{"id":357845,"date":"2016-04-04T10:45:29","date_gmt":"2016-04-04T15:45:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/content.findlaw-admin.com\/ability-law\/employment\/wages-and-benefits\/getting-paid-for-not-working.html"},"modified":"2025-03-14T08:46:00","modified_gmt":"2025-03-14T13:46:00","slug":"getting-paid-for-not-working","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.findlaw.com\/employment\/wages-and-benefits\/getting-paid-for-not-working.html","title":{"rendered":"Getting Paid for Not Working"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Getting Paid for Not Working<\/h1>\n
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\n By Susan Buckner, J.D.<\/a> | Legally reviewed by Melissa Bender, Esq.<\/a>\n | Last updated\n
\n \n <\/i>\n Legally Reviewed\n <\/summary>\n\n
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This article has been written and reviewed for legal accuracy, clarity, and style by FindLaw\u2019s team of legal writers and attorneys<\/a> and in accordance with our editorial standards<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n\n <\/div>\n <\/details>\n\n

\n \n <\/i>\n Fact-Checked\n <\/summary>\n\n
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The last updated date refers to the last time this article was reviewed by FindLaw or one of our contributing authors<\/a>. We make every effort to keep our articles updated. For information regarding a specific legal issue affecting you, please contact an attorney in your area<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n\n <\/div>\n <\/details>\n<\/section>\n

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The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) mandates payment for all hours controlled by employers. Understanding FLSA provisions helps ensure proper payment for all work-related activities.<\/p>\n\n <\/div>\n\n

The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) covers federal minimum wages and overtime pay and defines "work" for payment purposes. It also establishes regular paydays. The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL)\u2014Wage and Hour Division<\/a> enforces the FLSA.<\/p>\r\n

You have the right to payment for all hours worked. Contact a local employment lawyer <\/a>if you believe your employer is withholding wages or not compensating you fairly under the law.<\/p>\r\n

The FLSA sets the number of hours in a workday and workweek and when you are "at work" and "not at work." In general, any time you are under your employer’s control, your employer must pay you. This includes on-call time, travel time, and even sleep time. If your employer has not been paying you for this time, you may be entitled to these unpaid wages.<\/p>\r\n

State minimum wage laws differ from federal government laws. Your own state minimum wage rate<\/a> may be higher than the federal rate. In these situations, employers may have to pay employees’ wages for time when the employees are not physically working.<\/p>\r\n

This article outlines the Fair Labor Standards Act<\/a> (FLSA) and how it defines paid work time. It also highlights differences in state minimum wage laws and provides guidance on ensuring your employer compensates you for all hours worked.<\/p>\r\n

Getting Paid for Sleep Time<\/h2>\r\n

Some jobs require employees to stay at the worksite for 24-hour shifts. These include full-time caregivers or nurses, security guards, ambulance staff, and private medics. These workers may be paid for sleeping time.<\/p>\r\n

The DOL’s Wage and Hour Division<\/a> says employees scheduled to work less than 24 hours per shift must get paid for the entire shift. In other words, a 23-hour shift gets full pay, even if the worker sleeps five hours.<\/p>\r\n

For shifts of 24 hours or longer, the employer and employee have two options. They can agree upon an eight-hour sleep period. The employer should provide sleeping facilities for the worker. In this case, the sleep period is unpaid since the worker is not "under the employer’s control." If the worker gets less than five hours of sleep for any reason, they get paid for the entire 24 hours.<\/p>\r\n

The best example is an on-site security guard working at a remote construction site<\/a>. They usually live in a small trailer at the location for 48 or 72 hours at a time. Once the crew leaves, they set the alarm and sleep at night. But, if anything goes wrong, the guard must investigate.<\/p>\r\n

For city employees like firefighters who work so-called Kelly shifts (three days on, four days off), pay and sleep time get negotiated in collective bargaining agreements<\/a> with the city or county.<\/p>\r\n

Getting Paid for On-Call Time<\/h2>\r\n

Sometimes, your job is to wait. If a job requires you to stand by and wait for an assignment, employers may have to pay you for your wait time. On-call and standby jobs are sometimes used interchangeably. The FLSA focuses on when employers pay on-call time and when they do not.<\/p>\r\n

If you spend your on-call or standby time at or near the employer’s premises waiting for an assignment, you’re entitled to pay whether you receive an assignment. For instance, employers must pay delivery drivers who come in and wait for orders, even if they never deliver any orders that day.<\/p>\r\n

If you spend your on-call time at a different location, your employer pays you if there are heavy restrictions on your time or activities. For instance, an airport limo driver<\/a> who must wait at an airport taxi stand for fares in a marked vehicle gets paid for the wait time.<\/p>\r\n

If there are no restrictions on the worker, and they are on-call for emergencies or consultations after work hours, they do not need to get paid for the on-call time. An example would be a handyman <\/a>who is on-call for emergencies at an apartment complex when the maintenance staff is busy. But, if the employee must respond to calls, the employer may have to pay for standby time.<\/p>\r\n

Getting Paid for Travel Time<\/h2>\r\n

Although driving to and from work eats up a significant part of your day, that time is separate from your hours of work. Even if you use a company vehicle, commuting to and from work<\/a> is not part of your pay period and is not included in your pay.<\/p>\r\n

But, there are some situations when travel time is part of your pay:<\/p>\r\n