Should California Employees Be Paid for On-Call Work?

Oftentimes, California employees are hired on or scheduled to be “on call.”

The question then arises as to whether or not the on-call employee is entitled to pay, and if so what are the “hours worked”—the entire period of time the employee is on call, or just the time spent actually working.

What is On Call Employment?

In California, on-call employment is a practice some employers use which puts employees on standby.  Employers may call California employees on call into work on short notice if additional employees are needed.

If the employee is on call and called into work, the employee is expected to report to work shortly after being called in. On-call employment can prevent the employee from obtaining another job, making personal plans or traveling.

On-call employment may also occur when California employees are given a schedule with a short amount of advance notice.  Employees may be given work schedules a few days, or one day, before being scheduled to work.

Employees are typically not paid for the time spent “on call.”  This practice may be in violation of California labor laws.

California Employees and On-Call Laws

California law specifies that “hours worked” means the time an “employee is subject to the control of an employer, and includes all the time the employee is suffered or permitted to work” regardless if the employee is required to do so.

If an employee is subject to the control of the employer, the employee is entitled to compensation of at least minimum wage, and all of the hours must be counted toward the employer’s overtime pay obligations.

Additionally, The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) and federal regulations provide that “[a]s a general rule the term ‘hours worked’ will include: (a) All time during which an employee is required to be on duty or to be on the employer’s premises or at a prescribed workplace and (b) all time during which an employee is suffered or permitted to work whether or not he is required to do so.”

An Employment Lawyer Can Help

When an employer fails to fulfill obligations to workers, California employees can file lawsuits for violations of labor and employment laws.

If an employer fails to pay wages due as sometimes in the case of on-call employment, there are a number of options available to California employees.

One of these is to file a private or class action lawsuit against the employer to recover unpaid wages and possibly other damages.

If you have to work on-call time for which you aren’t being paid, talk to an experienced employment lawyer. Whether you have a right to be paid for this time depends on the particulars of your situation—and on how courts in your area have interpreted the law.

Some of the factors courts look at in determining when on-call time must be paid include:

• Whether the employee is required to remain on the employer’s premises
• The geographical area to which the employee is restricted while on call
• Whether the employee is required to wear a pager
• The amount of time the employee has to respond to a page and/or call
• The likelihood of being called into work
• The restrictions placed on the employee’s personal activities while on call