What is the on-call law?
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What is the on-call law?
Our supervisor tells us we are only to charge for actual time it took to answer a page, when off site. We are required due to contract to answer any page from 5:00 – 7:30 pm and then the other calls from 7:30 pm – 7:30 am every day – we have to follow-up with call to customer and completing on-line paperwork following wrap up of the call. Sometimes we have to go in to resolve issue – how is travel time, mileage, and hours starting from – time of page or 1st contact to customer, etc. until leaving home to work – after hours, completing call on site – travel time home.
Asked on February 3, 2011 under Employment Labor Law, Nevada
Answers:
SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 13 years ago | Contributor
Any time actually worked--so any time actually on a phone call, responding to an email, doing paperwork, talking to a customer, traveling for business or work, etc.--is work time that must be compensated. It doesn't matter if it's after normal shift hours or designated as "on call" time, if you're actually *doing* something for work, it's time worked--and if you are paid on an hourly basis, you must be paid for it. (If you are paid on a salaried basis, IF you are one of the few salaried employees who are eligible for overtime--i.e. a salaried employee who is nonexempt--then if the extra time would earn you overtime, you must be paid that overtime; otherwise, salaried employees would not get extra compensation for the extra work.)
Time spent literally just "on call" but not actually working in any fashion is not time worked and does not have to be paid, unless you are "on call" at the office or other work site and unable to leave for your own purposes. If forced to wait at the office, warehouse, etc., then that's still work, even if you're doing nothing but computer solitaire.
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