The Pitman 2-2-3 schedule (also called the “2-3-2” or “Panama” schedule) is one of the most common rotating shift patterns used in 24/7 operations — manufacturing plants, utilities, corrections facilities, EMS, and hospital support staff all run some version of it. It uses four crews and 12-hour shifts to keep the operation staffed around the clock while giving every worker a predictable, repeating rhythm of workdays and days off.
This guide breaks down exactly how the rotation works, what a full 14-day cycle looks like day by day, and — most importantly — how federal overtime law actually applies to it, since that part surprises a lot of workers.
Each crew follows the same repeating pattern over a 14-day cycle:
That's 7 working days and 7 days off every 14 days, with every shift running 12 hours. Two crews typically cover days while two cover nights, and the two crews on the same shift type are offset so one is working while the other is off — that's what keeps the facility staffed every single day of the year.
Here's what the cycle looks like for one crew, starting on a Monday. The pattern then repeats from Day 15 onward.
| Day | Weekday | Status | Hours |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Monday | On duty | 12 |
| 2 | Tuesday | On duty | 12 |
| 3 | Wednesday | Off | 0 |
| 4 | Thursday | Off | 0 |
| 5 | Friday | On duty | 12 |
| 6 | Saturday | On duty | 12 |
| 7 | Sunday | On duty | 12 |
| 8 | Monday | Off | 0 |
| 9 | Tuesday | Off | 0 |
| 10 | Wednesday | On duty | 12 |
| 11 | Thursday | On duty | 12 |
| 12 | Friday | Off | 0 |
| 13 | Saturday | Off | 0 |
| 14 | Sunday | Off | 0 |
Total for the cycle: 7 shifts × 12 hours = 84 hours over 14 days, which averages to 42 hours per week. That average is the number most people quote — but it hides something important, covered next.
Under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), non-exempt employees are entitled to overtime pay of 1.5× their regular rate for hours worked over 40 in a single, fixed 7-day workweek. Critically, an employer cannot average your hours across the full 14-day Pitman cycle to avoid paying overtime. Each 7-day workweek stands on its own.
Look at the same schedule split into two separate FLSA workweeks. This is the heaviest alignment (workweek starts on cycle day 1):
| Workweek | Shifts worked | Total hours | Overtime hours |
|---|---|---|---|
| Week 1 (Days 1–7) | 5 | 60 | 20 hrs @ 1.5× |
| Week 2 (Days 8–14) | 2 | 24 | 0 |
So while the schedule “averages” 42 hours a week, in this alignment you work one heavy 60-hour week (with 20 hours of time-and-a-half) followed by one light 24-hour week. In five of the seven alignments the split is a 48-hour week (8 hours of overtime) and a 36-hour week instead. Either way the overtime premium means Pitman crews are typically paid for more than a flat 84 hours at straight time — a detail that's easy to miss if you only look at the average.
Which split you get depends on the day your employer's workweek starts. Day 1 is the first day of the opening two-day block. In 2 of the 7 possible alignments the cycle contains a 5-shift week and a 2-shift week; in the other 5 it contains a 4-shift week and a 3-shift week:
| Workweek starts on | Shifts in the two weeks | Hours (12 h shifts, no breaks) | Overtime per cycle | Overtime per year (26 cycles) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cycle day 1 | 5 + 2 | 60 h + 24 h | 20 h | 520 h |
| Cycle day 2 | 4 + 3 | 48 h + 36 h | 8 h | 208 h |
| Cycle day 3 | 3 + 4 | 36 h + 48 h | 8 h | 208 h |
| Cycle day 4 | 4 + 3 | 48 h + 36 h | 8 h | 208 h |
| Cycle day 5 | 5 + 2 | 60 h + 24 h | 20 h | 520 h |
| Cycle day 6 | 4 + 3 | 48 h + 36 h | 8 h | 208 h |
| Cycle day 7 | 3 + 4 | 36 h + 48 h | 8 h | 208 h |
With a 30-minute unpaid meal break per shift the overtime is 17.5 hours (5 + 2 weeks) or 6 hours (4 + 3 weeks) per cycle. Ask payroll which day your workweek starts before you estimate your overtime.
Plug in your hourly rate and rotation to see your real pay for both the long week and the short week, including overtime.
Yes. There's no federal law that restricts how shifts are rotated, including 12-hour Pitman rotations. Employers do still have to follow standard federal and state wage-and-hour rules, including overtime pay for non-exempt employees.
A standard 2-2-3 Pitman crew works seven 12-hour shifts every 14 days, which averages out to 42 hours per week. But that average is split unevenly: one week is a 48-hour or 60-hour week and the next is a 36-hour or 24-hour week, depending on where your workweek starts.
Usually only in your long week. Under the FLSA, overtime is calculated on a single, fixed 7-day workweek — not averaged across the 2-week cycle. Depending on the day your workweek starts, your long week is either 60 hours (20 hours of overtime) or 48 hours (8 hours of overtime); the short week has none.
Pitman uses a 2-week repeating cycle (2-2-3) with two alternating crews per shift and averages 42 hours a week. DuPont uses a longer 4-week cycle with four crews, mixes in a stretch of night shifts, and averages 42 hours a week as well, but with a different rhythm of days off, including one full week off every 4 weeks.
Every other weekend. In the standard rotation, workers get a 3-day break at one end of the 14-day cycle and a full 3-day stretch off mid-cycle as well, which is why Pitman schedules are popular in 24/7 operations like manufacturing, corrections, utilities, and EMS.
