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HR Support on Complying with FLSA on Hours Worked
Editor's Note: What counts as working time? What doesn't?
Overview: Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) regulations require employers to pay nonexempt employees at least the minimum wage for all hours worked. Usually, it's fairly simple to determine what counts as working hours. If an employee is at a desk filling out paperwork or on an assembly line manufacturing goods, then that time obviously counts as hours worked.
But there are many situations in which it is not quite so simple to figure out whether time counts as hours worked. What if an employee is taking a rest break, with her feet up on her desk? What if an employee is on call and must be ready to return to the office with little notice? What if an employee is traveling to a sales meeting in another city? What if an employee is attending a training session in the office? The answer: under the FLSA, it depends on the circumstances.
Trends: One of the most frequently litigated issues under the FLSA is whether activities that employees perform before and after a shift (known as preliminary and postlminary activities) are compensable. Meat- and poultry-processing companies are a frequent target of lawsuits alleging that employees should be paid for activities such as putting on protective gear before a shift, but these arguments could be extended to a variety of industries.
Author: Michael Cardman, Legal Editor
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State Breastfeeding Break Requirements - Chart
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State Meal and Rest Break Requirements - Chart
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Hours Worked: Missouri
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Sequestration May Impact Federal Contractors
If Congress and the White House do not reach a deal on the sequestration,employers with federal contracts should be prepared to take immediate action to deal with drastic cuts in government spending that will result. Federal contractors should anticipate how the sequestration will directly affect their workplace with respect to complying with Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) Act, wage and hour requirements, benefits and immigration status as well as unions and collective bargaining agreement issues. Employers should also expect possible lawsuits from workers laid off due to spending cuts.
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Supreme Court to Resolve What Counts as 'Clothes' Under FLSA
The Supreme Court has agreed to hear Sandifer v. United States Steel Corp. and resolve a split in the circuits over what types of clothes-changing may be excluded from working time under section 203(o) of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).
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Does an employee need to be paid for on-call time?
About this topic
HR guidance on complying with the FLSA hours worked requirements.
Hours Worked: Key Items
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Hours Worked
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Determine if an Employee Must Be Paid for Rest Breaks
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Determine if an Employee Must Be Paid for Meal Breaks
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FLSA Working Time Issues During Natural Disasters - Chart
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When employees take short smoking breaks, water breaks or rest breaks, may an employer safely deduct it from their working time?