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Waiting Time
Time spent waiting or
standing-by must be paid if it is part of the labor specified the
employee/employer agreement. It does not
matter if other amusement or entertainment activities are allowed or even
provided during the stand-by time frame.
Employers may choose and contract for labor whose express purpose is “to
do nothing, or to do nothing but wait for something to happen.”
There are two types of
waiting time.
- On duty waiting
time should be counted as hours worked.
This includes employees who are away from the employer’s location
-
Off duty waiting
time should not be considered hours worked.
Some factors to determine if you are truly “off duty” include:
- you are
completely relieved from duty
- you can use the
time waiting for your own purposes
- you are told in
advance that you can leave the job
-
you are told a
specific time that you must return to work
As a general rule, the FLSA
does not require compensation for hours worked and overtime if you are not
required to stay on the job site and you can use the time for your own personal
benefit.
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