Work Time

There are some employers who, if you don’t watch them, will go in and change your hours worked on your time clock. This can run afoul of Georgia employment law as well as federal regulations.

This may be based on the principle of “rounding up,” where an employment rule may be that employees are allowed to clock in our out within certain times before and after a scheduled shift starts without penalty.

Or, there may be a phrase in an employee manual that seems to indicate that non- scheduled time is non- compensable, and the employee’s time clock is adjusted to the actual scheduled shift times.

But under United State Department of Labor regulations, every minute that you actually worked has to be compensated, regardless of whether or not your time was “on the clock.”

According to a USDL Fact Sheet, the compensable working day may be longer than the scheduled workday, if the worker is working during that time. This includes time that the worker volunteers to stay late-say, to help the next shift. It is still compensable.

Compensable time also includes short breaks, although it may not necessarily include longer meal breaks. But, if the employee is not completely relieved of work duties during meals, then the meal time must be paid time.

Sleeping at the worksite is handled interestingly. If the employee is required to be at work for less than 24 consecutive hours, then nap time is compensable. If the time is more than 24 hours, the employer is allowed to negotiate unpaid sleep time with the employee. This does not include time when the employee is “on call” at home.

Travel time may or may not be compensated. Regular travel to and from work is not paid time, but travelling outside of that stricture may be compensable, depending on the circumstances.

If you think that you have been working hours for which you are not getting paid, contact our offices.