2-2-3, Pitman & DuPont Schedules: A Worker's Hours Guide

Disclaimer: This article is for educational purposes only and is not tax, legal, or financial advice. Tax rules can change; always check current IRS guidance or consult a qualified tax professional.

You just got put on a 12-hour rotating shift. The recruiter said it “averages about 42 hours a week.” Then your first month of checks arrives, and one week is huge, the next is small, and none of them look like 42 hours of anything.

That swing is not a payroll error. It is how these schedules work. Below is the hours-and-overtime math for the three big rotating patterns (2-2-3, Pitman, and DuPont) from the side of the person actually working them.

The One Rule That Explains Every Paycheck: 40 Hours, Not 42

Under the Fair Labor Standards Act, overtime is paid on hours over 40 in a single workweek. A workweek is a fixed, regularly recurring period of 168 hours: seven straight 24-hour days. Your employer picks the day and hour it starts, and once set, that boundary stays put (DOL Fact Sheet #23).

Two things follow from that, and both matter a lot on a rotating shift.

First, there is no federal daily overtime. Work a 12-hour shift, and none of those hours are automatically overtime under federal law. Overtime only shows up when your total for the fixed week crosses 40. Some states set their own daily rules (California pays overtime after 8 hours in a day), so your state can change this.

Second, the “42-hour average” you read everywhere is not how you get paid. Averages spread hours across two or four weeks. Your paycheck does not. Each fixed workweek is scored on its own, and only the hours over 40 in that week earn 1.5 times pay.

So the real question is not “what do I average?” It is “where does my employer draw the 40-hour line, and how many of my shifts land on each side of it?” That single choice decides your overtime.

The 2-2-3 (Panama) Schedule: 48-and-36 or 60-and-24 Weeks

The 2-2-3, also called the Panama schedule, runs on a 14-day cycle. You work 2 days, take 2 off, work 3, then flip: 2 off, 2 on, 3 off. Four teams keep the operation staffed around the clock, and each team works seven 12-hour shifts per fortnight.

Seven shifts times 12 hours is 84 hours every two weeks, or 42 hours a week on average (Teambridge 4-crew guide). But remember the rule: your check does not see the two-week average. It sees two separate fixed weeks. And where the workweek boundary lands decides which of two very different patterns you experience.

Alignment A (48 and 36). If the workweek splits your fortnight into four shifts one week and three the next, you see:

Week	Shifts	Hours	Overtime hours
Heavy	4	48	8
Light	3	36	0

Every heavy week throws off 8 overtime hours. Across a year, that is roughly 208 structural overtime hours, built into the schedule itself (Teambridge).

Alignment B (60 and 24). Shift the boundary, and the very same schedule can stack five shifts into one week and two into the next:

Week	Shifts	Hours	Overtime hours
Heavy	5	60	20
Light	2	24	0

Same 84 hours per fortnight. Same 42-hour average. But now your heavy week produces 20 overtime hours instead of 8, and your annual overtime is far higher, even though your total hours worked never changed (ShiftScheduleUp).

This is the biggest thing almost no one tells shift workers: identical schedules can pay noticeably differently depending on one setting your employer controls. If you get to ask one question before accepting a rotation, ask what day the workweek starts.

The Pitman Schedule: Same Hours, Gentler Day/Night Flips

The Pitman schedule is built on the same skeleton: a 14-day cycle, four teams, 12-hour shifts, and a 42-hour weekly average. If you compare the raw hours, Pitman and the 2-2-3 are the same math.

The difference is circadian, not financial. Pitman usually keeps you on a block of days or a block of nights for a stretch before switching, rather than bouncing you between day and night inside the same week. Many crews run a “fixed” Pitman, where your team stays on nights (or days) indefinitely. Others rotate the blocks every few weeks.

Your body notices that. Your paycheck does not. The overtime math is identical to the 2-2-3: the same 48-and-36 or 60-and-24 weeks, driven by the same workweek boundary. If someone tells you Pitman “pays better” than a 2-2-3, they are describing the schedule feel, not the overtime rule. The hours over 40 are what pay, and those are the same.

One naming note, because it trips people up: “Pitman” often points to the fixed day-or-night version, and “2-2-3” or “Panama” points to the rotating version. Employers mix the terms freely. Judge the schedule by its actual shift calendar, not its label.

The DuPont Schedule: The 72-Hour “Hell Week” and a Full Week Off

DuPont stretches the cycle to 28 days and takes a very different shape. A common sequence looks like this: 4 day shifts, 3 off, 3 night shifts, 1 off, 3 day shifts, 3 off, 4 night shifts, then 7 straight days off (Circadian).

Add it up: 14 shifts times 12 hours is 168 hours over 28 days, again a 42-hour weekly average. But the hours are front-loaded and lumpy, which is exactly why DuPont overtime looks nothing like a steady 42.

The headline is the “hell week.” One week of the cycle stacks six 12-hour shifts back to back: 72 hours in a single fixed workweek. That week alone produces 32 overtime hours (HiveDesk). It is one of the most concentrated bursts of paid overtime any common schedule produces.

The trade-off is at the other end of the cycle: a full seven days off, a 0-hour week with no overtime and no pay beyond whatever leave you use. So a month on DuPont can read as one giant check, a couple of moderate ones, and one thin one. The average is 42; the experience is a roller coaster.

Watch how the workweek boundary carves up that 72-hour block, too. If the fixed week splits six consecutive shifts into, say, four in one week and two in the next, the overtime spreads out and shrinks. If all six land in one fixed week, you get the full 32-hour overtime spike. Same shifts, different overtime, decided by the boundary.

Side by Side: Hours, Biggest Week, and Overtime

Here is how the three patterns line up. Every one averages 42 hours a week. The differences are in the shape.

Feature	2-2-3 / Panama	Pitman	DuPont
Cycle length	14 days	14 days	28 days
Weekly average	42 hrs	42 hrs	42 hrs
Typical heavy week	48 hrs (8 OT)	48 hrs (8 OT)	72 hrs (32 OT)
Possible heavier week	60 hrs (20 OT)	60 hrs (20 OT)	72 hrs (32 OT)
Lightest week	36 or 24 hrs	36 or 24 hrs	0 hrs (week off)
Longest break	Every other weekend	Every other weekend	Full 7 days per cycle
Day/night pattern	Rotates within cycle	Blocked (often fixed)	Rotates within cycle

One caveat for healthcare workers on these exact rotations. Hospitals and residential care employers can use the “8 and 80” system, where, by agreement, overtime is paid for hours over 8 in a day or over 80 in a fixed 14-day period instead of the standard 40-hour week (DOL Fact Sheet #54). If you are a nurse or CNA, check which system your employer uses, because it changes the whole calculation above.

Check It Against Your Own Paychecks (and the 2026 Overtime Tax Break)

The point of all this math is simple: you should be able to look at any week’s stub and know whether the overtime line is right. Here is the quick audit.

Find your workweek start. Ask payroll or check the pay period on your stub. This is the boundary everything depends on.
Count the shifts inside that fixed week and multiply by 12 (or your actual shift length).
Subtract 40. Anything over 40 should be paid at 1.5 times your regular rate. Anything at or under 40 is straight time, with zero overtime for that week, even on a schedule that “averages” more.
Compare that overtime figure to the overtime line on your stub.

If they do not match, you have a specific, documented question for payroll instead of a vague feeling that something is off. A free overtime calculator or timecard calculator makes step 3 fast, and logging each shift as you go with Timeclock44 gives you a clean record to check against, especially the week-start setting that decides your overtime. For a deeper look at the boundary rule, see our guide to the FLSA workweek definition.

There is also a 2026 angle worth knowing. Under the One Big Beautiful Bill, for tax years 2025 through 2028, eligible workers can take a federal above-the-line deduction on qualifying overtime premium pay: up to $12,500 for single filers and up to $25,000 for married filing jointly. The deduction phases out once modified adjusted gross income passes $150,000 (single) or $300,000 (married filing jointly), per current IRS guidance on the law.

That matters here because rotating schedules generate a lot of structural overtime. Those 208-plus overtime hours a year on a 2-2-3, or the 32-hour spike on a DuPont hell week, are exactly the premium pay this deduction targets. It is a deduction, not a full exemption, so it lowers your taxable income rather than making the money tax-free. To see how much it could shelter, try the weekly overtime tax savings calculator, and read the details in No Tax on Overtime, explained.

Want the ground rules behind all of this? Our plain-English FLSA overtime guide covers the 40-hour rule, exempt versus nonexempt status, and how to raise a pay issue. You can also browse the full tools hub or download the app to track your rotation shift by shift.

Frequently Asked Questions

How many hours per week is a 2-2-3 schedule?

It averages 42 hours a week (84 hours per two-week cycle), but individual weeks alternate. Depending on where your workweek starts, you usually see 48 and 36 hours, and sometimes 60 and 24 hours.

Do you get overtime on a 2-2-3 or Pitman schedule?

Usually yes. Your longer weeks exceed 40 hours, so those hours are paid at 1.5 times your regular rate. Around 208 overtime hours a year is common on the 48-and-36 pattern, but the exact total depends on where your employer starts the workweek.

What is the DuPont schedule’s 72-hour week?

One week in the 28-day DuPont cycle stacks six 12-hour shifts, or 72 hours. That single week produces 32 overtime hours, and it is followed later in the cycle by a full 7 days off.

Is the Pitman schedule the same as the 2-2-3 schedule?

They share the same hours math: a 14-day cycle, 4 teams, 12-hour shifts, and a 42-hour weekly average. Pitman usually refers to the fixed day-or-night version, while 2-2-3 or Panama is the rotating version. The pay is the same, but the day and night pattern differs.

Does federal law require overtime after 12 hours in a day?

No. FLSA overtime is based on hours over 40 in a workweek, not per day. Some states, like California, do require daily overtime, so your state rules can change the answer.

Is overtime tax-free in 2026?

Not fully. For tax years 2025 through 2028, a federal deduction lets eligible workers deduct qualifying overtime premium pay, up to $12,500 for single filers or $25,000 for married filing jointly, phasing out above $150,000 and $300,000 of modified adjusted gross income. It is a deduction, not a full exemption.

References

DOL Fact Sheet #23: Overtime Pay Requirements of the FLSA. The 40-hour workweek rule and the definition of a fixed, recurring 168-hour workweek.
DOL: Overtime. Confirms there is no federal daily overtime and no federal cap on weekly hours for workers 16 and older.
DOL Fact Sheet #54: The Health Care Industry and Calculating Overtime Pay. The “8 and 80” overtime system for hospitals and residential care.
Teambridge: The 4-Crew 24/7 12-Hour Shift Schedule. Patterns and math behind the 84-hour fortnight and structural overtime.
Circadian: What Is the DuPont Schedule?. The 28-day sequence, 42-hour average, and full week off.
HiveDesk: The DuPont Schedule. The 72-hour “hell week” and its 32 overtime hours.
ShiftScheduleUp: The Pitman Schedule. Fixed versus rotating Pitman and how boundary placement changes weekly hours.