Federal and state laws generally require an employer to pay a non-exempt employee wages for all the time which he or she works.

State laws may create standards which are significantly different from federal requirements for employers regarding payment of wages.

Under federal law, an employer is required to pay an employee for all hours worked. “Hours worked” under federal law means the 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 all time during which an employee is suffered or permitted to work whether or not required to do.

It is not limited to hours spent in active productive, labor.

In California, “hours worked” means the 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 all time during which the employer is aware or should be aware the employee is working whether or not the employer requires the employer to do so.

Working time in California is not limited to hours spent in active productive, labor. It generally includes time that the employee is working but is not subject to the employer’s control, including unauthorized overtime, which the employer has not requested or required as long as the employer should have known the employee was working.

This duty requires an employer to pay an employee for “off-the-clock” work, which is time worked before or after their scheduled shift, if the employer knew or should have known that the employees were working those hours. This may also include time which an employee spends in active labor or under the control of the employer but which the employer improperly shaves that time from an employee’s hours worked by automatic deduction of meal periods or by “rounding” practices.

A complex set of federal and state statutes govern payment of wages. Federal law sets the minimum standards for an employer, but state laws may create higher standards. Numerous exceptions exist which alter an employer’s duties for payment of wages. To navigate the complex statutes regarding payment of wages, an employee needs to speak to an experienced attorney who is familiar with the law in this area.

Read more about the specific areas of Wage and Hour Law in which Lavi & Ebrahimian, LLP have expertise.