Question：Employee A is a carpenter and normally works 36 hours per week. The standard rate of pay is $3.60 per hour. A premium of 50% of the basic hourly rate is paid for all overtime hours worked. During the last week of October, Employee A worked for 42 hours.
　　The overtime hours worked were for the following reasons:
　　Machine breakdown:                                                                             4 hours
　　To complete a special job at the request of a customer:                2 hours
　　How much of Employee A's earnings for the last week of October would have been treated as direct wages?
　　$ ________
　　The correct answer is:$140.40
　　解析：The overtime premium paid at the specific request of a customer would be treated as a direct cost because it can be traced to a specific cost unit.
　　The four hours of machine breakdown is idle time. It cannot be traced to a specific cost unit therefore it is an indirect cost.
　　The direct wages cost is as follows.                                                     $
　　Basic pay for active hours (38 hours ? $3.60)                                 136.80
　　Overtime premium re: customer request (2 hours ? $1.80)            3.60
　　                                                                                                                   140.40