Compensable Working Time
In a decision rendered earlier this month, the U.S. Supreme Court clarified a working time question raised by workers in a lawsuit against their employer in the meat packing industry. The high court ruled that the workday includes the time employees spend walking from changing areas where protective equipment is donned to the production area, and the time walking back.
The employer's prior practice hand been to provide a limited pay for workers to change into safety gear needed for their job, but the time spent walking through the plant to the work station was unpaid.
The case involved an interpretation of the Fair Labor Standards Act, the federal law that defines minimum wage levels, child labor limits, overtime pay requirements, and work time reporting. The act is enforced by the U. S. Department of Labor. The Labor Department reports that it will now move ahead to assure that all affected companies pay their employees correctly.
With this decision, the Justices reported that they relied significantly on the interpretive regulations issued by the Labor Department. The government's interpretive bulletin clarifies what is compensable time for which employees should be paid, and what is non-compensable time for which employees need not be paid.
The regulations state that the employer must provide compensation to employees who are suffered or permitted to work. This means that an employee who performs work for the employer must receive pay. The employer has a duty to manage the enterprise, to control work performed and to act to prevent work activity if it does not want work performed.
An employee who is on duty at a time and place controlled by the employer whether performing work tasks or briefly waiting for a work assignment is performing a compensable task. Likewise, an employee who is required to remain on call at the job site or nearby area so that he cannot use the time for his own purposes should be paid for such on-call time.
Where an employee is relieved of duty or absent from work, there is no obligation to provide an hourly wage.
The regulations consider rest periods of short duration such as five to fifteen minutes to be compensable time. Bona fide meal periods of 20 minutes or more are not considered as worktime and need not be paid.
Required attendance at meetings or training programs and training directly related to the employees current job should be considered as paid time. Other training may be unpaid time. For example, independent training elected by the employee or voluntary participation in meetings outside of regular working hours where no productive work is performed, or training not directly related to the employees current job is not compensable.
Time spent by an employee waiting for or receiving medical attention at the direction of the employer or at the employer's premises during the employee's normal working hours is compensable time.
The regulations state that employees should receive pay for preparatory work activities such as make ready or set up or adjustment to equipment or supplies that are considered part of the principal work activity.
Travel time guidelines are more complex, and were in fact, the crux of the arguement raised by employees in the lawsuit. Ordinary travel from home to work is not considered as worktime. But, time spent by an employee in travel as part of his principal activity, such as travel from job site to job site during the workday is counted as hours worked.
An employee's travel away from home is considered worktime when it cuts across the employee's workday. Emergency and special one day assignments in another city performed for the benefit of the employer may qualify as compensable time.
Union agreements may define work activities that are compensable and non-compensable. Employees who are exempt from the Fair Labor Standards Act typically receive a weekly salary regardless of number of hours worked. Where specific questions arise, the employer is advised to obtain professional advice to guide definition of paid and unpaid times.
About the author: William S. Hubbartt is a human resources and privacy consultant St. Charles, IL. www.Hubbartt.com. He is the author of "The HIPAA Security Rule - A Guide for Employers and Health Care Providers," a 200+ page book in CD format.
