Florida Building Contractor Business/Finance Practice Exam

If an employee earns $12 per hour and works 50 hours in a week, what are their gross wages?

1. $480

2. $540

3. $660

4. $720

The correct answer is: $660

To determine the gross wages for an employee who earns $12 per hour and works 50 hours in a week, it's essential to account for both regular hours and overtime. A standard workweek typically consists of 40 hours. In this scenario, the employee worked 50 hours, which means they worked 10 hours of overtime. The overtime pay rate is usually calculated at 1.5 times the regular hourly wage. 1. Calculate the regular earnings for the first 40 hours: \[ 40 \, \text{hours} \times 12 \, \text{USD/hour} = 480 \, \text{USD} \] 2. Calculate the overtime earnings for the remaining 10 hours: \[ 10 \, \text{hours} \times (12 \, \text{USD/hour} \times 1.5) = 10 \, \text{hours} \times 18 \, \text{USD/hour} = 180 \, \text{USD} \] 3. Add the regular earnings and the overtime earnings to find the total gross wages: \[ 480 \, \text{USD} + 180 \,