Is not paid on-call time legal?
Question Details: The company that i work for makes us do on call support. The support wast assigned to any particular tech. They would call us and let us know about the problem and we would help out. However, now they have assigned 7 days in a row per tech to be on call. If we need to do something dose days or on the weekends we have to find another tech to cower our on call days. If not then we have to stay at home or make sure we are in an area that has phone coverage and computers to receive the phone call and take care of the clients. This restricts me from going out of house on weekends.
An employee is entitled to compensation for all time he or she is "subject to the control" of the employer even if he/she is not actually working during that time. Whether an employee who is "on-call" is "subject to the control" of the employer is a very fact-specific question and is largely dependent on the degree to which the employee's freedom to engage in personal activities is restricted. Courts have identified a non-comprehensive, non-exclusive list of factors which include whether: (1) there is an on-premises living requirement (2) there are excessive geographical restrictions on the employee's movements (3) the frequency of calls was unduly restrictive (4) a fixed limit for response is unduly restrictive (5) on-call employees can easily trade on-call responsibilities and (6) the use of a pager or cellphone could ease restrictions.
If you would like to discuss the matter further, please contact me by phone or email (213-381-6557 or ari@leichterlawfirm.com).
All the best,
Ari
