One of the most common violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) occurs when hourly employees are not paid overtime when employers knowingly allow and/or encourage employees to work "off the clock." Under Federal law, "the employer must pay compensation for all work it ''permits'' the employee to perform ''off the clock'' even if the employer did not specifically request that the employee perform the work ''off the clock.''" 29 C.F.R. § 785.11. There is no such thing as an hourly employee "volunteering" to do additional work. Employees have recovered penalties and back pay from employers when employees are required to clock out before cleaning equipment or workspaces.
K-9 Officers have recovered significant amount of compensation for time spent off the clock caring for their police dogs. Employers are also often penalized when they fail to pay employees for attending mandatory training or meetings. Employers have been penalized when they provide incentives to employees who only "clock in" for 40 hours a week when they know the employers are required to work longer hours in order to complete work duties.
Under the FLSA, employers should be very careful to pay employees for all time worked. It is permissible for the employer to require employees leave the work premises immediately after clocking out and mandate that all employees take a lunch break. But, whenever an employee is doing something for the benefit of the employer, under the law, the employee is entitled to pay and overtime pay when applicable. Employers should remember that although they need to pay an employee for all time worked, the employer is not subject to the will of the employee.
The HR industry´s premier online community and resource for Human Resource professionals: HR, human resources, HR community, human resources community, HR best practices, best practices in human resources, online communities for HR, HR articles, HR news, human resources articles, human resources news, HR events, leadership, performance management, staffing and recruitment, benefits, compensation, staffing, recruitment, workforce acquisition, human capital management, HR management, human resources management, HR metrics and measurement, organizational development, executive coaching, HR law, employment law, labor relations, hiring employees, HR outsourcing, human resources outsourcing, training and development
hr.com.
human resources management resources for hr professionals. |
HR menus
|
HR events
|
HR Sitemap