diff --git a/apps/api/src/srs.test.ts b/apps/api/src/srs.test.ts
index 3c53d10..9198e64 100644
--- a/apps/api/src/srs.test.ts
+++ b/apps/api/src/srs.test.ts
@@ -1,11 +1,30 @@
 /**
- * DST-guard and date-math checks with fixed instants — the acceptance proof
- * that the double crons fire exactly once at 8 AM ET (digest) and midnight
- * Saturday ET (review issue) on BOTH UTC offsets.
+ * Acceptance proof for the two rules that cannot be eyeballed in production:
+ * the double crons fire exactly once at 8 AM ET (digest) and midnight Saturday
+ * ET (review issue) on BOTH UTC offsets, and NOTHING is ever scheduled on the
+ * Sunday rest day — which is the whole reason the ladder's windows are 3 and 7.
  */
 import { describe, expect, test } from "bun:test";
 
-import { addDays, campaignDay, campaignWeek, etDate, etHour, isoWeek, rng, sample, weekdayOf } from "./srs.ts";
+import {
+  INTERVAL,
+  STAGES,
+  WINDOWS,
+  addDays,
+  campaignDay,
+  campaignWeek,
+  etDate,
+  etHour,
+  isRestDay,
+  isoWeek,
+  rng,
+  sample,
+  weekdayOf,
+  workingDay,
+} from "./srs.ts";
+
+/** Every ET date of the campaign, plus the deferred-Hard tail. */
+const CALENDAR = Array.from({ length: 70 }, (_, i) => addDays("2026-08-17", i));
 
 describe("DST-proof cron guard", () => {
   test("digest fires only at ET hour 8 — EDT (UTC-4)", () => {
@@ -50,6 +69,69 @@ describe("date math (noon-UTC anchored)", () => {
   });
 });
 
+describe("the rest day", () => {
+  test("Sunday is the only rest day", () => {
+    expect(isRestDay("2026-08-30")).toBe(true); // Sunday
+    expect(isRestDay("2026-08-29")).toBe(false); // Saturday: gate day, still work
+    expect(isRestDay("2026-08-31")).toBe(false);
+  });
+
+  test("workingDay never returns a Sunday, from any day and any offset", () => {
+    for (const date of CALENDAR) {
+      for (let offset = 0; offset < 10; offset++) {
+        expect(isRestDay(workingDay(date, offset))).toBe(false);
+      }
+    }
+  });
+
+  test("workingDay(date) leaves a working day alone and slides Sunday to Monday", () => {
+    expect(workingDay("2026-09-04")).toBe("2026-09-04"); // Friday
+    expect(workingDay("2026-09-05")).toBe("2026-09-05"); // Saturday
+    expect(workingDay("2026-09-06")).toBe("2026-09-07"); // Sunday → Monday
+  });
+
+  test("offsets count working days, so a spill skips the rest day", () => {
+    // Levelling from Saturday: tomorrow is Sunday, so the spill starts Monday.
+    expect(workingDay("2026-09-05", 1)).toBe("2026-09-07");
+    expect(workingDay("2026-09-05", 2)).toBe("2026-09-08");
+    // Two deferred Hards per working day from a Monday.
+    expect(workingDay("2026-09-28", 5)).toBe("2026-10-03"); // Saturday
+    expect(workingDay("2026-09-28", 6)).toBe("2026-10-05"); // Sunday skipped
+  });
+
+  test("every ladder interval lands on a working day, from every learning day", () => {
+    for (const date of CALENDAR) {
+      if (isRestDay(date)) continue;
+      for (const days of WINDOWS) {
+        const review = workingDay(addDays(date, days));
+        expect(isRestDay(review)).toBe(false);
+        // Never earlier than the interval: a review may slip, never shorten.
+        expect(review >= addDays(date, days)).toBe(true);
+      }
+    }
+  });
+
+  test("only Thursday's +3 needs the slide", () => {
+    const slid = CALENDAR.filter(
+      (date) => !isRestDay(date) && workingDay(addDays(date, 3)) !== addDays(date, 3),
+    );
+    expect(new Set(slid.map(weekdayOf))).toEqual(new Set([4])); // Thursday only
+    for (const date of CALENDAR) {
+      if (isRestDay(date)) continue;
+      expect(workingDay(addDays(date, 7))).toBe(addDays(date, 7)); // +7 keeps the weekday
+    }
+  });
+});
+
+describe("the ladder", () => {
+  test("two rungs, named after the windows", () => {
+    expect(STAGES).toEqual(["new", "+3", "+7", "retired"]);
+    expect(WINDOWS.map((w) => INTERVAL[`+${w}`])).toEqual([...WINDOWS]);
+    // Every non-terminal stage has an interval, and only those.
+    expect(Object.keys(INTERVAL).sort()).toEqual(STAGES.slice(1, -1).sort());
+  });
+});
+
 describe("deterministic sampling", () => {
   test("same seed, same picks", () => {
     const pool = [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10];