What hours is my employer obligated to pay me?
Get Legal Help Today
Compare Quotes From Top Companies and Save
Secured with SHA-256 Encryption
What hours is my employer obligated to pay me?
I work remotely for a company hundreds of miles away. My ability to perform my job is contingent upon my employer providing ‘remote-access’ which is frequently down on their end. This prevents me from completing my hours in a timely fashion, and requires me to make up the time later. Am I entitled to be paid for hours I would normally be working when the access is down?
Asked on October 5, 2017 under Employment Labor Law, California
Answers:
SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 6 years ago | Contributor
You should be paid for the hours you actually work, whether they are during your normally scheduled hours or otherwise. Hourly employees are paid for the hours they work, regardless of when they are; as long as your employer is paying you for the time you are actually working, you are being paid correctly. You are not entilted to pay for time working remotely when the server or remote access is down, since you can be doing other things (e.g. sleeping, eating, chores, shopping, socializing, even potentially work for other companies or clients) during that time, because you are remote; it is not work time, since you can be doing other things.
IMPORTANT NOTICE: The Answer(s) provided above are for general information only. The attorney providing the answer was not serving as the attorney for the person submitting the question or in any attorney-client relationship with such person. Laws may vary from state to state, and sometimes change. Tiny variations in the facts, or a fact not set forth in a question, often can change a legal outcome or an attorney's conclusion. Although AttorneyPages.com has verified the attorney was admitted to practice law in at least one jurisdiction, he or she may not be authorized to practice law in the jurisdiction referred to in the question, nor is he or she necessarily experienced in the area of the law involved. Unlike the information in the Answer(s) above, upon which you should NOT rely, for personal advice you can rely upon we suggest you retain an attorney to represent you.