FLSA Hours Worked Advisor

An employee who is not required to remain on his or her employer’s premises but is merely required to leave word where he or she may be reached is not working while on-call. Next we must determine if your employee is able to use the on-call time effectively to engage in personal activities.

Although you may require your employee to be accessible by telephone or paging device, or you may establish rules governing use of alcohol or participation in other activities while your employee is on-call, he or she may still be able to use the on-call time to engage in personal activities, such as cutting the grass, going to the movies, going to a ball game, or engaging in other activities of his or her choosing.

The other consideration in determining whether your employee can use the on-call time for his or her own purpose is the frequency of the work calls received during his or her on-call time. If your employee is interrupted to such an extent the he or she cannot conduct his or her regular activities, your employee probably cannot use the on-call time for his or her own purposes. For example, if he or she is unable to finish a meal, read a story to his or her child or read a newspaper during the same on-call period, he or she probably cannot use the time effectively for his or her own purposes.

While on-call, is your employee able to use his or her on-call time for his or her own purposes?

• Yes
• No