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GUIDES

Scheduling part-time employees fairly

Updated 2026-11-12 · By the Assistlify team · AI-assisted, every fact linked to its source below

To schedule part-time employees fairly, agree a written weekly hours range with each person, hand out extra hours by a rule everyone can see, and offer new hours to current part-timers before hiring. Federal wage law does not define part-time at all: the US Department of Labor says the FLSA does not define full-time or part-time employment and applies the same way to both.

That means minimum wage, overtime after 40 hours in a workweek, and recordkeeping are identical for a 12-hour and a 38-hour employee. The definitions that do exist come from other laws.

Where "part-time" and "full-time" are defined

RuleDefinitionApplies toSource
FLSANone; set by the employerAll covered employersDOL elaws FLSA Advisor
Affordable Care Act employer rulesFull-time = on average at least 30 hours of service per week, or 130 hours per monthApplicable large employers: at least 50 full-time employees including full-time equivalentsIRS
San Francisco formula retailPart-time = less than 35 hours per weekFormula retail with 40+ establishments worldwide and 20+ employees in SFSF OLSE FAQ

Example (IRS monthly measurement method): an employee scheduled 33 hours a week for 4 weeks in a month has 132 hours of service. That is at least 130, so for an applicable large employer the employee counts as full-time that month.

Fair-hours template (one row per part-timer)

EmployeeAgreed weekly rangeAvailable days and timesStores they can workWants extra hours?Last 4 weeks' average
Example: Lee16–24Mon–Wed after 3 p.m.; Sat all dayStore 1, Store 2Yes(17 + 22 + 20 + 21) ÷ 4 = 20
Example: Priya10–15Sat–SunStore 2No(12 + 12 + 15 + 9) ÷ 4 = 12

The average column shows at a glance whether someone is drifting outside their agreed range; Priya's 9-hour week is below her 10-hour floor.

Rules for handing out extra hours

  1. Offer open hours to current part-timers who marked "wants extra hours" before hiring.
  2. Among them, go to the person furthest below the top of their agreed range.
  3. Stop before an offer would push anyone past 40 hours across all stores, unless you plan to pay overtime (DOL Fact Sheet #23).
  4. Rotate Saturday and Sunday shifts in a fixed order and write the order on the schedule.
  5. Keep the offers and answers in writing.

Example: 6 extra hours open up at Store 2. Lee (range 16–24) is scheduled for 20, so 4 below the top; Sam (range 20–30) is scheduled for 22, so 8 below the top. Sam gets the first offer under rule 2, and 22 + 6 = 28 hours keeps Sam under 40. If Sam declines, the offer goes to Lee, and 20 + 6 = 26 goes past Lee's 24-hour top, so Lee is offered 4 of the 6.

In some cities rule 1 is the law for covered employers. San Francisco formula retail must offer additional work to existing part-time employees before hiring new employees, contractors or staffing agencies, and must give part-timers the same starting hourly pay, access to time off and promotion eligibility as full-time employees in similar jobs (SF OLSE FAQ). Los Angeles retail employers with 300+ employees must give current employees 72 hours' written notice of additional hours before hiring (LA Office of Wage Standards), and Philadelphia requires covered employers to offer new hours to existing employees (Philadelphia notice).

Part-timers under 18

Federal rules limit 14- and 15-year-olds to 3 hours on a school day, 18 hours in a school week, and work between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m. outside June 1 to Labor Day; 16- and 17-year-olds have no federal hour limits in non-hazardous jobs (DOL Fact Sheet #43). Details: rules for scheduling minors.

The grid itself is in the retail weekly schedule template. Assistlify can generate the weekly schedule from each person's availability and approved time off, which covers the "available days" column above.

This is general information, not legal advice. Check your state labor department for current rules.

This is general information, not legal advice. Check your state labor department for current rules.

Questions

How many hours is part-time?

There is no federal definition: the DOL says the FLSA does not define part-time employment and leaves it to the employer. For ACA employer rules, the IRS treats an average of 30 hours a week or 130 hours a month as full-time.

Do part-time employees get overtime?

Yes, on the same rule as full-time employees: the FLSA applies regardless of full-time or part-time status, and hours over 40 in a workweek earn at least 1.5 times the regular rate.

Do I have to offer extra hours to part-timers before hiring?

Not under federal law. San Francisco formula retail employers must, and Los Angeles, Philadelphia and NYC fast food require covered employers to offer added hours to current employees first.

Can a 15-year-old part-timer work after school until close?

Only until 7 p.m., or 9 p.m. from June 1 to Labor Day, and no more than 3 hours on a school day under federal rules (DOL Fact Sheet #43).

Sources