May 2008

HOURS WORKED — AND HOURS PAID

One of the trickier parts of wage and hour law involves figuring out when you have to pay employees for certain activities. A listing of the issues should help you to realize your potential exposures:

• Changing uniforms or clothes
• De minimis time
• Different rates of pay
• Independent training
• Meal periods
• Meetings
• On-call time
• Standby time
• Travel time
• Reporting time pay
• Portal-to-portal

To learn more about these potential exposures, take a look at the Wage and Hour Training Module on HR That Works or visit the DOL Web site. California employers should bookmark www.dir.ca.gov, especially relevant opinion letters issued by the Division of Labor Standards Enforcement (www.dir.ca.gov/dlse/dlse.html).