Do you get paid extra for working on Leap Day? How February 29 will affect your paycheck

In 2024, the Gregorian calendar will have 366 days to account for small discrepancies. Due to the fact that it takes Earth 365 days, 5 hours, 48 minutes, and 46 seconds to orbit around the Sun, there is a time discrepancy. To compensate for this, an additional day is added to the calendar every four years. This means that a leap year will have 366 days.

This year, 2024, just happens to be a leap year and will have 366 days. The word “leap” comes from the Latin phrase “bis sextus dies ante calendas martii,” meaning repeated on the sixth day before the first day of March. This additional day is added to February, making it a Leap Year.

Many employees are wondering whether they will receive additional compensation for working an extra day compared to a regular year of 365 days. In 2020, the 29th of February fell on a Saturday, and since most salaried workers have weekends off, the question of compensation did not arise. However, with the extra day falling on a Thursday this year, employees are curious about what Leap Year means for their income.

The answer depends on worker classification

The answer to this question depends on a worker’s classification. While hourly workers will be compensated since they are paid based on the number of hours they work, salaried workers are not likely to see any bump in their paycheck. A salary is an amount agreed to between an employee and an employer and is typically based on a worker committing to labor for eight hours a day. In 2022, 55 percent of workers in the United States are classified as hourly workers, meaning the majority (should they be working today) will see a bump in their paycheck.