It's Leap Day, and You're Probably Working — Here's How 'February 29' Affects Your Paycheck One key distinction could determine if you see extra cash this year.
By Amanda Breen
Key Takeaways
- Your Leap Day paycheck likely depends on your status as an hourly or salaried employee.
- Leap Year or not, 52% of full-time workers report working more than 40 hours a week.
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It's Leap Day: the extra day tacked onto the end of February, typically every four years, to account for the Earth's full 365-day-plus rotation around the sun.
And it's Thursday, which is a traditional workday for employees and entrepreneurs alike. But does your annual pay reflect the fact you've worked an additional day in the year? Well, that depends — mostly on if you're an hourly or salaried worker.
Related: Leap Year: How To Utilize the Extra Day As An Entrepreneur
Naturally, employees paid by the hour will be paid for every hour worked; as a result, those bonus hours worked should show up in the next paycheck. Salaried workers, on the other hand, won't necessarily see any pay adjustment.
In this case, are salaried employees getting the short end of the stick? Not exactly, according to CNN Business, as many of those employees will see work hours ebb and flow week to week depending on their projects, so it might work out in the end.
But it's worth noting that a 2019 Gallup poll found that 52% of full-time workers reported working more than 40 hours a week, while 39% worked at least 50 hours a week, and 18% worked at least 60.
Related: Want to Be More Productive? Stop Trying to Finish Every Task and Do This Instead
Ashley Herd, founder of ManagerMethod.com and a former employment attorney and human resources executive, offered the outlet another perspective: "In any given year, you may have one more or one less weekday. Every year, it nets in and out."
