4-10 Work Schedule: How It Works and What HR Must Check

A 4-10 work schedule means working four 10-hour days a week instead of five 8-hour days. Weekly hours stay at 40, and the employee gets a third day off every week, usually Friday or Monday. Under federal law it creates no overtime, but California and a few other states count overtime by the day. This guide covers how to set up day-off coverage, the state overtime traps, holiday and PTO math, and when a 4-10 is the wrong choice.

What a 4-10 work schedule is

4-10 work schedule (4/10, four-tens): a compressed workweek in which employees work 10 hours a day on four days and have three days off, for a total of 40 hours a week.

It is the most common form of compressed workweek. The other well-known one is the 9/80 work schedule, which gives every other Friday off. Federal agencies can offer both under the federal compressed work schedule rules (OPM, Compressed Work Schedules).

Three ways to set it up

A 10-hour day usually means something like 7 AM to 5:30 PM with a 30-minute unpaid lunch. Add the commute and many employees are away from home 12 hours a day, which matters for anyone with school pickups.

4-10 vs 9/80 vs 5-8

Who the 4-10 schedule suits

• Office and back-office teams whose work does not need five days of presence
• Manufacturing and construction crews where setup and cleanup time make longer days more efficient
• Field service and maintenance teams with long drives to job sites
• Police patrol and dispatch, where 10-hour shifts create overlap at shift change
• Government offices using a compressed schedule program

It suits poorly when a role needs one person present five days a week and there is no one to cover the fifth day, when the work is physically heavy or safety-critical and fatigue builds after 8 hours, or when employees have caregiving hours that a 10-hour day breaks.

Pros and cons

Overtime rules for 4-10 schedules

The FLSA sets overtime at hours over 40 in a workweek, with no daily limit (DOL Fact Sheet #23). Four 10-hour days are exactly 40 hours, so a 4-10 creates no federal overtime unless someone works extra time.

State rules differ:

• California: overtime after 8 hours in a day and double time after 12 (California Labor Commissioner overtime FAQ). A 4-10 without an alternative workweek means 2 overtime hours every day, 8 per week. Employers avoid this by adopting an alternative workweek schedule approved by a two-thirds secret-ballot vote of the affected work unit, which allows up to 10 regular hours a day (California Labor Code §511). The election results must be reported to the state.
• Nevada: daily overtime after 8 hours applies to employees earning less than 1.5 times the minimum wage, but employees who agree to four scheduled 10-hour days are exempt from it (NRS 608.018).
• Alaska: daily overtime after 8 hours, unless the employee is on a written flexible work hour plan (up to 10 hours a day) that has been approved by and filed with the Alaska Department of Labor, or one included in a collective bargaining agreement (Alaska Wage and Hour Act).
• Colorado: daily overtime starts after 12 hours, so a 10-hour day does not trigger it.

Holidays, PTO and sick leave on a 4-10

Most holiday and PTO policies are written in 8-hour days, and a 4-10 breaks that math. Settle these before launch:

• Holiday hours: if a holiday is worth 8 hours but the employee was scheduled for 10, either pay 10, or let them make up 2 hours or use 2 hours of PTO. Pick one rule for everyone.
• Holiday on the day off: a Friday holiday gives Friday-off employees nothing. Most employers give a floating day or 10 hours of PTO so treatment is equal.
• PTO and sick leave: a full day off costs 10 hours. Keep accrual in hours so annual time off is the same as for 5-8 employees.
• Exempt employees: salaried exempt staff are paid the same weekly salary, so the change is about expectations and coverage, not pay.

How to roll out a 4-10 schedule

1. 1List which roles need five-day (or longer) coverage and choose the same-day, staggered or extended model.
2. 2Check state overtime rules for every state where affected employees work. In California, run the alternative workweek election before announcing the schedule.
3. 3Write the policy: core hours when everyone is reachable, how days off are assigned, holiday and PTO rules, and how the schedule can be ended.
4. 4Tell customers, vendors and other departments who is off on which day.
5. 5Run a 90-day pilot with a few measures agreed in advance, such as output, service levels, overtime and attendance.
6. 6Update time and attendance settings so daily overtime, holidays and PTO are calculated in 10-hour units.

Frequently asked questions about the 4-10 schedule