“Do I have to pay my employee for every minute worked”?

I know it sounds like a strange, even absurd question, but managers are consciously or unconsciously addressing this very question every day in scenarios that look a lot like this:

Scenario 1

“David, I need you to stay a few more minutes to help me finish this report.” It’s only 30 minutes, so you don’t need to report the time. ‘

Scenario 2

“Carole, I’m sorry to interrupt you during your lunch break, but this is extremely important.” I need you to review these figures right now, as I will need the information for my next meeting. ‘

Scenario 3

‘I understand that you don’t work on weekends, but I need you to come over for a few hours on Saturday to help with this project. You can take a few hours off in the next few weeks when there is not as much activity.

These are all pretty reasonable work scenarios, so what’s going on here? Let’s tackle each scenario to find out why all of these are potential overtime violations if your employee is a paid hourly staff member.

Scenario 1: If you are a US employer, you must pay your staff by the hour for all time worked. This includes increments of 10 minutes or more. Asking your employee to “stay a few minutes” without making sure the employee is recording the time they have worked means that you are not paying your staff member for the time worked as required by the Fair Labor Standards Act, or FLSA. This can become a big problem if your employee decides to file a wage complaint with the Department of Labor, which he can do very easily, even for a single violation.

Scenario 2: Whenever you ask an hourly or nonexempt employee to work during the lunch break, or any break period, you must pay them for that time; even if they are having lunch while working.

Scenario 3: By law, hourly employees can choose how they will be compensated for time worked beyond the regularly scheduled hours. The employer cannot dictate whether its employee will take a day off or be paid for the time worked. It is your employee who can decide whether or not to have a day off instead of working an extra day, or to be paid for the time worked. Employees must agree in advance which day will be taken in terms of time off with their manager.

Employers should also remember that:

• Although these types of pay problems apply to hourly or nonexempt employees, you cannot simply change the status of your hourly employees from nonexempt to overtime exempt to avoid paying for time worked beyond hours. employee’s customary schedules. Only certain types of roles are eligible for exempt status under the DOL. I will share details on what types of roles classify as exempt versus nonexempt personnel in a future article.

• Any overtime worked that forces employees to exceed a full-time weekly threshold must be paid on time and a half in accordance with the Fair Labor Standards Act rules regarding overtime pay.

• You must pay employees for time worked even if you have not approved the time. It’s key to be clear with employees about your expectations regarding their work hours and approved overtime. Disciplinary action may be necessary for employees who work without prior approval, but only if it is clear that they were aware of company policy regarding obtaining approval of time worked.

• All employers, no matter how small, must have some kind of written policy regarding work hours and pay.

• Employees have the right to file a complaint with the Department of Labor for even the smallest violation related to pay.

• There may be additional nuances related to overtime pay that vary from state to state, so be sure to check your US state regulations.

If you are a “non-US employer, of course there are other country-specific regulations that may apply, but that doesn’t mean that many of these employee best practices can’t apply to your staff.”

Regardless of where your company is located in the world, if your goal is to maintain or improve employee morale, enhance your company’s reputation as a desirable place to work, and ensure you treat your employees fairly, always pay at employees for the hours they want. I work for you