. Had everyone punch out just before midnight and punch back in a few minutes later when the computers updated the clocks. ---
**Author:** ![Reply](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/reply/32/15952_2.png) [@Reply](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reply)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2009, 5:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/over-night-shift-and-daylight-savings-time/516022/5 "2009-11-02T05:01:20Z")
> [@boytyperanma](#): > > At Home Depot we kept the overnight workers at eight total hours worked in effect leaving an hour early. Had everyone punch out just before midnight and punch back in a few minutes later when the computers updated the clocks. Can you clarify this? Do you mean they worked one hour less than usual? If so, what did the store do for that one missing hour? ---
**Author:** ![Serenata67](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/serenata67/32/10646_2.png) [@Serenata67](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Serenata67)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2009, 5:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/over-night-shift-and-daylight-savings-time/516022/6 "2009-11-02T05:10:11Z")
> [@Reply](#): > > Can you clarify this? > > Do you mean they worked one hour less than usual? If so, what did the store do for that one missing hour? I think that he meant that they all worked 8 hours. On a normal day, they would work 10pm to 6 am, but yesterday they left at 5 am. They still worked a full 8 hours, but because of the daylight savings time, they left an hour “early” … am I getting this right? I’m guessing the overnight shift is a stocking type shift where they only have 8 hours of work to do, so they only need them for 8 hours. It’s not like the store is open and helping customers and shoos them away for an hour while they close. (or a factory where they shut down the machines just because of the extra hour.) ---
**Author:** ![cornflakes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9d8465/32.png) [@cornflakes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cornflakes)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2009, 5:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/over-night-shift-and-daylight-savings-time/516022/7 "2009-11-02T05:11:27Z")
At my work, they generally give people the option of leaving an hour early or being paid for the extra hour. I can’t remember any time when they deviated from this, but they may have made everyone leave early when orders were down or asked everyone to work the full shift if orders were up. ---
**Author:** ![boytyperanma](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4491bb/32.png) [@boytyperanma](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/boytyperanma)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2009, 5:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/over-night-shift-and-daylight-savings-time/516022/8 "2009-11-02T05:35:29Z")
> [@Serenata67](#): > > I think that he meant that they all worked 8 hours. On a normal day, they would work 10pm to 6 am, but yesterday they left at 5 am. They still worked a full 8 hours, but because of the daylight savings time, they left an hour “early” > > … am I getting this right? This is correct ---
**Author:** ![Tamerlane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tamerlane/32/7602_2.png) [@Tamerlane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tamerlane)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2009, 5:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/over-night-shift-and-daylight-savings-time/516022/9 "2009-11-02T05:42:17Z")
My job pays us an hour overtime. Conversely, when the clocks roll the other way, they pay us eight hours pay for seven hours work. I can’t complain. ---
**Author:** ![missred](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/missred/32/14096_2.png) [@missred](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/missred)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2009, 5:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/over-night-shift-and-daylight-savings-time/516022/10 "2009-11-02T05:52:40Z")
I work an overnight shift (and did so last night). We go home after our twelve hours are up, getting us in a clock hour ahead of usual. The timeclock software does the adjustment. In the spring, my company actually pays us an extra hour rather than have us sitting around with nothing to do once the production crews come in. Unlike **St. Urho** , there’s no life or death attached to having no one working in my department round the clock. Our security crew does stay, but are paid time and a half. ---
**Author:** ![Snnipe\_70E](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5a626/32.png) [@Snnipe\_70E](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snnipe_70E)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2009, 6:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/over-night-shift-and-daylight-savings-time/516022/11 "2009-11-02T06:05:21Z")
When I worked the mid shift in the fall we worked 9 hours and got paid 8. In the spring we worked 7 and got paid 8. Same as when I was shipping. On the mid watch whenever a time zone was crossed was either 3 or 5 hours with no extra pay or loss of pay. ---
**Author:** ![Epimetheus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/c4cdca/32.png) [@Epimetheus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Epimetheus)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2009, 6:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/over-night-shift-and-daylight-savings-time/516022/12 "2009-11-02T06:49:42Z")
It’s been awhile since I’ve worked nightshift, but I remember getting paid for 8 hours on both ends of the daylight savings time. I don’t remember working extra or getting paid extra. Things might have changed in the 5 years since I worked nights. ---
**Author:** ![dougie\_monty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/439d5e/32.png) [@dougie\_monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dougie_monty)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2009, 6:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/over-night-shift-and-daylight-savings-time/516022/13 "2009-11-02T06:55:32Z")
When I worked the graveyard shift as a security guard, we would fill out our shift logs–only on those two days each year–specifying whether the time was Standard Time or Daylight Savings Time. This ensured we were paid for nine, eight, or seven hours that shift, as the case have have been. ---
**Author:** ![Thalion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f475e1/32.png) [@Thalion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thalion)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2009, 7:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/over-night-shift-and-daylight-savings-time/516022/14 "2009-11-02T07:49:15Z")
I normally work 12 hour shifts, so Saturday night I worked a 13 hour shift. So I was paid one hour of overtime. ---
**Author:** ![Fugazi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/f08c70/32.png) [@Fugazi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fugazi)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2009, 12:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/over-night-shift-and-daylight-savings-time/516022/15 "2009-11-02T12:32:28Z")
Where I work we get an hour of overtime. We have to wait for the on coming shift to relieve us, so you can’t just take off an hour early. In the Spring you have the option of hanging around an extra hour after the on coming crew arrives, or take 1 hour of PTO. I take the PTO since I always have too much anyway. ---
**Author:** ![HongKongFooey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/c4cdca/32.png) [@HongKongFooey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HongKongFooey)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2009, 12:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/over-night-shift-and-daylight-savings-time/516022/16 "2009-11-02T12:44:53Z")
We get paid twelve hours + 1 overtime hour for the fall time change. In the spring we get paid 12 for the eleven hour shift. ---
**Author:** ![jonesj2205](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ecc23a/32.png) [@jonesj2205](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jonesj2205)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2009, 1:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/over-night-shift-and-daylight-savings-time/516022/17 "2009-11-02T13:17:20Z")
We always used to adjust the departure time so it actually was eight (or ten) hours worked. When I was in college I tried to convince a friend who worked as a DJ on a local radio station to tape the hour and replay it. The times would be right, how much does the weather change and how many people would actually be listening anyway. Sadly, he wouldn’t do it. ---
**Author:** ![robby](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robby/32/11048_2.png) [@robby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robby)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2009, 1:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/over-night-shift-and-daylight-savings-time/516022/18 "2009-11-02T13:36:17Z")
I worked shift work on a shore-based Navy nuclear power plant and on a submarine years ago. The plant and the boat had to be continuously manned. If you had the midwatch during the switch back to standard time in the Fall, you worked an extra hour. If you had the midwatch in the Spring for the switch to daylight saving time, you got to work an hour less. Nobody worried about timecards or working more than 40 hours in a week. I never worked less than an 80-hour work week anyway, and we were all on salary. The only thing that we worried about keeping straight were the logs. The military handles this by artificially switching the time zone. Referring to the chart [here](http://www.worldtimezone.com/standard.html), GMT is Time Zone Zulu. EST is Time Zone Romeo. When we switched to EDT, we changed our time zone to Time Zone Quebec. At sea, none of this was usually a problem, because we usually switched our onboard clocks to Time Zone Zulu (GMT). ---
**Author:** ![Markxxx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5daacb/32.png) [@Markxxx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Markxxx)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2009, 7:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/over-night-shift-and-daylight-savings-time/516022/19 "2009-11-02T19:51:32Z")
In the hotels I worked at when I was the overnight manager, we just got paid an extra hour. Usually they sent us home another day (earlier in the week) one hour earlier so there was no overtime. Remember your shift usually starts on 11pm on Saturday so you get paid on the week the Saturday is attached to. When it went the otherway we just lost an hour of pay