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 · Agency
Marketing & PR Agencies: Managing Part-Time Worker Payroll (2026)
Part-time payroll in marketing agencies 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: $25 per employee per month in your existing platform or $45 on isolved, live in 3 to 5 days.
Rules that matter for part-time marketing agency staff
The 2024 independent contractor rule is still codified at 29 CFR part 795 (source 89 FR 1741, January 10, 2024) and remains in effect for private litigation, but the Wage and Hour Division stopped applying it in its own investigations under Field Assistance Bulletin 2025-1. On February 26, 2026 DOL proposed rescinding it in favor of a test built on two core factors, control and opportunity for profit or loss; the comment period closed April 28, 2026 and no final rule was posted as of this research.
Whether a freelancer is an employee or an independent contractor under the FLSA is decided by the economic reality of the whole relationship using six factors: opportunity for profit or loss, investments, permanence, control, whether the work is integral to the business, and skill and initiative. Signing a contractor agreement or receiving a 1099 does not make a worker a contractor.
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 market research analysts and marketing specialists, $78,760 a year or about $38 an hour, a 20-hour week is $757 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 2024 independent contractor rule is still codified at 29 CFR part 795 (source 89 FR 1741, January 10, 2024) and remains in effect for private litigation, but the Wage and Hour Division stopped applying it in its own investigations under Field Assistance Bulletin 2025-1. On February 26, 2026 DOL proposed rescinding it in favor of a test built on two core factors, control and opportunity for profit or loss; the comment period closed April 28, 2026 and no final rule was posted as of this research. [DOL WHD 2026 independent contractor rulemaking page]
- Whether a freelancer is an employee or an independent contractor under the FLSA is decided by the economic reality of the whole relationship using six factors: opportunity for profit or loss, investments, permanence, control, whether the work is integral to the business, and skill and initiative. Signing a contractor agreement or receiving a 1099 does not make a worker a contractor. [DOL Fact Sheet #13]
Read the full guide to ACA reporting and the employer mandate, and the rest of the marketing agency payroll library.
Managed Payroll, Handled.
BEG manages payroll at $25-$45 per employee per month, all-inclusive. Get an instant cost comparison for your business.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do part-time account managers at a marketing agency 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 marketing agency 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 2024 independent contractor rule is still codified at 29 CFR part 795 (source 89 FR 1741, January 10, 2024) and remains in effect for private litigation, but the Wage and Hour Division stopped applying it in its own investigations under Field Assistance Bulletin 2025-1.
What does managed payroll cost for a marketing agency?
$25 per employee per month inside your existing platform or $45 on BEG's isolved HCM, all-inclusive, with a $500 monthly minimum. 1099 vs W-2 freelancer classification, project-based bonuses and multi-state remote teams 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 Marketing & PR Agencies. BEG manages payroll at $25-$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