What Hours Are Included In The Workweek?

The workweek includes “all the time during which an employee is necessarily required to be on the employer’s premises, on duty or at a prescribed workplace,” and the time spent in these activities must be paid. A frequent wage-related claim involves allegations of work performed but not reported as or considered compensable working time (i.e., “off-the-clock” work). The time spent doing the things employees must do each day to get ready to work and get ready to leave, such as set up time, time putting on and removing safety equipment and the like, must be paid. Whenever the employer knows or has reason to believe that an employee is performing work, the employer must compensate the employee for that work. In addition, if an employer provides nonexempt employees breaks of less than thirty minutes, the employees generally must be paid for that time, and if an employer provides a meal break of thirty minutes or more, that time may be unpaid provided the employee is “completely relieved from duty.”
« Back to Wage and Hour FAQs