Workforce Bulletin

After-hours electronic access to the workplace is an increasingly prevalent basis for "off the clock" wage-hour litigation.

By Evan J. Spelfogel

In recent years employees have asserted claims for time allegedly worked away from their normal worksites, on their Blackberries, iPhones or personal home computers.  Until now, employers have been faced with the nearly impossible task of proving that their employees did not perform the alleged work.  The US Department of Labor and plaintiffs’ attorneys have taken advantage of the well-established obligation of employers to make and maintain accurate records of the hours worked by their non-exempt employees, and to pay for all work “suffered or ...

By:  Kara M. Maciel and Casey Cosentino

We were recently asked by a client to provide guidance on the wage and hour issues associated with company-provided on-line training programs for non-exempt employees.  Questions were raised as to when the training is "voluntary" and whether the time must be compensated if the training is completed at home using a personal computer.  The answer stems from federal wage and hour law, which provides that such time is likely compensable for non-exempt employees.     

The Fair Labor Standards Act requires employers to ...