Free Payroll Tool
See what your payroll provider really charges
Most providers hide per-run and add-on fees. Audit your real cost per employee in about 30 seconds, free.
Run the Payroll Fee Auditor →Blog · Payroll Management · Cannabis
Cannabis Businesses: Managing Part-Time Worker Payroll (2026)
Part-time payroll in cannabis businesses carries the same withholding and overtime rules as full-time, and part-time hours count toward the ACA employer mandate at 120 hours a month per full-time equivalent. BEG: $45 per employee per month inside the payroll software you already use, live in 3 to 5 days.
Rules that matter for part-time cannabis business staff
The FLSA requires no particular form for payroll records, but for each non-exempt employee the employer must record hours worked each day and each workweek, the basis on which wages are paid, total wages paid each pay period, and the date of payment and pay period covered. Payroll records must be preserved for at least three years and time cards for two years.
The FLSA overtime exemption for agriculture applies only to work within the Act's definition of agriculture, which includes the cultivation, growing and harvesting of agricultural or horticultural commodities. Employees whose jobs relate to agriculture but fall outside that definition, such as packing commodities produced on a different farm, must be paid overtime, and agricultural employees must still receive at least the federal minimum wage.
The arithmetic
Overtime is owed after 40 hours in the workweek regardless of part-time status, and a part-time employee who picks up shifts across two roles has their regular rate blended across both. For the ACA, monthly hours of all non-full-time employees are pooled and divided by 120 to produce full-time equivalents; 60 part-time employees at 60 hours a month are 30 FTEs. For FMLA, a part-time employee counts as one employee toward the 50 threshold and is eligible personally only after 1,250 hours in the prior 12 months. At the BLS May 2025 national median for retail salespersons, $35,410 a year or about $17 an hour, a 20-hour week is $340 before tax.
The rules behind this page, with sources
General information, not legal advice. Every rule below was read on the agency page linked next to it.
- The FLSA requires no particular form for payroll records, but for each non-exempt employee the employer must record hours worked each day and each workweek, the basis on which wages are paid, total wages paid each pay period, and the date of payment and pay period covered. Payroll records must be preserved for at least three years and time cards for two years. [DOL Fact Sheet #21]
- The FLSA overtime exemption for agriculture applies only to work within the Act's definition of agriculture, which includes the cultivation, growing and harvesting of agricultural or horticultural commodities. Employees whose jobs relate to agriculture but fall outside that definition, such as packing commodities produced on a different farm, must be paid overtime, and agricultural employees must still receive at least the federal minimum wage. [DOL Fact Sheet #12]
Read the full guide to ACA reporting and the employer mandate, and the rest of the cannabis business payroll library.
Managed Payroll, Handled.
BEG manages payroll at $45 per employee per month, all-inclusive. Get an instant cost comparison for your business.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do part-time budtenders at a cannabis business count toward the ACA 50-employee test?
Yes, as full-time equivalents: their monthly hours are pooled and divided by 120. That is why the count is run from payroll hours every year rather than from headcount.
Is overtime owed to a part-time cannabis business employee?
Yes, after 40 hours in a workweek, at time and one half on the regular rate. Part-time status changes benefits eligibility, not the overtime rule. The FLSA requires no particular form for payroll records, but for each non-exempt employee the employer must record hours worked each day and each workweek, the basis on which wages are paid, total wages paid each pay period, and the date of payment and pay period covered.
What does managed payroll cost for a cannabis business?
$45 per employee per month, all-inclusive, inside the payroll software you already use, with no monthly minimum. 280E tax code payroll deductions, cash payroll documentation and state cannabis board reporting are configured at setup, not billed as add-ons.
Related Resources
Anthony leads payroll solutions at Business Executive Group, a national managed payroll firm serving businesses across industries including Cannabis Businesses. BEG manages payroll at $45 PEPM, all-inclusive, with deep expertise in compliance, multi-state filing, and industry-specific payroll requirements. Get instant pricing at beghr.com.
Authoritative source: U.S. Department of Labor: Wage and Hour Division
From the blog