• About Us |
  • Follow Us: 
theinsurance411.com logo

The Insurance 411

What you need to know about insurance

  • Essential Property and Liability Insurance
    • All Property & Liability Topics
    • Business Income Insurance
    • General and Auto Liability
  • Specialized Insurance Policies
    • All Specialized Prop & Liability Topics
    • Credit Risk
    • Cyber Insurance
    • Directors & Officers
    • Employment Practices Liability
    • Environmental Liability
    • Professional Liability
    • Surety
    • The Basics
  • Workers’ Compensation Insurance
    • All Workers’ Comp Topics
    • Claims Management
    • Controlling Costs
    • Loss Prevention
    • Regulations
    • The WC Basics
  • Employee Benefits
    • All Employee Benefit Topics
    • Affordable Care Act – “ObamaCare”
    • Benefits Management & Compliance
    • COBRA
    • Dental Insurance
    • Group Disability Insurance
    • Retirement Plans
    • Vision Plans
    • Voluntary Benefits
  • Essential Property and Liability Insurance
    • All Property & Liability Topics
    • Business Income Insurance
    • General and Auto Liability
  • Specialized Insurance Policies
    • All Specialized Prop & Liability Topics
    • Credit Risk
    • Cyber Insurance
    • Directors & Officers
    • Employment Practices Liability
    • Environmental Liability
    • Professional Liability
    • Surety
    • The Basics
  • Workers’ Compensation Insurance
    • All Workers’ Comp Topics
    • Claims Management
    • Controlling Costs
    • Loss Prevention
    • Regulations
    • The WC Basics
  • Employee Benefits
    • All Employee Benefit Topics
    • Affordable Care Act – “ObamaCare”
    • Benefits Management & Compliance
    • COBRA
    • Dental Insurance
    • Group Disability Insurance
    • Retirement Plans
    • Vision Plans
    • Voluntary Benefits
Top Business 411 Stories
  • | How to Get Sued By Your Employees in 10 Easy Steps
  • | Marijuana and Workers Compensation
  • | Employee Dental Insurance for Every Budget
  • | How Do Your Healthcare Providers Rate?

Smart Phones and Overtime

February 25, 2016 by The Insurance 411Leave a Comment

smarts phones

In several cases, non-exempt employees have sued their employers for unpaid overtime compensation because the employer required them to check communications on their smart phone when not on duty.

A survey of employed email users finds:

  • 22% are expected to respond to work email when they’re not at work.
  • 50% check work email on the weekends.
  • 46% check work email on sick days.
  • 34% check work email while on vacation.

Source: Mother Jones

In several cases, non-exempt employees have sued their employers for unpaid overtime compensation because the employer required them to check communications on their smart phone when not on duty. The cases revolve around the question of whether the act of checking communications constitutes compensable work.

The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) governs minimum wage and overtime. It entitles employees to whom the law applies to receive overtime compensation for “time spent working” beyond the 40-hour workweek. Both the minimum wage and overtime provisions of FLSA generally do not apply to workers in executive, administrative or professional positions and outside sales employees who are paid on a salary basis. Requiring these exempt employees to check their smartphones would not subject employers to overtime claims.

As phone records are easily accessible, employees who use them off hours can provide solid evidence for their overtime claims. To avoid claims for unpaid overtime, employers can limit use of cell phones to exempt employees only, or limit their use by non-exempt employees during work hours only.

Both iPhone and Android smartphone users can download apps that let them track their work hours easily, right on their phones. Most allow users to make notes about their work hours, assign work time to specific projects, view a summary of hours worked and email reports. Some are available at no cost.

Filed Under: Benefits Management & Compliance   •  Employee Benefits

[wp_ad_camp_3]

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Read more ⤵

  • Business Insurance
  • Personal Insurance
  • Newest Business Articles
  • All Business Topics
  • Recommended Articles
    • Ways to Make Childcare Costs a Little More Affordable
    • Self Funding 101 For Employers
    • Weight Discrimination on the Rise
    • Understanding Consumer-Driven Health Plans

The Daily Blog

Directory Ad for 411sidebar

Register for Weekly Business Insurance Article Updates

  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Most Popular

  • Ways to Make Childcare Costs a Little More Affordable
  • Title VII Non-discrimination Protections Apply to LBGTQ Individuals
  • Drones in the Workplace
  • Why Stress Is a Work Safety Problem

Attention Insurance Agents

If you are looking for quality insurance content for your own customized newsletter, please visit Smarts Publishing:
https://smartspublishing.com

Business Insurance 411

  • Essential Property and Liability
  • Specialized Policies
  • Workers’ Compensation
  • Employee Benefits

Personal Insurance 411

  • Homeowners Insurance
  • Auto Insurance
  • Life & Health Insurance
  • Personal Insurance Basics

Read More

  • Business 411 Articles
  • Personal 411 Articles
  • Top Stories Business
  • Top Stories Personal

The Daily Blog

  • Newest Business Articles
  • Newest Personal Articles
  • Most Popular Business
  • Most Popular Personal

Copyright ©2019 TheInsurance411.com

  • Home
  • Terms of Use
  • Privacy Policy
  • About Us
  • Contact Us