Even if you are not performing your job, the federal law entitles you to earn pay for the time spent under your employer’s control or benefits. Although this generally excludes the time spent commuting to and from work, it may include other time that you cannot spend as you wish because of your job.

You may have the right to be paid for time you spend not working:

Education and Training

  • If your employer requires you to attend a lecture, meeting, or training session, you must be paid for that time, including the time you spend traveling to the event.

Travel Time

  • The employer is generally not obligated to pay for your commuting time but you are entitled to wages for the time you spend traveling during the job.
  • For example, if your employer requires you to go out on service calls, the time you spend traveling must be paid.

On-Call Time

  • On-call time refers to hours you have little or no control and cannot use for your own enjoyment or benefit.
  • Your employer must pay you for the time you are required to stay on your employer’s premises while waiting for a work assignment, even if you don’t spend it actually performing job tasks.
  • For example, if your employer places significant restrictions on you and call you often to be on-call, requiring that you remain close to the workplace, you may be entitled to compensation for all your on-call hours.

Meal and Rest Breaks

  • Many states have laws that require employers to provide meal or rest breaks, specifying the minimum time that must be allowed.
  • In the states that do not require paid break times, employees must be free of all job responsibilities during breaks.
  • For example, if your employer requires you to perform any job duties during regular breaks, such as staffing a reception area or answering phones, that time must be paid.

Sleep Time

  • Any time you are allowed to sleep during a shift, you are entitled to be paid for the hours.
  • For example, if you are on duty for 24+ hours at a time, you and your employer may agree to count certain amount of the hours as unpaid time for meals and sleeping. However, if you end up working during that unpaid period or if your work conditions keep you from getting at least five hours of sleep, your employer must pay you for the entire shift.

You may be eligible for pay you might not be receiving. Stay informed and know your rights. For more information about ways to protect your right to receive fair payment for your employer, contact us at The Barrera Law Firm.

Related posts:

  1. Juan Hernandez v. CD Carpentry
  2. 2008 Virginia Workers' Compensation Commission Revised Award Agreement
  3. WORKERS COMPENSATION, PERSONAL INJURY CLAIMS AND SUBROGATION
  4. The Most Common Mistake Injured Employees make in Virginia Workers Compensation cases
  5. Fairfax Workers' Comp Lawyers – Fairfax Workers Comp Accidents

This entry was posted on Thursday, April 8th, 2010 at 11:08 am and is filed under Blog. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.