In addition, in our evolving digital world, it is important to remember that a non-exempt employee who checks work email or voicemail at home is working for purposes of the FLSA and, therefore, must be paid. Employers are presumed to be aware of this after-hours work, particularly where employees are sending work emails after work. We've all gotten those work emails at 11:30 p.m. but, what you might not have realized is that if the employee sending that email is non-exempt, he/she's working!
- First, employers may round off employees time to the nearest five minutes or up to a quarter of an hour, as long as the rounding works both ways (rounding up and down), averages out over time, does not always favor the employer, and does not result in a failure to compensate employees for all time worked.
- Second, employers may disregard de minimis time entries beyond an employees scheduled hours if the employer cannot precisely record it as a practical administrative matter. Practically speaking, though, this exception has limited application in a digital timekeeping age, and employers should be extremely careful in its application.
- changing uniforms or protective gear, if required by the nature of work;
- charitable work requested or controlled by the employer;
- driving employer-owned vehicles between worksites for the benefit of the employer;
- fire drills or other disaster drills, whether voluntary or involuntary, either during or after regular working hours;
- meal periods, if: (1) employees are not free to leave their posts, or (2) the time is too short to be useful to employees;
- on-call time where liberty is restricted;
- rest periods of 20 minutes or less;
- training programs required by the employer; and
- laundering uniforms to the extent it cuts into the minimum wage.
- absences during which work is not performed (such as, sick leave, annual leave, holidays, funerals and weather-related absences);
- employee sports team activities (e.g. softball team) if voluntary and not a condition of employment;
- charitable work done voluntarily outside of working hours;
- clothes changing at home;
- jury duty;
- meal periods involving no duties and lasting at least thirty minutes;
- on-call time where the employee merely leaves a telephone number and is not restricted;
- operation of an employers motor vehicle for employees commute to/from home; and
- voluntary training programs unrelated to regular duties and involving no productive work.
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