12/ 29/ 2005
Confused about whether you must pay your employees for breaks or lunch? What about vacations or jury duty? Or even overtime pay? According to the Fair Labor Standards Act, covered non-exempt employees who work more than 40 hours a week must receive an overtime rate. The amount of overtime pay or break time required is based on an employee’s “hours worked” in the workweek. An employee must be paid and afforded breaks for all the time considered “hours worked.” The U.S. Department of Labor created a special Web tool to help employers understand which of an employee’s work-related activities are considered “hours worked”––and therefore hours for which they must be paid.
DOL’s Fair Labor Standards Act Hours Worked Advisor provides information about the general principles for determining hours worked and outlines how they apply in common workplace scenarios. The advisor initially defines what constitutes hours worked. It also characterizes reworking and waiting for work as hours worked. Then, the advisor helps employers determine what work-related activities are included in “hours worked.”
For example, an employee’s time spent at a training program may or may not be considered hours worked, depending on the attending circumstances. The advisor lists several instances where the training time is not included in hours worked, such as voluntary attendance and apprenticeship classroom instruction time. If the training program does not fit into one of the listed categories, the advisor asks several questions about the program to determine whether the time spent counts as hours worked. Each question includes a breakdown of what types of activities the advisor is describing in the question. The advisor concludes by listing the requirements needed for that type of work activity to be excluded from hours worked.
Some situations are more straightforward, like required employee physical examinations. According to the advisor, time spent traveling to and from a physical examination, waiting for the tests and performing the tests is considered hours worked. Also, when an employee is injured on the job, time spent seeking medical attention constitutes hours worked. The advisor includes guidance regarding follow-up examinations for injured employees. On the straightforward topics, the advisor provides a detailed explanation of the requirements, but does not ask any further questions.
Other circumstances addressed include: on-call time; travel time; civic or charitable work; home workers; drug testing; holidays, vacation and sick time; and breaks and meal periods. While the list of possible scenarios is extensive, the advisor is not comprehensive. For further inquiry into hours worked, contact the local DOL District Wage and Hour Office.
Some of the scenarios include links to the relevant federal law or statute that controls that area. These links lead to the DOL home page for that law where users can find general overviews, frequently asked questions and employer forms. The advisor indicates that holidays, vacation and sick leave are a few areas where state laws dictate how much time must be given to employees. When state regulations differ from the federal regulations, the advisor provides links to the state authorities. For more help, visit NFIB/DOL Compliance Assistance.
